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I mentioned earlier this year I was writing several articles about the Pastry World Cup and the Bocuse D’or for various magazines on both sides of the Atlantic including the spring edition of Yes CHEF magazine. The Pastry World Cup and Bocuse D’or are held in Lyon every 2 years are considered the very best competitions in the world.

Yes Chef magazine is a high quality glossy quarterly UK magazine aimed at both the catering industry and serious amateur cooks that want to keep up with trends and the happenings in the business. I also wanted to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to the Almond Board of California who were my hosts in Lyon and did a great job to make my trip a memorable one.

I have reprinted my article below and hope you enjoy it.

World Championship Cookery

For any chef interested in achieving recognition, the Pastry World Cup and the Bocuse D'or are the most prestigious culinary competitions in the world. So much effort, skill and in some cases a year of practice have helped make these the ultimate prizes to win.

Pastry World Cup
Started in 1989 by French Master Pastry Chef Gabriel Paillasson, the Pastry World Cup is held once every two years in Lyon, at the Sirha Food show. The competition pits 22 country teams against each other for medals and trophies. Each team consists of three chefs who produce a chocolate dessert, a frozen dessert and a plated dessert, along with three sculptures crafted from sugar, chocolate and ice.

Each country takes it in turn to bring their desserts out to great fanfare and huge media coverage.
A team needs to produce two of each dish so that one can be available for the press to take 100's of photos and the second is sliced into portions and offered to the 22 judges.

Bad luck turned the fortunes of the Dutch and American teams in separate instances. Team USA's 3 foot chocolate sculpture fell over when the team tried moving it in their overheated kitchen, just a mere 20 minutes before the end of the competition. A more dramatic calamity happened to the Netherlands sculpture when it collapsed from the display table and broke into a thousand pieces in front of the huge audience. Deafening silence fell upon the room as all eyes and TV cameras turned to the stunned Dutch team who could barely believe what had happened.

The French team were clearly the favourites, ably led by their 23year old captain Jerome de Olveira, they showed nerves of steel and tremendous skill. I asked them if they felt additional pressure because France has won this competition so many times. With modesty they explained their focus didn't give them time to consider or worry about the history of the competition.

When the judging was complete the French were indeed crowned Pastry Champions of the World, and watching the media frenzy I truly understood for the first time the importance of this competition.

Bocuse D'or 2009
Paul Bocuse is simply a living legend; perhaps the only other culinary legend he can truly be compared to is Escoffier. Both coming into the kitchen at a time of stagnation in professional cookery, that was deep on traditional but had lost its way.
Like Escoffier, Bocuse has been a trailblazer, changing and reinvigorating French Cuisine throughout his career in so many ways. "Monsieur Paul" as he is often called in reverent tones in France won his first Michelin star in 1958 and many accolades since. His 3star restaurant on the outskirts of Lyon is truly the culinary epicentre of France.

Just like the Pastry World Cup that precedes it the Bocuse D'or is held biannually at the Sirha Food show and 2009 saw 24 countries represented in the final, which is held over a two-day period.

Simon Hulstone, winner of the Knorr National Chef of the Year and chef patron at the Michelin starred Elephant restaurant in Torquay represented the UK. This was Simon?s first attempt at the Bocuse D'or and his finished in a respectable 10th place, which gives you some idea of the quality and difficulty of the world's ultimate cookery competition.

Simon was coached and mentored by Chef Brian Turner CBE who often gives his free time and expertise to help UK chefs prepare for this crème de la crème of competitions. Brian was also invited this year to be one of the 24 chef judges because he is fluent in French.

Brian Turner said, "Analysing the winning entrants and learning what the judges are looking for is as important as the cooking and presentation skills."
When I asked him how we could improve the UK's chances for the next Bocuse D'or in 2011 he said, "We need to get sponsorship or government funds to put our chefs on equal footing with other countries. Perennial winners such as Norway and France understand the huge benefit and culinary prestige to their tourism industry."
I guess the big question is do we have the desire to place ourselves in a winning position?

We all have food memories from our childhood; they can be some of our most evocative glimpses of our young lives. I'd like to share one of mine with you; perhaps for some readers it will remind you of your own.

Growing up my parents didn't have a lot of money but we did get a weekly allowance (pocket money). Some of that money we would be encouraged to save for our summer holidays, but we were allowed to spend a small amount on sweets (candy).  Sometimes a short walk home from school would mean a stop at the little corner store to buy a few pennies worth of sweets.  Back then the shopkeeper had a section of his counter that was both accessible to small children but also accessible in price.  Amongst the teeth breaking mojo chews and the sherbet filled flying saucers were the "crown jewels" of cheap sweets penny sticks of liquorice and if you were careful and savoured them they would last you all the way home.

As I have mentioned before I get sent a wide range of products to try, the manufacturers and PR people hoping I will give it the thumbs up are often disappointed.  My policy has always been if I can't find something good to say about the product then I prefer to say nothing. 

 Just occasionally I find something of real quality and feel compelled to share it with you and perhaps tell you a few fascinating facts you never heard before.

Liquorice root has an impressive list of well-documented uses and is probably one of the most over-looked of all herbal remedies. It is used for many ailments including asthma, athlete's foot, baldness, body odour, bursitis, canker sores, chronic fatigue, depression, colds and flu, coughs, dandruff, emphysema, gingivitis and tooth decay, gout, heartburn, HIV, viral infections, fungal infections, ulcers, liver problems, Lyme disease, menopause, psoriasis, shingles, sore throat, tendonitis, tuberculosis, ulcers, yeast infections, prostate enlargement and arthritis.

Hundreds of potentially healing substances have been identified in liquorice as well, including compounds called flavonoids and various plant estrogens (phytoestrogens). The herb's key therapeutic compound, glycyrrhizin (which is 50 times sweeter than sugar) exerts numerous beneficial effects on the body, making liquorice a valuable herb for treating a host of ailments. It seems to prevent the breakdown of adrenal hormones such as cortisol (the body's primary stress-fighting adrenal hormone), making these hormones more available to the body

In recent times science has been re-discovering the health benefits of liquorice. Licorice is in fact a powerful antiviral that contains 10 antioxidants, at least 25 fungicidal and 9 expectorant compounds. Licorice also includes MAO inhibitors, several XO inhibitors, and natural estrogenic ingredients. But this is not all that helps to form licorice. Licorice is also made up of beneficial components such as phytochemicals, magnesium, and sodium.

• Peptic Ulcers: Licorice is used in Europe as medicinal support for people suffering from ulcers. Scientific studies have also shown that licorice is very effective as a pharmaceutical drug when it comes to treating peptic ulcers. A special form of licorice known as DGL is the preferred treatment for ulcers; this form removes the glycyrrhizin from the licorice as this can cause high blood pressure. DGL has no side effects and is the inexpensive option when compared with drugs such as Tagomet and Zantac.
• HIV infection: Research has shown that the benefits of licorice can also be used in HIV related diseases. Licorice helps to slow the progression of HIV to AIDS and clinical studies carried out showed that licorice was able to slow HIV reproduction in test tubes. As you know the HIV virus targets the body's immune system and destroys white blood cells. Licorice helps to trigger the chemical compound interferon which is the body's virus fighting agent.
• Skin Problems: The health benefits of licorice also extend to internal and external skin diseases. Licorice has similar effects to hydrocortisone when applied topically and can be used to help fight dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis. Licorice can also be used to help speed up the healing process of cold sores and has also been known to reduce the pain associated with cold sores.
• Hepatitis: Research indicates that the use of Licorice can be effective in treating both chronic and acute hepatitis. The compound glycyrrhizin in licorice is used clinically in Japan was found to be an efficient treatment in both hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients. Licorice was as effective as alpha-interferon and it did not cause the side effects associated with alpha-interferon.
• PMS: Licorice has a mild estrogenic effect. A high estrogen level can cause many menstrual problems; licorice may help to balance the estrogen levels in the body by reducing estrogen.

• Respiratory System: It has always been common practice to use licorice in the treatment of severe respiratory problems such as coughing, asthma, sore throats, and bronchitis and modern research confirms these health benefits of licorice.
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: It is not possible to combat the effects of stress without having healthy functioning adrenal glands. Licorice supports the adrenal glands and its compound glycyrrhizic helps to block the breakdown of cortisol which in turn raises cortisol levels helping the body to fight against stress and chronic fatigue syndrome.

 Licorice Side Effects

Licorice can raise blood pressure, so I do advise people who suffer from high blood not to consume licorice. Consumption during pregnancy is also not advised.

Interesting facts

Most licorice candy in the United States is actually flavored with anise, not licorice so be sure what you buy has real extract of licorice in it.

Celebrity licorice devotees include Tom Hanks, Lindsay Lohan, Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway, Kevin Spacey, Madonna
and TV chef Heston Blumenthal

Napoleon is said to have loved licorice and used it to calm his nerves before a battle.

Tutankhamun could rest in peace in his burial chamber because he was accompanied by a jar of licorice.

The Shoe that Charlie Chaplin famously ate in the legendary silent movie The Tramp was made of licorice.

In Pontefract, West Yorkshire, in July, you will find the annual Licorice Carnival. There is even a licorice queen crowned with a licorice crown. She will wear licorice clothes and bedazzle visitors with licorice jewels. You can buy a licorice plant to take home with you.

In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy the Orcs have black blood, so it was only natural that the inside of their mouths should not be pink but black as well. To achieve this, the Orc actors had to swill a licorice based mouthwash prior to each of their scenes.

In the James Bond movie Moonraker, where villain "Jaws" bites the cable car line, it was actually made of licorice!

It's called Panda Licorice because licorice roots are a real panda's favourite snack.

As promised here is a sample recipe from Mitch Tonks wonderful new cookbook Fish
His recipes are easy to follow and will produce delicious results!
I'd like to say a special thank you to Mitch and his PR team for being so helpful.
If you missed my review of his book yesterday, just scroll down.

Monkfish Chunks cooked with Onions, Peppers and Sherry by Mitch Tonks

I love the cooking of Spain and Italy; in fact they have to be my favourite places to eat seafood. I think it’s the simplicity of the dishes and that complete understanding they have when it comes to cooking fish that makes it so special – they just don’t mess about with it. I ate a dish similar to this one in the excellent Café Belaer in Cuitadella on the island of Menorca. One of the other specialities was a local lobster cooked in sherry with plenty of onions; it was delicious, especially served with a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne!

Serves 4

25 g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter
100 ml/3 fl oz/generous 1⁄3 cup olive oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 2.5 cm/1 inch pieces
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 2.5 cm/1 inch pieces
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Good pinch of saffron strands
400 ml/14 fl oz/13⁄4 cups dry sherry, such as Manzanilla or fino
750 g/1 lb 10 oz monkfish, cut into 4 cm/11⁄2 inch chunks
200 g/7 oz fresh palourde or venus clams or live mussels, cleaned and beards removed (optional)
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

At the fishmonger
Ask your fishmonger to fillet the monkfish and remove the skin and membrane.

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large heavy-based frying pan, add the onions, peppers, garlic and saffron and cook very slowly over a low heat for about 25 minutes until the onions are soft, light golden and nearly melted. You do not want any of the onions to be tinged by hot frying, as this will change the taste. This part is the most important part of the dish.

Add the sherry and monkfish, then cover with a lid and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes or until the fish is just cooked. If your fishmonger has a handful of clams or mussels, they are very good added 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, but are not essential.

Add the parsley to the pan and season with salt and pepper, then serve.

This dish is great served with chicory that has been brushed with oil, seasoned with salt and lightly grilled – the enjoyable bitterness of the chicory works well with the sweetness of this dish.

In my 30 plus years as a chef I have never found such a useful and interesting seafood book as Fish written by Mitch Tonks.

It clearly gives the reader sound advice (with pictures) on how to buy and cook seafood with confidence making it a must buy for home-cooks and chefs alike.

It goes on to explain good cooking techniques, tackles the issue of sustainability with knowledge and sensible advice explaining how our choices can influence and encourage good practice throughout the seafood industry.

About the author
Mitch started his love affair with seafood as a young boy fishing on the beaches of Somerset and Cornwall, taking his catch to his grandma’s to cook for his tea.
His love for seafood turned him into an award winning fishmonger and then chef who still gets a buzz from his early morning visits to the fish market.

Founder of his chain of fishmonger stores Fishworks, Mitch went on to become chef owner of The Seahorse restaurant in the fishing port of Dartmouth, Devon.
Voted Tatler’s Restauranteur of the year, Mitch’s expertise is now propelling him more and more onto UK TV screens, including his new series with Matt Dawson called Mitch and Matt’s Big Fish.

The Book
Although this book is primarily written for a European audience it has much to commend it and be useful to the wider world.

A species-by-species breakdown which gives easy to understand information that includes when they are in season, sustainability,environmental issues and a beautiful photograph of each fish. Other useful information includes nutrition and yield guidelines to help you purchase the right amount. Mitch even includes the various European names for each species, which is useful when on holiday.

Mitch Tonks enthusiasm and knowledge shines through the pages to make the reader more confident about buying and cooking seafood. Packed with 100 simple yet delicious recipes that are well illustrated by the stunning photography of Chris Terry.

Fish is enormously well researched, and yet it's Mitch's down to earth manner and the book's seafairing anecdotes that make it a fascinating read. The well thought out template of the book will definately make this a classic that future seafood books will be measured by.

With Mitch’s kind permission I will be posting a recipe from the book tomorrow
Here is a link to Mitch's site
http://www.mitchtonks.co.uk/

Answering the question “What is it like to be a chef?
Is one I am asked quite often and a question that is a complex one to answer.
I have written on this subject before and will post a link at the bottom of this piece,
for those interested in reading more.

Someone wrote to me recently and asked this question……..

“I recently discovered your website (and will be trying your polenta mash!) and hoped maybe you could offer some advice, since I do not know any chefs personally.

I'm 24 and studying for a masters but am not enjoying my course at all. I've been considering the idea of working as a chef but have one major concern.

I am incredibly shy and am worried this will impact on my ambition to working in a kitchen professionally. I am never going to be outgoing, or forceful in nature but I am prepared to work hard and do the long hours.

Do chef positions generally attract more outgoing people or can someone who is particularly quiet survive in the kitchen?”

My Answer
Unfortunately there are kitchens and chefs out there who believe that high quality and macho unfriendly working environment go hand in hand, but I disagree…
Being a chef is tough enough due to the hours, heat, and danger and often lack of equipment. The problem is that if a high profile chef has come up through the ranks
being kicked and treated like dirt, there is a great tendency for him to run his kitchen using the same methods.

When I have run various kitchens I have always tried to encourage creativity and discourage bullying, but some people find it hard to change and I have found some chefs thinking I’m soft because I did not rule through intimidation.

Since no two kitchens are alike it is hard to generalise, but my advice would be to find a local quality restaurant preferably a small one, which may be a friendlier environment to test the waters. You didn’t mention whether you intend to take any formal culinary course but I think it is important for you to first establish if working in a kitchen is for you or not.

Things to think about
Being a chef will usually make you more outgoing and perhaps more confident.
Due to the long hours most chefs work you do tend to become familiar with your co-workers more quickly than most other trades. Camaraderie and even a sense of family can spring up in some kitchens.

Being a chef is definitely a labour of love; it can be very creatively satisfying but can carry a very high price, and a price that many people at one stage or another decide is too high.

It can be tough on personal relationships, and I have always found it hard to sustain a relationship with a woman who has a 9-5 job, after a while she can get bored sitting at home waiting for you. The stresses and strains can hurt your health if you are not careful you can fall foul to alcoholism and drug abuse.

Whilst you can make good money in the food business please remember that most people don’t and that is part of the reason eating out in relatively cheap in most restaurants. Staff can be dismissed for the flimsiest of reasons or because the restaurant changed hands, which maybe no reflection of your skill or dedication but can definitely dent your self-esteem.

On the Upside
I am just an ordinary working class lad, who because of cooking has travelled and worked in various countries around the world. I have cooked and shared my passion through various food shows to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. I have met and cooked for many famous people that most people only dream about, whatever else my life has never, ever been boring.

Here is a link to an earlier blog I did on the subject
http://wannabetvchef.blog.co.uk/2006/04/24/answering_the_question_what_s_it_like_be~752141/

My Life-Update March 2009
My Life update March 2009
In my last update in February, I said I expected to pass the 1 million page-view mark in the next couple of months but my prediction was out by several months because my current number of page-views is 1,229,069…..amazing and thank you!
My blog is now getting a daily average of 1,098 visitors per day, and in the last 30 days I have had a total of just over 31,530 so thank you!

Off to Toronto
Tomorrow I am flying off to the fair city of Toronto in Canada at the invitation of Tourism Toronto. They have planned 5 action packed days for myself and seven other food writers from the UK and Spain. I will definitely be sharing my insights of this wonderful city with you all on my return.

Up Next- another book review
Amongst the things I am currently working on is my next book review, a book with the simple title of Fish by Mitch Tonks. Mitch a passionate fishmonger who went onto become an awardwinning chef and restaurateur so watch this space.

I wanted to combine peaches and chocolate in a dessert, but felt dark chocolate would be too bitter and milk chocolate would simply not work. I reasoned if I were careful to make sure neither the white chocolate filling nor the peaches were too sweet I would have a winner. So give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients
4 Ripe peaches
150g (6oz) S.R. flour
175g (4oz) Caster sugar
100g (4oz) Unsalted butter
2 Large eggs
1 vanilla pod
½ teaspoon baking power
250ml (½ pint) W.cream
2 egg yokes
200g (8oz) white chocolate
1 dessertspoon vodka*

1.)Preheat oven to 230 C gas mark 6 and grease and flour two 7inch cake tins.
Cream 100g (4oz) butter with sugar and add the seeds from half of the vanilla pod.
When the mixture is very light and fluffy gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time.
2.)Now whisk in 50g (2oz) grated white chocolate.

3.)Sift the flour together with the baking power and fold the flour in with a spatula, being careful not to knock all the air out. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and bake on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes. Turn out the cake layers on to a wire rack and allow to cool.

4.)Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar then bake cut side down at the bottom of the oven until tender (about 30 minutes), when the peaches are cool cut each half in two.

5.)Heat 150ml of the cream in a non-stick saucepan together the remaining seeds from the vanilla pod. Whisk the hot cream into the eggs yolks then return to a clean pan and cook carefully, stirring constantly over a medium heat until its coats the back of your spoon.

6.)Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and whisk in 150g (6oz) of melted white chocolate (melt the chocolate carefully using short 20 second bursts in the microwave). Whilst the mixture is still warm whisk in 75g (3oz) of softened butter a little at a time and the vodka.
Separately whisk the remaining whipping cream and fold in when the chocolate mixture is cold.

To assemble
Spread just over half the chocolate mix onto one of the cake layers then top with the other. As neatly as you can spread the remaining chocolate mixture on the top of the cake and then decorate with the roasted peaches.

Chef’s Tip
If you don’t have two 7” cake tins you could use one larger cake as I have done in the photo. I also choose to spread all of the chocolate mix on top of the cake, rather than making in a sandwich. The purpose of the *vodka is to cut the richness of the chocolate but you can leave it out if you wish.

During the warmer months I grow 1-2 basil plants in my kitchen window. I just buy a living plant from the supermarket and with a little love it grows and grows and gives me enough basil for most of the year. In fact my basil was getting far too big for my window ledge so I decided it was time to make some home-made pesto, it's easier than you think. You can half the pesto recipe if you wish.

Homemade Basil Pesto
100g (4oz) Large unbruised Basil Leaves
50g (2oz) lightly toasted pine nuts
75g (3oz) Grated fresh parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic roughly chopped
200ml extra virgin olive oil
Chicken and Pasta
2 x 150g (6oz) Chicken breasts skin on
100ml (3floz) whipping cream
50ml white wine
300g pack of Sun-dried tomato tortellini
2Tsb Olive oil

1. In a large mortar and pestle, grind up the pine nuts and the garlic until you have smooth paste.
2. Then slowly add a few basil leaves at a time and pound them into a silky smooth mixture.
3. At this point we are going to transfer the mixture to my food processor to finish the pesto off.
4. Of course we could have done the whole process in the food processor but we would never get it as smooth that way. Using this old fashioned method it also bring out a richer greener colour.
5. Add the parmesan cheese on a high speed; then begin drizzling in the olive oil on a lower speed, a little at a time. When you have finished adding all of the oil your pesto should be quite thick and season lightly.
6. Preheat your oven to 200 C gas mark 5
7. *Remove the skin from each breast in one piece and rub with olive oil, then lay the skins stretched out on a non stick baking tray season and the place another same size tray on top of it.
8. Bake the chicken skin between the two trays which keeps it flat for 15-20 minutes; then check if it is brown, if not remove the tray and cook for a few minutes more then remove from the oven.
9. Cut the breasts into even sized pieces and cook in a hot sauté pan with 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
10. When cooked remove the chicken and keep warm.
11. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, turn the heat down to low and add the cream, 2-3 Tbsp of pesto and stir.
12. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water per instructions and drain well.

To Serve
Stir the drained pasta into your sauce check the seasoning and spoon into pasta bowls.
Top with the pieces of chicken and cut the crispy skins into triangular "shards" and decorate.

Chef?s Tips
Spoon the pesto into a re-sealable glass jar and refrigerate.
Some times I thin the pesto down further with more olive oil, then I can pour into a salad oil bottle and use it as a salad dressing. The chicken skin is optional but it does add a great contrast of texture and taste to the dish. You can of course buy your own pesto if you don?t have time to make one.
I chose to put a white in the sauce for it's acidity but I think a tasty chilled blush wine to drink with this dish will compliment the sun-dried tomatoes in the pasta.
As you may notice I also slow roasted some baby plum tomatoes to add an extra finishing touch.

My Life-Update
The numbers of readers to this blog continue to grow and this week we past the 1,000 visitors mark on three separate days and my daily average now stands at 1,017.
With my total page-views racing ahead (as of today now standing at 785,243)
it looks as if I will break the 1 million mark in the next 3 months…so a big thank you for all of your support.

My second chat with Brian Turner
This morning I was having a chat with TV Celebrity Chef Brian Turner CBE, about
his part in a top culinary competition called the Bocuse D’or, which took place in Lyon, France in January. Brian has regularly given his free time and expertise to help UK chefs prepare for this crème de la crème of competitions and was also invited this year to be one of the 24 chef judges. Brian also works tirelessly to promote and encourage youngsters who want to get into the catering business through various non-profit schemes including UK Skills, of which he is a board member.
http://www.brianturneronline.co.uk/biography.aspx

Bocuse D’or 2009
Just like the Pastry World Cup this premier culinary event is held biannually at the Sirha Food show in Lyon. 2009 saw 24 countries represented in the final which is held over a two day period. Simon Hulstone, winner of the Knorr National Chef of the Year and chef patron at the Michelin starred Elephant restaurant in Torquay represented the UK so if you want to find out more about the competition and how Simon did you will have to read my article when it comes out.

This competition was created 22 years ago by the living legend Chef Paul Bocuse who can best be compared to Escoffier who also was a trailblazer changing and reinvigorating his profession throughout his career in so many ways. "Monsieur Paul" as he is often called in reverent tones in catering circles in France won his first Michelin star in 1958 and many accolades since his 3star restaurant on the outskirts of Lyon is truly the culinary epicentre of France.

Yes Chef magazine
I’m currently working on an article about the Bocuse D’or for the spring edition of a new quarterly magazine called Yes Chef. This glossy high quality magazine is like no other because it bridges the divide between the food professional and the food enthusiast. Speaking from a chef’s point of view the UK has long needed a cutting edge publication to match the artistic movement of what’s going on in the industry. Likewise for the food enthusiast who wants to know more about the latest food trends from a truly professional source and learn how to re-create them you should definitely check this magazine out.
http://www.yeschefmagazine.com/

Bramley,the best cooking apple in the world celebrates it’s 200th birthday this year. Throughout the year various chefs and food pundits will be telling you this, but don’t forget where you heard this first. Wanting to make this “apple crumble” extra special I will share some professional tricks on how to make your crumble crisp and melt in the mouth.

The Americans call a crumble a crisp, which after consideration I decided was a fitting title. At the end of this recipe you can read a little more about the history of the world's most famous cooking apple.

4 x 4 inch tartlet cases with removable bottoms.
Pastry
250g (10oz) Plain flour
160g (6 ½ oz) butter
1 egg
1Tbsp caster sugar
1Tbsp cold milk

1. Rub the flour and the butter into fine crumbs, mix the sugar with the egg then add.
2. Add the milk and work the paste just enough to bring it together, then rest for 15 minutes.
3. Roll slightly less than a quarter of the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until it is 4mm
(1/5 inch) thick then gently line a butter tartlet case and trim off the excess, repeat until you
have 4 cases and prick the bottom with a fork a few times.
4. *Blind bake the pastry cases in a preheated oven 200 C for 20 minutes then remove the
parchment and baking beans and return to the oven for 5 more minutes at 160 C until lightly brown.

Apple Filling
650g (1lb 8oz) peeled and cored Bramley apples
25g (1oz) butter
1 Tbsp caster sugar
5. Cut the apples first in quarters then slice each quarter into thin wedges.
6. Place into a medium sized stainless steel saucepan with the sugar and butter.
7. Cook on a low heat stirring from time to time until the apples are softened but not fully
cooked.
8. When the wedges are cool fill the pastry case with a good amount of the apple making sure
they are not too wet, use 4-5 slices to covers the edges of the pastry.

Crumble Topping
50g (2oz) Plain flour
25g (1oz) butter
1dessertspoon of oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
9.Rub the flour and butter into a sandy texture, add the oats, sugar, cinnamon and mix well.
10. Spread the crumble topping onto a non-stick baking tray and bake in the oven at 180 C gas
mark 4 until golden brown turning the mix over from time to time.
11. At the same time bake the apple tarts on a lower shelf until the apples are fully cooked.

To serve
Use a dessert spoon and carefully sprinkle the topping into the middle of each tart leaving a small amount of apple visible. Serve with homemade vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream.

Chef's Tips
You will have a little of the pastry spare because getting the balance of ingredients is critical in pastry, and didn't want to start measuring half an egg etc.

Bramley Apples History
1809
The first Bramley tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in her garden in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England.

1846
A local butcher, Matthew Bramley, bought the cottage and garden.

1856
It was while Matthew Bramley lived in the cottage that a local nurseryman, Henry Merryweather, asked if he could take cuttings from the tree and start to sell the apple. Bramley agreed, but insisted the apple should bear his name – hence 'Bramley’s Seedling'.
1862
The first recorded sale of the variety is in Henry Merryweather’s book of accounts on 31 October 1862. He sold “three Bramley apples for 2/- to Mr Geo Cooper of Upton Hall”.
1876
Fruits of the grafted apple were first exhibited before the Royal Horticultural Society’s Fruit Committee on 6 December 1876. They were highly commended.
1887
Bramley Seedlings received a First Class Certificate by the Committee of the Royal Jubilee Exhibition of Apples held in Manchester in October.
1889 and 1893
Bramley Seedling was awarded a First Class Certificate by the Committee of the Nottingham Botanical Society and at the Gardening and Forestry Exhibition in September 1893. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Apple Show awarded further First Class Certificates to the Bramley in August 1893.
1900
Disaster struck when the original Bramley tree blew down during violent storms at the turn of the century. However, the tree somehow survived and is still bearing fruit more than 100 years later.
1914
During the early 1900s the Bramley trees were extensively planted, with the fruit a useful source of food during the First World War.
1944
The 1944 fruit census comprised more than one third of six and a quarter million Bramley’s Seedling trees in commercial plantations in England and Wales.
1989
Bramley growers themselves are working closely together to expand their market opportunities and, through the Bramley Campaign, which was set up in 1989, are running successful consumer campaigns funded by voluntary subscription.
2003
The Bramley tree was one of fifty great British trees chosen by the Tree Council’s country-wide network of tree wardens, as a special way to mark the Golden Jubilee and to celebrate fifty great years – one for every year of the Queen’s reign.
Today
The old nickname for the Bramley was “The King of Covent Garden” and still exists today in the New Covent Garden Market, where all specialist fruit wholesales can offer Bramleys to their customers for 12 months of the year.
The original Bramley apple tree continues to bear fruit to this day. Those few pips planted by a little girl in her garden in Nottinghamshire 200 years ago are responsible for what is today a £50 million industry, with commercial growers across Kent, East Anglia and the West Midlands, Bramley apples are also grown on a few farms in the USA.

Here is a link to the official Bramley Apple site.
http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/Bramleyconsumerbicentenary.shtml

Some of the planned events to celebrate the 200th Birthday of the Bramley Apple.
http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/Bicentenaryconsumerpage2.shtml

Here are a couple of American nurseries where you can buy Bramley Apple seedlings.
http://www.bighorsecreekfarm.com/descriptions1.htm
http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/productdetails.cfm?productid=A140S
and a post from Becks & Posh blog circa 2006
http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2006/09/why-i-almost-wet-my-knickers-at.html

References
The Bramley: A World Famous Cooking Apple by Roger Merryweather 1982 Newark and Sherwood D.C.

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner,I thought it would be a good time to give you my long overdue chocolate update

Food Trends in Chocolate
You may have read in various magazines in the last 18 months that dark chocolate is good for you because it contains antioxidants. Whilst this is strictly true what they don’t tell you is unfortunately most of the antioxidants contained in the coco beans are lost during traditional manufacturing.

You will begin to see more products hyping up their antioxidant content, often started in California these new products gradually drift east. In the last year I have been sent 3-4 types of “new chocolate” from various companies from the UK and USA trying to come up with a healthier chocolate but all they succeeded in doing was to show me how hard it is to produce a great tasting chocolate that was healthier for you. Waxy, oily, unpalatable are just some of words that come to mind…. how these companies think these things will sell is beyond me?

Now Belgian chocolate maker Guylian, famous for its seashells have come up with a new product that seems to overcome this problem. Extra Sea Shells are filled with a Guylian’s famous hazelnut praline filling but the new seashells are covered in 74 per cent dark chocolate made through the ACTICOA™ process, which preserves the antioxidants that naturally occur in the cocoa bean but are normally lost through chocolate production. Being the brave unselfish researcher that I am I got hold of a box of the new seashells and performed a taste test. With several chef friends and my sister we did a series of tastings and wrote down our thoughts. In summary we all felt the Guylian Extra Sea Shells tasted like top quality chocolate with none of the problems the other “new chocolate” seemed to suffer from in texture and taste. So if you love chocolate but suffer from guilt…. go hunting for seashells.

More Zotter
For chocoholics who follow this blog last year I wrote about an extraordinary Austrian Master Chocolatier named Zotter and his amazing chocolate combinations. Amongst the products I didn’t mention are his now legendary chocolate drink bars, designed to melt when whisked into hot milk. On the Internet I chanced upon this story how a Café in Bury England is now selling Zotter chocolate drinks bars to enjoy at the Café or take home. http://www.citylife.co.uk/restaurants/news/11999_chocolate_fever_in_bury
A link to the Zotter site: http://www.zotter.at/136.html

High Quality Chocolate at a Low Price
I’ve been meaning to share with my UK and European readers for quite some months the fact that bars of high quality chocolate are sold at Lidl supermarkets. Made especially for Lidl under the name of J.D Gross in Germany this range of premium plantation chocolate bars are definately great value for money. My favourite called Madagascar with 46% coco solids is without doubt the best milk chocolate I have tasted. With 46% coco solids Madagascar achieves a rare balance of rich and well rounded coco taste without the bitterness you get from darker chocolates, it’s what I would call a really adult milk chocolate. The other good thing about this range of bars is unlike other premium chocolate bars that you might find one week then can’t find them the next is these bars are always available in Lidl stores.