COOKHOUSE the food magazine of Soho House
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS IN THE MORNING? Breakfast Special Guest chefs Giorgio Locatelli, Jacob Kenedy and Lindy & Grundy Where to eat in Toronto Soho House food news Issue 16 Spring 2014
GO TO WORK ON AN EGG
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COOKHOUSE SPRING 2014
Welcome to the spring 2014 issue of Cookhouse. We’ve got 15 tasty ways to start the day, with a breakfast special featuring some of Soho House’s favourite dishes (avocado on toast, anyone?), as well as seasonal recipes from top chefs Giorgio Locatelli and Jacob Kenedy, and an exclusive interview with Erika Nakamura, one of Los Angeles’ best butchers. Readers in and travellers to Toronto get a guide to the best places to eat in town, courtesy of the Soho House team. We catch up with the four apprentice chefs who joined Soho House six months ago, and we’ve got all the food news from Soho House venues around the world. If you’d like to join one of our growing kitchen teams, email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
a taste... 14
4
THE DISH
SLICES
A Soho House classic: mac ‘n’ cheese
Food news from around the world
6
16
THE TREND
GREY GOOSE VODKA
Pairing chocolate and orange in doughnuts and drinks
30
GUEST CHEF
Single item restaurants
8
Erika Nakamura from LA butchers Lindy & Grundy
Soho House Toronto head chef Nano Crespo
18
WHAT I KNOW
10
CUT OUT & KEEP
Guest chef recipes from Giorgio Locatelli and Jacob Kenedy
THE GUIDE
Where to eat in Toronto
IN SEASON NOW
The best produce to be cooking right now
31
COOKHOUSE FOOD EVENTS Training, feasting and cooking with our chefs
20
12
APPRENTICES
28
34
BREAKFAST SPECIAL
Catch up with our apprentices, six months into their training
Favourite dishes from Soho House
RISING STARS
Celebrating the best of our kitchen teams
you know who you are... Editor: Rebecca Seal Art Etc: Dominic Salmon Publisher: Dan Flower Thanks to: Sophie Roche-Garland, Clemency Keeler, Kate Maxwell, Kate Barry, Caroline Boucher, Ronnie Bonetti, Dai Williams, Steven Joyce, Camilla Karlsson Cover image and facing page: Steven Joyce
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Slices
nibbles and food news
BOOKS FOR COOKS
Fancy spicing up your culinary book collection? Here are our picks of the new season’s titles. Sous Chef, 24 Hours in the Kitchen (or 24 Hours On the Line in the US) by NYC chef Michael Gibney is out in April. It’s full of tiny details about cooking that every chef will recognise and every diner should appreciate, written with such style that even Anthony Bourdain loves it. For a slower read, try the recently released Virtues of the Table – How to Eat and Think, by philosopher Julian Baggini. If you want to know what chefs eat at work, grab Phaidon’s latest, Eating with the Chefs, full of staff food recipes from El Celler de Can Roca, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Chez Panisse, The French Laundry and Noma, out in May (pictured below).
GIORGIO AND JACOB
Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli is hosting a members’ dinner at Soho House London on Tuesday 15 April, as well as holding a masterclass the next day. He is commandeering the whole of the first floor in Soho House’s first ever takeover by a guest chef. For a sneak preview of his fantastic food, head to page 19. In May, Jacob Kenedy from Bocca di Lupo will host a guest chef evening and masterclass at High Road House on Tuesday 13 May, and we have a brilliant recipe from him, too, on page 18. For more details and to book, head to houseseven.com
PASSION FOR FOOD
Do you want to try every single thing on Soho House’s menus? Well you’ll just have to get a job in one of our kitchens, then, because staff are being given the full immersion treatment via our new Passion For Food events. In order to give everyone a real sense of where Soho House dishes come from and how they were developed, the whole team of each site gets together and tries everything from the menu, plus past and signature dishes. Come hungry!
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Upcoming Events Cookhouse events for guests and members take place every month. Head to House Seven for full details (houseseven.com) 25/03 High Road House FLOWER SCHOOL: how to create perfect dinner party flowers.
HAUTE QUIZ-INE!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Haute QUIZ-ine, our very first Cookhouse and House Tonic quiz night, took jfdsjfdslkjfldkfjeosiruejsdlkjkljfs place in Concrete, Shoreditch. Cafe Boheme came in third place (above, left) and Babington House were second but the team from Dean Street support office (above, right) stormed to victory, winning medals, aprons and a meal out together.
25/03 Soho House London IN SEASON: the first of a series of seasonal suppers, the new season’s lamb is perfect right now and chef Sam Hodges will be on hand to demo butchery and cooking techniques. 29/03 Soho House Berlin DETOX DELIGHT WORKSHOP: Astrid Purzer, founder of Detox Delight, will be giving an informal talk about how to de-stress your life. The presentation will be followed by a raw food cooking class. 29/04 – Soho House London MURDER MYSTERY DINNER More details on House Seven soon. 11/05 Babington House MATT ROBERTS FITNESS BOOTCAMP: a threeday health and fitness programme, with a tailored diet plan to match. LOOK OUT FOR... ...More dates from the Babington Cooking School, which has already hosted classes with chefs like Joseph Trivelli, from London’s River Café, and food and wine pairing sessions at Soho House Berlin in April.
UPCOMING CHEF EVENTS
Soho House chefs are treated to regular training and events by guest chefs and our own team, see cookhouse.com for more info.
BLISTERING OVENS
Ever fancied making pizzas at home? Blistering Ovens has just launched a lightweight pizza oven you can build in your garden which can reach an amazing 320ºC with just a few logs. www.blisteringwoodfiredovens.co.uk
GELS & JELLIES
Chefs from across our Houses and restaurants joined group pastry chef, Jake Rigby-Wilson, for an afternoon of experimenting with gels and jellies. That meant making apple caviar using sodium alginate, and coconut and mango fried eggs with coconut agar gel and a mango reverse spherification. Finally, the team learned how to suspend fluids using gellum gum to create layered drinks with hot and cold liquids in the same glass. A mind-boggling mix of science and food. Thank you, Jake, for an enlightening session.
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26/03 FRANCONIAN SAUSAGES A staff trip to Borough market and then on to Franconian Sausages in Kent. 26/03 CHEF’S TABLE BERLIN AND TORONTO Soho House’s star chefs are treated to a fabulous dinner 26/O3 PASTA MASTERCLASS IN LOS ANGELES With Andrea Cavaliere 26/O3 CHEF’S TABLE COOK OFF Miami’s chefs get competitive 28/03 FOOD VOCAB A masterclass in foodie terminology with food ambassador Tania 1/04 HOT CROSS BUNS With Jake Rigby-Wilson 2/04 ASPARAGUS MASTERCLASS At Dean Street Townhouse 14/04 CHEF’S TABLE In Electric Snug 16/04 KNIFE SKILLS With Dan Spickett, Concrete 17/04 EASTER EGG DECORATING COMPETITION All eggs to be donated to Great Ormond St Hospital 23/04 FISH DISH COMPETITION 29/04 EGGS MASTERCLASS With Ronnie Bonetti and Tom Collins, Soho House London 30/04 JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI Screening of the inspirational film for head chefs with sushi lunch to follow.
spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 05
the trend
SINGLE MINDED What’s behind the unstoppable rise of the single item menu?
ou’ll find them in most major cities in Europe or the USA. Often small, often with a queue out of the door, restaurants that only serve one dish are one of the biggest trends in food. You can try numerous flavours of rice pudding at Rice to Riches in New York (they opened 10 years ago and now ship countrywide), choose from 28 kinds of porridge at Oat Meals, or have it made with sorghum and amaranth at The Brooklyn Porridge Co. You can munch meatballs at the ever-popular Meatball Shop or chicken nuggets at the newer Nugget Spot. In Chicago, the Meatloaf Bakery takes the American classic to another level (because who doesn’t need a cupcake-shaped meatloaf in their life?).
Y
Slim’s Last Chance in Seattle serves nothing but chilli; Wurstkuche in Los Angeles is all about links, and there are countless mac and cheese specialists around the US. In London, you can get hotdogs and champagne at Bubbledogs, deep-fried risotto balls at Arancini Brothers, lobster rolls and lobster mac ‘n’ cheese at Bob’s Lobster and sausages at Herman Ze German. And of course, Soho House has its own Dirty Burgers and
Chicken Shops too, serving nothing but... you guessed it. Of course, not every single-dish restaurant works out. Meatballs opened in London a couple of years ago but didn’t have staying power; Dolce Vizio, a tiramisu restaurant in New York, closed in 2012 after just 11 months. As well as the killer combination of luck and judgement that you need to have to keep a restaurant going, if you’re doing just one dish, you’ve got to be doing it very well indeed. Many of the most successful started out as street food trucks, when their original menus had to hinge on one or possibly two great dishes, since there’s barely space to fit a stovetop in most street food kitchens, let alone sauce, sides and pastry sections. For chefs, it represents a chance to do one thing brilliantly to hone a particular skill, and avoid the kind of waste that is inevitable if you’re cooking somewhere with an unnecessarily vast menu. Why do diners like single item restaurants so much? In part because they often serve nostalgic foods: meatballs, hotdogs and rice pudding remind us of childhood.
They can also simplify a cuisine that diners are just getting to grips with (think banh mi Vietnamese sandwiches, or steamed Korean buns). And, of course, they make things easy. While it would be terribly boring if all restaurants only served one thing, it can be lovely to know exactly what you’re going to get – in the same way that people who become regulars tend to order the same much-loved dish over and over again. In a recent scientific paper, Sheena Iyengar of Columbia University and Mark Lepper of Stanford found that too much choice (in experiments with jam and chocolates), actually demotivates people – given too many options, people shut down and walk away completely. Barry Schwartz says the same thing in his book, The Paradox of Choice. “Choice no longer liberates, but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannise...the fact that some choice is good doesn’t necessarily mean that more choice is better.” So fewer options can actually make us happier. Which may mean that 28 kinds of porridge are actually 27 too many n
“It can actually make us happier to have less to choose from” WHAT'S IN YOUR FUTURE? Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams for great training. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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Clockwise from above: Bob’s Lobster van in London; its lobster and lobster nuggets; Oat Meals NY store and their porridge; Chicago’s Meatloaf Bakery cupcakes
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 07
what I know
NANO CRESPO
Head chef, Soho House Toronto
What do you love most about being a chef? It sounds a bit silly, but there’s something almost magical about being a chef. I like the thought of preparing a meal to nourish people that is also creative and unique. Sharing a meal with someone is very special. Where was your first job in food? My first job was as a bus boy at my dad’s restaurant in Argentina. I would help at the porter station occasionally but I was not very talented and I’d brag to the other staff about being the owner’s son. Then I got fired for acting like a know-it-all and had to beg my dad to re-hire me. I didn’t cook professionally until I was about 20, after cooking school.
You get home late and the only food you have is a loaf of old bread – what do you make? I’d make bread soup, provided I also had canned tomatoes, onions, and garlic and I’d throw in any herb I could get my hands on. I’d dry the bread out in the oven for a bit then add it to the soup to thicken and flavour it. A little olive oil and that would make a pretty good late night snack. What food do you know you shouldn’t love, but do? I can’t help it, I love Lays potato chips. I know they’re full of fat and salt so I try not to buy them, at least not the big bags. I limit myself to medium bags, but they don’t last for long...
How long have you worked for Soho House? I started at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood in 2009, then Andrea Cavaliere [executive chef, America] asked me to come to Soho House Toronto. I’ve been here for two years and really enjoy what we do.
Where is the best kitchen shop in Toronto? Nella Cucina. It’s a family-owned business and we have a lovely relationship with the owners who have been supplying us since we opened. They also have a test kitchen where we did trainings and tastings when the House was under construction.
Which dish are you best known for? My team would say my paella. [Soho House founder] Nick Jones asked us to do one a couple years ago and no-one knew how to cook it except me. We used to make it back home on weekends for the whole family; now we make it for our big weekend events at Soho House.
Who makes the best knives? Kikuichi make really great knives, very light and modern. I mostly use Japanese ones but I like German blades as well. The steel can be very hard with those; Japanese knives can be easier to handle.
What piece of equipment should everyone have in their kitchen at home? A flat top, or plancha. They are so versatile, you can sear meat or fish on them, or put all your pots on them, and the heat is very even.
What’s your favourite cookbook? The Zuni Café Cookbook, by Judy Rodgers, which is named after her restaurant in San Francisco. She’s a very inspiring chef. Where do you like to eat after hours? 416 Snack Bar is a good go-to. Small plates,
small bites and drinks, it’s easy-going. (416snackbar.wordpress.com) What is your favourite restaurant in Toronto? The Black Hoof is one of my favourites. They do all their own cured meats and pickling, and they serve everything on rustic cutting boards. What’s your favourite ingredient and what do you do with it? I love fava beans. You can put them in salads, blanch and purée them, mix them with ricotta for ravioli, or use them as a garnish for fish. When they are in season I use them in almost anything. Who would you invite to your dream dinner party and what would you cook? Mick Jagger! The Rolling Stones are one of my all-time favourite bands. I’d make an asado: grilled meats with chimichuri (puréed fresh herbs and spices), a classic Argentine dish. What is your greatest achievement? I was very proud to become head chef at Soho House Toronto. Like most chefs, I worked hard to be given the opportunity to have my own kitchen and Soho House gave me the chance. It was amazing to open a new property and run the kitchen from the start. If you could be anywhere, eating anything, right now, where would you be? I would be sitting on a beach in Tulum, Mexico, eating fresh fish. I could eat red snapper ceviche there every day n interview by Kate Barry
SOUND GOOD? Want to join one of our kitchen teams in London, Somerset, Berlin, New York, LA, Miami or Toronto? Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or check out our website www.cookhouse.com to find out about vacancies and how to apply.
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NANO’S TEAM ERIC TING Favourite place to eat in Toronto? It has to be Lake Tai Dim Sum (8362 Kennedy, Markham, north Toronto). Favourite thing about being a cook? The kitchen people. Hard working and always passionate. They make it fun for me and inspire me to push myself to be better. STEVEN YOON Favourite place to eat in Toronto? Cho Won Korean BBQ (Drewry Ave North York) Favourite thing about being a cook? It allows me to express my creativity while having fun with my friends at work!
Photograph by Cory VanderPloeg
ALAINNA MISEFIERI Favourite place to eat in Toronto? Goods and Provision (Queen Street E, Leslieville) Favourite thing about being a cook? It gives me an excuse to eat whatever I want, whenever I want!
Soho House Toronto’s team knows good food. So we asked them for their favourite places to eat in the city
EAT TORONTO
the guide
I H
J KB
E O C
P D NLF
B GRAND ELECTRIC Lovely Mexican food.
1330 Queen St West, +1 416-627-3459 www.grandelectricbar.com
C LA CARNITA The best place for excellent tacos. 501 College St, +1 416-964-1555 www.lacarnita.com
D 416 SNACK BAR Everything from Middle Eastern to Japanese, done with a deft touch. 181 Bathurst St, +1 416-364-9320, 416 www.snackbar.wordpress.com
E BAR ISABEL Wonderful Spanish tapas, great drinks too. 797 College St, +1 416 532 2222 www.barisabel.com
F KHAO SAN ROAD Fabulous Thai food, cooked by a chef who spent her early years in Bangkok. 326 Adelaide West, Entertainment District, +1 647 352 5773, www.khaosanroad.ca
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G
M
G ROCK LOBSTER There’s really nothing these guys don’t know about cooking lobster.
L BANH MI BOYS A new spin on traditional Korean banh mi sandwiches.
H THE WHIPPOORWILL Seasonal food done brilliantly.
M BONJOUR BRIOCHE The place to go if you’re craving proper Frenchstyle pastries.
110 Ossington Ave, +1 416-533-1800; 538 Queen St West, +1416-203-6623 www.rocklobsterfood.com
1285 Bloor St West, +1 416 530 2999 www.thewhippoorwill.com
I ROSE & SONS Glorious, hearty and often pretty naughty food. 176 Dupont St, +1 647 748 3287 www. roseandsons.ca
J THE FEDERAL A good spot for brunch.
1438 Dundas St West, +1 647 352 9120 www.thefed.ca
K FOOD & LIQUOR Scrumptious small plates and an interesting wine list.
1610 Queen West, Parkdale, + 1 647 748 7113 @FoodandLiquorTO
392 Queen St West, +1 416-363-0588 www.banhmiboys.com
812 Queen St E, +1 416-406-1250 www.bonjourbrioche.com
N RODNEY’S OYSTER HOUSE Amazing oysters, seafood and well-sourced fish. 469 King St West, +1 416 363 8105 www.rodneysoysterhouse.com
O CAMPAGNOLO An irresistible Italian.
832 Dundas street west, +1 416 364 4785 www.campagnolotoronto.com
P JAPANGO Much-loved sushi den, which always gets super reviews. 122 Elizabeth St, +1 416-599-555 www.japango.net
spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 11
COOKHOUSE APPRENTICES Cookhouse’s apprentice training scheme launched last year. Rebecca Seal catches up with the recruits six months on
B
ack in September 2013, everyone on team Cookhouse was thrilled about the beginning of our new chef apprenticeship programme. We hoped it would be a great way to bring new young chefs into the culinary industry, and it meant our more experienced chefs would get to work with younger teams and increase their own training skills at the same time. Six months on, we are not disappointed. We now have four brilliant apprentices in action in our London and Babington House kitchens, and each one is going from strength to strength. Each apprentice was chosen after open days, interviews and kitchen trials, and we are working with government-backed training company HTP, which is supporting us and the apprentices throughout the yearlong scheme. Apprentice Eddie Bolus is spending his year at Babington House, while the Londonbased trainees are working over three, four-month long semesters, with each one spent in either a Pizza East, a House or a restaurant, so they get the full picture of Soho House’s styles of cooking.
Richard Crowther, 20, spent his first semester at Electric House and is now at High Road House for a couple more months, before his final stage at Pizza East Portobello. “I worked in events before I joined Soho House,” he explains. “I’m learning even more than I expected.” His favourite day so far involved a trip to Babington House in Somerset. “It’s an amazing place anyway and we did a whole day of pie-making lessons, both sweet and savoury, which was great.” Eddie Bolus, 18, is also enjoying Babington House. “This is my first job in hospitality and it’s been brilliant,” he says. “I’d recommend this apprenticeship to anyone who wants to learn to be a chef. I like the evening shift and the buzz of everyone working together. It’s a really nice environment.” Petros Papadakis, 22, is currently at Pizza East Shoreditch.
“This is the first time I’ve worked as a chef, and I will continue, for sure. I’m learning new stuff every day, from how to work a busy service to how to treat pizza dough.” Aaron Fuller, 18, spent his first semester at Pizza East Kentish Town, and is now working at Little House. “I didn’t do that well in my A-levels, so I went on apprenticeships.org.uk. I applied and heard back straight away; then I attended all the interviews and open days and was offered the apprenticeship.” He had a little experience in food before he started. “I’d worked at McDonald’s for a couple of years. But obviously this is so different. I definitely prefer Soho House! Here, the work changes all the time, it’s never boring and is really varied. And the chefs have been really kind to me... although they keep me in line when I need it.” Fuller is now committed to working in the food industry. “I plan to stay in the company for a long time. I didn’t know how to cook before and I didn’t know much about flavour. I’m learning so much and it’s really fun” n
LEARN WITH US Soho House is always looking for new talent. Join one of our teams worldwide and get excellent training. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or check out our website www.cookhouse.com to find out about vacancies and how to apply.
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Photography by Dai Williams
in training
“I’d recommend this apprenticeship to anyone WHAT'S IN YOUR FUTURE? Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams for great training. Emailwanting cookhouse@sohohouse.com to be a chef”
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 13
MAC ‘N’ CHEESE
serves 4
350g/12 oz macaroni 35g/1 oz butter 35g/1 oz plain flour 500ml/17 fl oz/2 cups milk 325g/11 oz grated Cheddar cheese 100g/3 oz Parmesan cheese ½ tablespoon of English mustard salt and pepper In a large pan of salted, boiling water, cook the macaroni for 8-10 minutes until it is cooked al dente – try not to overcook the pasta as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain well and set aside. In a separate large, oven-proof pan, melt the butter. We use traditional copper pots, but if you don’t have one you can use any kind of cast-iron or ovenproof dish. Choose one that’s good-looking enough to take to the table. Mix in the flour and keep cooking for a few minutes, stirring all the time, until the mixture forms a ‘roux’, a shiny golden paste. Gradually whisk the milk in, a little at a time, and cook over a low heat on the hob for 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring all the time and cook until you have a smooth and glossy sauce which gradually thickens. (Don’t worry if your sauce seems a bit thin at this stage, it will thicken up later in the oven.) Off the heat, add around half of the Cheddar and half the Parmesan into the sauce, along with the mustard, salt and pepper, and keep stirring until it has all melted. Preheat the grill/broiler as high as it will go. Pour macaroni into the sauce and mix everything together, then sprinkle over the remaining cheddar and parmesan. Grill (or place in a hot oven for 15 minutes if you don’t have a grill), until the mixture is golden and bubbling with a crispy top, and serve immediately.
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THE MAC DADDY Mac ‘n’ cheese has been a House Regular for a few years now: you’ll find it on many of Soho House’s menus around the world. Creative executive chef Ronnie Bonetti devised the original recipe with Soho House founder Nick Jones (who loves a good macaroni cheese). Ronnie’s recipe is left, and his top tips for a gorgeous plate of cheesy pasta are below. For more from Ronnie, Nick and all our chefs, grab a copy of Soho House’s new book, Eat, Drink, Nap THE PASTA
The best pasta is chifferi rigati, and I love the brand De Cecco. It’s a superior pasta and retains a nice bite, even when cooked.
THE MILK
If you have time, infuse the milk with a sprig of fresh parsley and an onion studded with cloves. Bring the milk to a simmer and then let the whole thing infuse for five or 10 minutes, off the heat. It adds depth to the sauce. Plus, using warm milk makes bechamel sauce much less likely to go lumpy. Feed the milk into the sauce slowly, so that it doesn’t get shocked and create lumps.
THE SAUCE
If you do end up with a lumpy sauce, just press it through a fine sieve, then put it back in the pot over the heat and whisk it briskly. That’s the cheat’s way. Or you can just carry on stirring and stirring in the pot, and eventually the lumps will disappear.
THE TOPPING
I definitely like to go for crumbs on the top of a macaroni cheese. But tomatoes? That’s a no-go.
THE CHEESE
The recipe here is just the starting point. Once you’ve got that right, you can make it more luxurious. I sometimes add four cheeses to mine: smoked mozzarella, blue cheese, cheddar and gruyere. To get the perfect stringiness to the sauce, the key is to avoid boiling the cheese once it’s in the pan. Add the cheese to the sauce once it’s off the heat and stir until melted. If you add it on the heat and overcook the cheese, you’ll have a grainy sauce, because the oils will split away from the solids.
THE EXTRAS
At Hoxton Grill and Soho House in London we do some delicious variations on this recipe: try bacon and jalapeños, go posh with shaved truffle (cheese and truffle are divine together), or add cooked spinach or sautéed mushrooms to the sauce.
THE SIDES
I love mac and cheese with a side of crisp lettuce, dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil. That makes me happy n
“Tomatoes? That’s a no-go” www.sohohouse.com
xxxxxx the dish DID YOU KNOW? Macaroni and cheese was served by Thomas Jefferson at a White House State Dinner in 1802. Since then, it has been considered very American, despite the earliest known recipe being in a 14th century French book. Boxed mac and cheese was first sold in 1937. Macaroni is one of the oldest forms of pasta, and for centuries was the word used to describe any kind of pasta except lasagne and ravioli. Macaroni was also used as slang for an English dandy in the 18th century, because their fiercely curled wigs looked as though made from curls of pasta.
Photo by Jean Cazals
Much like rice, macaroni used to be made into sweet milk puddings, particularly by the British.
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 15
guest chef interview
MEAT OF THE MATTER Erika Nakamura, co-founder of Los Angeles butchers, Lindy & Grundy
rika Nakamura, 33, started Lindy & Grundy, a sustainable butchery in Los Angeles, three years ago with her partner Amelia Posada. They sell humane and ethical meat to top restaurants in the city and recently catered Soho House West Hollywood’s Superbowl Sunday festivities, where they served their famous 50:50 beef and bacon slider burgers. Cookhouse caught up with Erika to find out how she became one of America’s best butchers.
The first year working as two female butchers was kind of impossible. I’m five feet tall and so is Amelia, and so to stand and tell our customers that we are experts was hard. I’m like a peanut compared to a side of beef! After three years, most people come in knowing who we are, but some people walk in without a clue. Men in particular tend to look over my head and over to one of the big guys out the back and then they’re shocked to discover that I’m actually the boss.
I studied sculpture at college and animal butchery is very similar, creatively. I was torn between art and the food industry, but I chose to go to culinary school and I think I made the right choice.
We used to be breaking down carcasses all day, every day – three years ago, when we started, if you came in and wanted a rack of lamb I’d run out to the back and get a whole lamb and do it then and there. Now, it’s a lot more focused.
E
I’ve always been into food that is humane, organic and local. I had this romantic attraction to all the protein I was working with in restaurants. But I kept noticing that people were using unfortunate cuts of meat and weren’t sourcing them as well as the rest of the ingredients that they were choosing so carefully. And that’s how I ended up becoming a butcher.
We waste as little of the animal as possible. We produce 1000 lb (500 kg) of sausages a week but that’s the tip of the iceberg – we roast the bones for stock, skin can be turned into dog treats, and we produce a lot of rillettes and things like pastrami. Trotters are a tough one but we use them in head cheese. Pigs’ heads were
probably the biggest challenge because we have 10 a week, but we started to make coppa di testa by de-boning the face, curing the meat and then smoking it. It’s like bacon with a more interesting texture. We had the luxury of being on TV with that dish and now it has quite a following. The craft of butchery is dying out, so we offer apprenticeships. We do short courses, too, and I teach chefs who do a labour exchange in return for knowledge. I think of myself as a resource for the restaurants I supply - I can show their staff how to break down a pig if they want. In some cultures, the butcher is still part of the community, but not in the US. As farming became industrialised, the number of butchers dwindled. The culture of buying nothing but boneless, skinless chicken breasts and filet mignon took butchers away from their communities. Now, there’s a new wave of artisan butchers who love their craft, and we are part of that. We love to steer our customers towards buying something a little different n lindyandgrundy.com
WANT TO LEARN? Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and you could work with great guest chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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“Pig heads were probably the biggest challenge�
Main portrait above and opposite page, butcher Erika Nakamura at work. Left, her partner Amelia Posada hosting Superbowl Sunday at Soho House West Hollywood
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 17
out......... cut it
Recipes for you to cut and keep from our chef friends around the world
JACOB KENEDY
The chef at Bocca di Lupo says: “This dish is based on one from Campania – short ditali pasta with clams and beans. I prefer it without pasta: it makes for a lighter meal, the summer flavours of clams, beans, tomato and basil singing out like a shrill trumpet calling me south.”
CLAMS AND BEANS serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main
Join Jacob Kenedy for a guest chef evening and masterclass at High Road House on Tuesday 13 May. See houseseven.com for details, or to visit his restaurant see boccadilupo.com. Recipe taken from Jacob’s book Bocca: Cookbook (Bloomsbury, £30). Photography by Howard Sooley
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500g/1 lb clams (vongole veraci), or other bivalves - surf clams, cockles or mussels 300g/10 oz cherry tomatoes (datterino or baby plum are best), halved 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced a pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes 80ml/2.5 fl oz extra virgin olive oil 75ml/2.5 fl oz white wine 300g/10 oz cooked, drained cannellini beans 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 8 basil leaves, torn Heat a very wide pan over a very high heat until it smokes. Combine the clams, tomatoes, garlics, chilli and oil in a bowl (if your pan’s not going to be wide enough to hold them all in more or less a single layer, omit the clams for now and add them after the tomatoes have fried for a couple of minutes). When you think the pan shouldn’t possibly get any hotter, add the bowlful of ingredients all at once. Cook, shaking the pan from time to time, until a few of the clams pop open. Season with pepper and a tiny bit of salt and add the wine. Let it bubble for a minute, then add the cannellini beans and parsley. Boil until the beans are hot through, and the last of the clams have popped open – not very long. Stir in the basil and serve immediately.
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PUNTARELLE SALAD WITH CAPERS AND ANCHOVIES (INSALATA DI PUNTARELLE, CAPPERI E ACCIUGHE)
serves 2 2 heads of puntarelle (or chicory) 2 tomatoes 8 anchovy fillets 2 tablespoons baby capers (or 3 tablespoons larger capers) small bunch of chives, cut into batons salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons lemon oil Blanch the tomatoes, skin, quarter and deseed.
GIORGIO LOCATELLI
The Michelin-starred chef at Locanda Locatelli says: “Puntarelle is difficult to get in this country, but beautiful, especially raw, rinsed and kept in a bowl of ice cubes to get rid of the bitterness. It’s a real thirst-quencher of a leaf. When people ask me what puntarelle tastes like, I usually compare it to fennel, because they share very similar characteristics, apart from the aniseed flavour of fennel. Otherwise, the closest you can get is chicory, cut into strips, but don’t put these in ice.
Discard the outer green leaves of the puntarelle, slice the hearts very thinly lengthways, then wash well under cold running water until the water is clear – the puntarelle will turn the water green at first) to take away some of the bitterness. When you serve the puntarelle it needs to be really crisp, so put it into a bowl with some ice cubes and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours, adding more ice if necessary, and it will curl up beautifully. Drain the puntarelle well and pat dry. In a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, anchovies, capers, chives and finally the puntarelle. Season, but be careful with the salt, as the anchovies and capers will add quite a lot of saltiness. Toss with lemon oil and serve as quickly as possible, drizzled with the olive oil.
When we make this dish, we usually discard the outer leaves of the puntarelle, but, if you like, you can keep them to serve as an accompaniment to fish or meat, especially barbecued meat. Blanch the leaves briefly in boiling salted water, then drain, chop and sauté in a little olive oil. Mix with some toasted pine nuts and some sultanas that have been soaked in water for half an hour or so to plump them up. You could even add the mixture to this salad – spoon it on to your plates first, then arrange the salad on top. If you don’t like to eat anchovies whole, you could add them to the dressing instead. Gently ‘melt’ them in a dry pan over a low heat – don’t let them fry (alternatively you can ‘melt’ them in a bain-marie) – then mix them into the dressing.”
Giorgio Locatelli is hosting dinner at Soho House London on Tuesday 15 April, and holding a masterclass the next day. Book your seat at houseseven.com, or to visit his restaurant see locandalocatelli.com. Recipe taken from Made in Italy: Food and Stories by Giorgio Locatelli (Fourth Estate, £26)
“It’s a real thirst-quencher of a leaf ” GET ON THE GUEST LIST!
Join one of Soho House's kitchens and work with our great guest chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 19
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS Breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. Whether you like energising smoothies or rib-sticking pancakes, we’ve got something for you. First, a potted history reakfasts around the world have lots in common: bread, cooked grains, milk, eggs and occasionally a little meat or fish. We all want simple and unchallenging foods first thing. Like it or loathe it, you will have tasted oat-based porridge, but in Nigeria, people eat a corn and milk porridge called ogi for breakfast, while in parts of Asia, congee, a rice porridge, is often served. It’s sold from street carts in some parts of Indonesia and in Laos is often made with chicken stock, while in Thailand an egg might be added. In Russia, buckwheat or semolina porridges may form the morning meal, as well as pancakes, sometimes cooked with cheese. Like the fried bread found in British fry ups, fried doughs are popular in Burma and northern India, while in southern Europe, the day might start with a sweet pastry like Spain’s
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Tips for a perfect fry-up at home
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deep-fried churros, dipped in chocolate. In central and southern America legumes and eggs come into play a little more – like Mexico’s huevos rancheros or Costa Rica’s beans with eggs, herbs and plantain. Despite all these delicious options, cereal remains popular; the market was worth $28 billion in 2010. Breakfast cereals were one of the first convenience foods ever made. Back in 1875, a health-food nut called John Harvey Kellogg invented Granola. It was a crunchy mixture of wheat, oats and maize, which sold moderately well – far better than its predecessor, an early cereal called Granula that was so hard it had to be soaked overnight before eating. Nearly 20 years later a lawyer in Denver, the appropriately named H.D. Perky, was trying to perfect his new cereal,
Shredded Wheat, and during a meeting between the two men, Kellogg accidentally let slip his secret technique for drying Granola – a regrettable mistake, as Perky’s one problem was that his cereal was too soft. Furious, Kellogg got to work on a new product, wheat flakes, which he subsequently sold as Granose. It took another angry decade for Kellogg and his wife to hit upon a way to make cornflakes, but it was John Harvey’s younger brother who made the financial killing. The two fell out and W.K. Kellogg set up a rival cereal firm – the Kellogg’s we know today – which made him very rich. Despite being invented by health food lovers, breakfast cereals have little nutritional value, and many have vitamins and minerals replaced after cooking – yet the average British household still has five packets in the cupboard.
1 Use the best quality ingredients you can find: free-range organic eggs, proper bacon from a good butcher that hasn’t been injected with water, high quality sausages made with free-range pork 2 Streaky bacon gets crispy faster than back bacon 3 Drain the fat off the bacon as it cooks so it stays crisp 4 Warm the plates before serving 5 Keep everything hot in the oven until ready to serve 6 Give the tomatoes plenty of time to cook properly under the grill or in a pan 7 Cook the eggs last – no-one likes a solid yolk 8 Black pudding doesn’t need long – just a minute or two each side or it will be dry and crumbly spring 2014
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B SOHO HOUSE EGGS BENEDICT
to make the eggs benedict:
for the hollandaise: 210g/7.25 oz egg yolks 10g/0.3 oz salt 37g/1.25 oz Dijon mustard 12g/0.5 oz lemon juice 60ml/2 fl oz vinegar reduction (see below) 635g/1 lb 6 oz clarified butter, melted for the vinegar reduction: 75g/2.75 oz shallots pinch black peppercorns 250ml/1 cup champagne vinegar 125ml/0.5 cup rice wine vinegar
1 muffin cut in half 100g/3.5 oz kassler ham 2 poached eggs hollandaise chives to garnish salt
serves 1
Toast the muffins on both sides. Griddle the ham on a flat top grill or in a pan to create a slight crispy texture. Place the ham on the muffins, making a small nest so that the eggs can rest on each one. Spoon over the hollandaise and finish with a sprinkle of chives and salt.
This page, photo by Steven Joyce; opposit page, Sidney Bensimon
Combine the vinegar reduction ingredients and cook until reduced by half. Cool. Add the egg yolks to a large bowl and whisk in the vinegar reduction, then whisk until thickened over boiling water. Add the rest of the ingredients apart from the butter. Now, slowly add the melted butter to the egg mix gradually, trying to avoid it splitting by whisking constantly. It is ready when it forms a glossy sauce. You will have enough for 8-10 serving of eggs benedict.
Breakfast
ANDREA CAVALIERE
BREAKFAST QUESADILLA
D SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD
serves 1 1 x 8 inch/20 cm flour tortilla 2 eggs 1 tablespoon green/spring onions, sliced 2 oz/60g sautéed mushrooms 1 oz/30g grated cheddar 2 tablespoons pico de gallo (recipe below) 2 tablespoon guacamole 2 tablespoon crème fraiche for the pico de gallo, mix together: 0.5 cup/90g diced red onion 0.5 cup/90g diced roma tomato ½ bunch cilantro chopped 1 inch/2 cm jalapeno, deseeded and finely diced
Photos by Sidney Bensimon
Place tortilla in a warm pan, with a little oil. In a separate pan scramble the eggs with the green onions and mushrooms. Top the tortilla with the cheese, melt and add scrambled egg. Fold and cut in half. Garnish with pico de gallo, crème fraiche and guacamole.
QUINOA AND EGGS serves 1 C
0.25 cup/45g cooked red quinoa 2 poached eggs 1 cup/30g spinach ½ avocado, diced 4 asparagus spears, blanched and chopped lemon juice and olive oil Cook quinoa in salted boiling water until tender, strain and cover for 10 minutes. Sauté spinach quickly in a hot pan, add asparagus until just warm, season with salt and pepper. Dress the warm quinoa with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then add the avocado and cooked spinach; mix. Top with the poached eggs, salt, pepper and olive oil.
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ANDREAS MAH SOHO HOUSE BERLIN
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BIRCHER MUESLI
serves 8 400g dry bircher muesli 400g 500ml/17 fl oz apple juice 500g/1 lb 2 oz vanilla Greek yoghurt (Greek yoghurt plus seeds from half a vanilla pod, and 10g/.5 oz sugar, mixed together until smooth) Soak the bircher muesli overnight in the apple juice. To serve, mix with the vanilla yoghurt and scatter some fresh berries on top.
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LLIAM BOYLE
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SERGIO SIGALA
F POACHED
FRIED EGG, PANCETTA AND AVOCADO CIABATTA
serves 1
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PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO
EGGS CARBONARA
serves 1 30g/1 oz pancetta, chopped 150ml/5 fl oz double cream 1 egg yolk 20g/0.75 oz Parmesan 2 Burford Brown eggs 1 slice hot granary toast salt and freshly ground pepper In a saucepan, fry the pancetta until crisp, add the cream and reduce by a quarter. Stir in the egg yolk and remove from heat. While still stirring, add half the parmesan to melt and taste to check seasoning. Poach the eggs. Serve covered with the sauce and topped with the rest of the shaved parmesan and granary toast on the side.
EGGS BENEDICT DAY April 16th is National Eggs Benedict day in the USA. The invention of the dish is surrounded by controversy: some say it was invented by Lemuel Benedict, an aristocratic, hungover guest at the old Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Avenue in New York, one morning in 1894.
1 ciabatta, halved 1 Burford Brown egg ½ an avocado, sliced 1 tablespoon aioli 1 teaspoon butter 25g/1 oz pancetta small handful of rocket lemon and olive oil to dress Fry the egg until done to your liking, and crisp up the pancetta in the pan at the same time. Serve on toasted ciabatta, one side buttered and one side spread with aioli. Place avocado, pancetta and fried egg on top. Serve the rocket dressed with olive oil and lemon juice on the side.
KYLE BOYCE
PIZZA EAST PORTOBELLO
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AVOCADO ON TOAST
serves 1 1 whole avocado, roughly diced 6 basil leaves 1 tsp dried chilli flakes drizzle of olive oil juice of a quarter of a lemon granary toast poached egg Mix all the ingredients except the egg together and serve on a slice of granary toast with the poached egg on top.
SOHO BEACH HOUSE MIAMI
BAKED EGGS ARRABIATA
serves 1 115g arrabiata sauce, at room temperature (see recipe below) 2 eggs 25g Grana Padano cheese, grated parsley and chives to garnish 3 toasted crostini, or toast for the arrabiata sauce: 325g/11 oz pepperonata (slow cooked sweet bell peppers) 1 litre/34 fl oz marinara (Italian tomato) sauce 50g/2 oz Calabrese chillies, purĂŠed 10ml/0.3 oz garlic oil 10ml/0.3 oz chilli oil To make the arrabiata: mix ingredients together and cook gently on the hob for 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to assemble the dish. (This recipe will make enough sauce for 10 portions; freeze any leftovers.) To make the baked eggs: preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Spoon enough arrabiata sauce to cover the base of a 6 inch/15 cm copper pan, small oven-proof frying pan or baking dish. Crack the eggs into the sauce, cover the yolks with grated grana padano cheese and season with salt and pepper. Gratinate in the oven till golden. Serve with herbs scattered over and three toasted crostini.
He asked for bacon, poached eggs, toast and hollandaise sauce, and the chef obliged, adding it to the menu with toast swapped for muffins and bacon for ham. Another story is that a couple, Mr and Mrs LeGrand Benedick, invented it at another New York hotspot around the same time. They were regulars at the Delmonico, the tale goes, and bored by the menu.
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Photo by Steven Joyce
Jack Benedict, a younger cousin of Lemuel, spent much of his life struggling to have Lemuel recognised as the creator rather than the LeGrand Benedicks; he died in 1993 without having done so.
spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 23
Breakfast license to grill
MATHIAS OBERG HIGH ROAD HOUSE
POTATO AND BACON HASH, FRIED DUCK EGG
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serves 2 500g/1 lb new potatoes 200g/7 oz good quality bacon, in one piece 1 onion 2 duck eggs chives to serve salt, pepper
Meanwhile, fry the duck eggs until cooked to your liking. Place the potato mixture on the plate and a fried duck egg on top. Season with a little salt and garnish with cut chives.
SOHO HOUSE GRANOLA
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100g/3.5 oz butter 200ml/7 fl oz honey juice and zest of half an orange quarter of a vanilla pod 200g/7 oz pecan nuts 200g/7 oz whole blanched almonds 100g/3.5 oz sesame seeds 100g/3.5 oz sunflower seeds 100g/3.5 oz linseeds 200g/7 oz pumpkin seeds 200g/7 oz jumbo oats 200g/7 oz porridge oats 200g/7 oz dried cranberries 200g/7 oz dried apricots 200g/7 oz raisins 200g/7 oz flaked coconut Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Melt the butter and honey, add the orange juice and zest, vanilla pods, nuts, seeds and oats. Mix together and lay out the mixture on
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Photos by Steven Joyce
Boil the new potatoes until cooked, cool, then peel and dice small. Cut the bacon into lardons (small cubes) and finely slice the onion. Cook the lardons in the pan until the fat renders out, then add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook till golden brown. Add the onions and cook for 3 more minutes.
a large thin baking tray. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Chop up all the fruit. Break up the mixture from the oven and add the dried fruits and coconut. (You’ll need a big bowl to mix this up in, and something airtight to store it in, too.)
GILBERT HOLMES ELECTRIC DINER L
RICOTTA PANCAKES
serves 10 500g ricotta 10 eggs, separated 250g milk 275g self raising flour (or all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
Combine the ricotta, egg yolks and milk and whisk until smooth. Add the flour and whisk until you get a smooth dough. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold into the dough. Get a frying pan hot over a medium heat and add a little fat (butter or oil). Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook for 2 or 3 minutes a side, until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side. Serve with honey and butter, or honeycomb butter.
TOMATO, OLIVE AND FETA, POACHED EGG
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serves 1 1 poached egg 6 cherry tomatoes
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THE TOP TEN
Soho House staff are a well travelled lot who know their eggs. So who better than to tell us where the best breakfasts in the world can be found?
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“I love the amazing breakfast spread at the Nordic Light hotel in Stockholm… you just want to keep going back up for more!” Tanya Nathan, support office. nordiclighthotel.se
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“Top Paddock in Richmond, Melbourne, for its gin-and-lime-cured ocean trout fillet with pickled baby beetroots, poached eggs and goats curd on toast. Wow. Best dish I had last year. Or Las Chicas in Balaclava, Melbourne where I had chickpea, zucchini and sweetcorn fritters with avocado and poached eggs. The way they do breakfasts in Oz is incredible.” Mike Ellis, Cafe Boheme. toppaddockcafe.com; laschicas.com.au
3 Ricotta pancakes at Electric Diner
1 tablespoon capers 1 tablespoon black olives, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon green olives, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons basil, torn 50g feta cheese lemon juice olive oil chives to garnish multigrain toast to serve In a bowl mix the tomatoes, capers, olives, basil and feta. Add a squeeze of juice from one lemon wedge, season with salt and black pepper and add a dash of olive oil. Make sure your bread is well toasted, place the mix carefully on top of the toast and finish with a poached egg and the chives.
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“For an amazing breakfast experience, I recommend the Maricel hotel on the island of Mallorca. Just a few metres from the Mediterranean sea, they serve you an eight-course breakfast in a very modern way. It takes two hours, but I always think it’s worth it.” Richard van Batenburg, Soho House Berlin. hospes.com
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“The terrace at Main Street Bakery in Aspen, Colorado – eggs benedict or eggs Alaska while enjoying the Rockies (and probably a Senator or two on the next table!).” Wilfred Opstal, Soho House London and Little House Mayfair
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“Van-style breakfast is the best. Van is a city in Turkey, where they do incredible breakfasts, meze style, with clotted cream (kaymak) and honey, as well as dozens of other small dishes.” Erdem Kayalar, Soho House London
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“I love the ricotta pancakes from Five Leaves in Brooklyn, New York.” Sarah Simon, Soho House New York. fiveleavesny.com
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“The best pancakes you’ll ever have are...in Dublin, believe it or not! At a restaurant called Herbstreet. Plain, blueberry or chocolate chip; stack of three or six (short or tall)…they are amazing!” Dave Stewart, Pizza East. herbstreet.ie “In Mexico, in the Yucatan, in Vallodolid at Meson del Marques (a beautifully restored historic hotel): the chilaquiles! Homemade tortillas smothered with green tomato sauce layered with shredded chicken, topped with fresh cream and cheese, served with a bowl of fresh cut mango and a steaming cup of coffee sweetened with raw sugar and a shot of evaporated milk. The perfect breakfast before a day of trekking through the jungle in search of undiscovered pyramids.” Stephanie Levi, Soho Beach House. mesondelmarques.com
“A few of my favourite places for breakfast are Le Fumoir in Paris for brunch, Marbella Club in Marbella, Spain, Latteria on Victoria Street, Darlingshurst, Sydney and Tropicana on the same road.” Andrew Purcell, Soho House London. lefumoir.com; marbellaclub. com; tropicanacaffe.com “Best breakfast in my book is at the Takapuna beach café in Auckland. It’s basically a conservatory on the beach that does your standard breakfasts but also likes to throw in some random dishes like breaded pigs head with black pudding purée and green apple remoulade. Don’t knock it till you try it! It’s the best place to go at the crack of dawn when the beach is deserted and enjoy an amazing coffee.” Rachel Sutton, Cafe Boheme. takapunabeachcafe.co.nz
spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 25
Photos by Steven Joyce
LOVE MUFFINS
Fancy rustling up some romantic breakfast muffins for your beloved (or yourself)? Have a go at this delicious and decadent recipe by chef Elliot Stadden from Babington House, who won the Cookhouse muffin-off, beating concoctions made with rhubarb, green tea and even popping candy. N CHOCOLATE MUFFINS WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING AND RASPBERRY CURD
1 tsp vanilla extract 375 ml/1.5 cups boiling water freeze-dried raspberries (optional)
makes about 12 muffins
Preheat the oven to 170ÂşC. Cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs. Mix together half of each of the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients.
250g/2.25 cups soft butter 600g/2.5 cups sugar 3 eggs 470g/3.75 cups plain flour (can be gluten free) 140g /1 cup cocoa powder 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda ½ teaspoon salt 375ml/1.5 cups buttermilk or yoghurt
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Finally, add the vanilla essence and water, slowly pouring into the mix and stirring all the time. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases. Divide the mixture between them, leaving room for them to rise. Cook for 30 minutes.
for the raspberry curd: 125g / 1 cup soft butter 175g /0.75 cup cream cheese 50g /0.3 cup icing sugar vanilla extract Beat together the butter and sugar then add the cream cheese and vanilla extract, to taste. Stir well. To assemble the muffins: while the muffins are still warm, pipe a little curd into the centre of each muffin. Cool and then spread icing on the top of each muffin. Top with freeze-dried raspberries, if you like.
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Breakfast
SMOOTH OPERATORS
Get busy with the blender and some Soho House breakfast smoothies O
RESPIRATION
serves 1 100ml/3.5 oz goji berry juice 200ml/7 oz orange juice 1 tbs sunflower seeds 1 tbs pumpkin seeds 12 blueberries 1 bar spoon peanut butter 1 bar spoon whey protein Add all ingredients to a blender and blend. P
SCHWARZENEGGER
serves 1 100ml/3.5 oz hempseed milk 200ml/7 oz pomegranate juice 2 spears broccoli 2 handfuls kale 6 strawberries
MRS BEETON KNOWS ALL Mrs Beeton’s 1861 book on household management recommended making this little lot available for breakfast: “The following list of hot dishes may perhaps assist our readers in knowing what to provide for the comfortable meal called breakfast. Broiled fish, such as mackerel, whiting, herrings, dried haddocks, etc.; mutton chops and rump-steaks, broiled sheep’s kidneys, kidneys à la maître d’hôtel, sausages, plain rashers of bacon, bacon and poached eggs, ham and poached eggs, omelets, plain boiled eggs, oeufs-au-plat, poached eggs on toast, muffins, toast, marmalade, butter, etc., etc.” We’ll take one of each, please.
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend.
BREAKFAST TIPS: “The most important thing for a successful breakfast is to be prepared, so get going early. I have a lot of respect for breakfast chefs, there is so much going on one plate and so many different things going on at one time. A good breakfast chef deserves a lot of praise!” Chef Gilbert Holmes “One of my favourite herbs is savory. If oregano, thyme and rosemary had a three-way, savory would be their love child. It’s not used that much but has been around for ages in Europe and north America and goes fantastically with mushrooms and meat in particular. It makes mushrooms taste like mushrooms, which is a weird thing to say, but it’s true. I recommend trying it in your morning ‘shrooms for a little variety.” Chef Lliam Boyle
MOUTH WATERING?
Join one of Soho House's kitchen teams and you could add your breakfast recipe to the menu. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com
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spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 27
xxxxxx…
hat do you get if you introduce a drinks expert to a dessert expert? Delicious doughnuts, that’s what. Pastry chef Daisy and Grey Goose brand ambassador Oli worked together to create a dessert and a paired cocktail, both made with one of the new range of confitures that have been developed for Grey Goose to use in drinks. The confitures (preserves) are made with both the vodkas and the natural flavours used in them – so the pear confiture contains fresh pear and Grey Goose La Poire, for example. “It was a nice product to work with,” says Daisy. “When you cook with it, the flavours come through really well. I experimented with Grey Goose La Poire in a frangipane tart, and it was very smooth.” For Oli, working with a pastry chef like Daisy was a nostalgic experience. “When I was working in bars, the people I had the closest relationships with were always the pastry chefs. I spent so much time talking to them – and annoying them, probably – just trying to get ideas and understand how they work.” Daisy agrees that there is often a symmetry between the two teams. “Our bars manager, Erdem, often comes to us with questions – we worked together on a recipe recently for a blood orange and campari jam. He turned it into a cocktail which went on the menu.”
SWEETS FOR W MY SWEET As part of our on-going collaboration with Grey Goose vodka, Cookhouse brought together Soho House London pastry chef Daisy Matthews and Grey Goose ambassador Oli Blackburn, to create a paired cocktail and dessert
Oli is convinced we should pair food with cocktails more often. “From a taste perspective, sweet flavours are easier to pair with, so we should actually be pairing more cocktails with desserts.” But he doesn’t limit pairing to sweet dishes. “We should try it with all courses, really, because wines are created and crafted with one particular set of flavours, but with a cocktail you have the chance to create a perfect balance, and add all sorts of complementary flavours.” After lots of tasting and experimentation, Daisy created a ingenious recipe for baked chocolate doughnuts using Grey Goose L’Orange confiture, which Oli paired with Grey Goose L’Orangetini cocktail, made with the confiture and chocolate bitters. “They are relatively healthy – as doughnuts go,” says Daisy. “Because they’re not deepfried, and they’re also much easier to make at home” n
“They are relatively healthy – as doughnuts go” 28 COOKHOUSE
spring 2014
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CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE DOUGHNUT MUFFINS
makes 24 small doughnuts
100g/3.5 oz cocoa powder 110g/3.75 oz plain / all purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 165g/5.5 oz caster sugar 1 egg 187g/6.5 fl oz buttermilk 66g/2.3 oz sunflower oil zest of 1 orange 200g Grey Goose L’Orange confiture (see recipe below) Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, followed by all the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Spoon the mixture into a cake pop mould for realistic looking doughnuts. Alternatively spoon into a muffin tray.
GREY GOOSE L’ORANGETINI
Bake for 14 minutes for mini doughnut muffins or 18 minutes for larger sized ones in a muffin tray. Once baked, dip the doughnut muffins into caster sugar, rolling around liberally to coat them.
40ml/1.3 oz Grey Goose L’Orange 15ml/0.5 oz lemon juice 10ml/0.3 oz blossom honey 1 dash chocolate bitters 2 teaspoons Grey Goose L’Orange orange confiture
Fill a piping bag with the filling of your choice, push the tip of the bag into the bottom of each muffin and pipe about a tablespoon of filling into each muffin.
Shake with fresh cubed ice and double strain into a coupette glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
GREY GOOSE L'ORANGE CONFITURE
You need about 200g confiture to fill the doughnuts. Store the rest of this recipe in clean jars with lids, that you have sterilised by rinsing in boiling water.
Wash the oranges and pat dry. Cut in half and slice thinly, horizontally. Place the peel in a heavy-based pan and cover with the water. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain rind. Place peel in a bowl and pour over vodka. Leave overnight. Place peel, vodka, lemon juice, water and sugar in a preserving pan and bring up to the boil. Boil rapidly until setting point (104ºC/220ºF) is reached. (To check if the preserve has reached syrup or setting point without a thermometer, place a saucer in the freezer. When the mixture has been boiling for 5 minutes or so, drop a tiny bit of the syrup on the saucer. Leave for 30 seconds, then tilt the saucer. If the syrup runs straight across the surface, setting point hasn’t been reached. If it doesn’t then the preserve has set.)
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Photography by Maximilian Guy McNair MacEwan
1.5 kg/3.3 lb navel oranges 500ml/17 fl oz Grey Goose L’Orange Vodka 800g/1.7 lb granulated sugar 2.1L/4.5 US pints water 1 lemon
spring 2014
COOKHOUSE 29
EUROPE + USA THYME
There are dozens of different thyme cultivars, including lemon thyme, pine, caraway and even one that tastes of tangerines. It is an incredibly versatile herb, just as good with meat as it is with vegetables. Thyme is an antiseptic, too – it is used as an active ingredient in mouthwash and some hand sanitisers.
EUROPE + USA ROSEMARY
Photography by Dai Williams
In the Medieval era, rosemary was thought to fortify the brain, and students would take exams wearing rosemary in their hair. It’s associated with Italian and Provencal cooking, but Spanish chefs also use it, especially when cooking meat over wood.
EUROPE NEW POTATOES
There are 700 varieties of potato kept in a reference collection in Scotland. The layer of flesh just below a potato’s skin contains most of its vitamin C and most of the flavour, too.
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USA CHIVES
The tiniest in the onion family and related to wild chives, which you can still find in northern Europe and northern America. They have antiseptic qualities and used to be made into a treatment for wounds. Chives go brilliantly with anything creamy or eggy, and are one of the French fines herbes, but are also used in fish dishes, like herring, all over Scandinavia. Garlic chives, or kuchai, from Asia are much more garlicky in flavour and have bigger leaves.
USA SPRING ONIONS
Green onions, scallions or salad onions are often just immature regular onions, which if treated right would turn into proper onions. They are usually eaten raw in the west, but in China they are almost always cooked – charring them on a grill or adding them to frying pan gives them a wonderful sweetness.
EUROPE ASPARAGUS
Its name is related to an old Persian word, asparag, which means to shoot. In parts of Europe, only white asparagus is grown, made by covering the young shoots with soil to stop them going green. It’s hard to grow, because it doesn’t produce thick enough stems for eating for two years and then only grows well for a few seasons, which is why it is often expensive.
In season now The ingredients that should be finding their way into your cooking
EUROPE + USA PARSLEY
EUROPE RADISHES
Radishes have been eaten all over the world since prehistoric times and no-one really knows where they came from first. Because they mature late in the year and store well, they were useful foods in cold winters. There are lots of varieties: try big daikon or mooli radishes, or sweet and brightly coloured Chinese radishes.
The most popular herb in European cooking, although it counts as a vegetable or salad green more than a herb further east. Parsley is related to celery and comes in two forms: curly and flat; curly used more in northern Europe; Greek cooks would never use anything but flat leaf. If ever you come across turniprooted parsley, try it: it’s a root vegetable used in north-western Europe that tastes like parsley crossed with celeriac and although still popular in its homelands, was last in fashion in English-speaking countries in the 1800s.
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Soho House chefs’ events
CHEF'S TABLE
Star chefs from across our Houses and Restaurants were nominated by their head chefs to attend a Cookhouse feast at Soho House London.They were treated to Negronis, grilled octopus with tapenade and beef shin croquettes, stichelton salad, parmesan polenta and pigs’ cheeks, seabass with hispi cabbage and pesto, and brie and butter bean pie with sides of creamy mash. Lucky them!
AUSSIE PIE DAY
PIZZA MASTERCLASS Soho Beach House Miami hosted a Pizza Masterclass with their back of house and front of house teams. The crew had a fun night with pizza master chef Ramon Rodriguez: everyone in the kitchen got their hands dirty and the team even created a starshaped pizza.
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Group pastry chef Jake Rigby-Wilson and creative executive chef Ronnie Bonetti took a group of chefs to Babington House for some one-on-one pie and pastry making. As an Aussie, Ronnie Bonetti can vouch for his nation’s obsession with pies, and between the two of them they covered all aspects of sweet and savoury pastry. The chefs’ creations were all devoured at the end of the day, so they must have been delicious.
FULTON FISH
Soho House New York’s Food Ambassador Tania Hunter and Cookhouse manager Kate Barry took a group from Soho House New York to the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx.
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TOSHO
The culinary team at Soho House Toronto visited Tosho Knife Arts, a store dedicated to bringing hand-made, Japanese steel to Toronto. The chefs were taught the basics of knife sharpening using whetstones and honing materials, as well as techniques to achieve an extremely sharp and long-lasting cutting edge for different blades.
SURF AND TURF
Chefs from across the UK sites visited our butcher, IMS of Smithfield, and fishmonger, Daily Fish Supplies, both in London’s Smithfield market. After seeing the fish on offer, the chefs got a hands-on lamb boning and rolling lesson at IMS.
SOUP, STOCKS AND SAUCE
Creative executive chef Ronnie Bonetti hosted the first of two sessions for Cookhouse on that most crucial of ingredients, stock, the building block for so many dishes. The chefs even got to eat their creations: a classic fish soup and lamb with brocolli and aioli.
CHOCS AND VINO
Cookhouse and House Tonic spent Valentine’s afternoon finding the perfect combination of chocolate and wine with group pastry chef Jake Rigby-Wilson and guest sommelier, Clare Whitehead, pairing chocolate from Original Beans with a range of sweet dessert wines.
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DINNER AT ZUCCA
Pizza East Shoreditch Food Ambassador, Mirko Zanardo, took four members of his team to try the wonderful Zucca restaurant in Bermondsey, where they had incredible food and a bit of out-ofwork bonding time.
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RISING STARS
Celebrating the heroes of our kitchens
PETER BERMUDA
Soho Beach House nominated by Stefano Zen
Peter is a line cook and a young, smart guy with a passion for food who is always looking to learn more.
ALEX UMBRAES
Soho House Toronto nominated by Eric Tsing
Alex has been with us for well over a year and his positive attitude has not stopped since the day he started. He constantly wants to learn new skills and is always willing to take on new challenges. We are proud of him and excited to see where he goes in this company.
DAISY MATTHEWS
Soho House London nominated by Tom Collins
Senior pastry chef Daisy Matthews has heaps of natural talent and is always eager to try new ideas and develop products. She is totally committed to doing the very best she can and everyone here is thrilled to have her in our team. We look forward to seeing her progress over the coming years.
DARIO OSSOLA AND MATTIA CARCHIDI
Shoreditch House nominated by Michele Nargi
I’d like to nominate Dario Ossola (sous chef 6th floor) and Mattia Carchidi (senior CDP). Dario is young, crazy and a perfectionist! Mattia is even crazier...and absolutely tireless. Both are great guys.
AHMAD WAFAYER
Pizza East Shoreditch
nominated by Brian McGowan
Our rising star at PES is Ahmed Waffer. After four years at PES Ahmed has finally made it to the top. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. What a guy.
PASCALE VICKERY
Babington House
nominated by Neil Smith
Working for me as chef-de-partie, Pascale has really taken in the Babington way and the style of food. After starting out as a very quiet person nearly a year ago, she has taken all of the new chefs under her wing and is coming out of her shell. A great team member and a good chef. Watch this space!
MARIA DE CASTRO
Pizza East Portobello nominated by Lliam Boyle
Maria has been with us for about three years now with a stint in between to open Cheeky Nails. Her attention to detail and take-no-crap attitude make her an asset to the team. She manages her time really well, too, which is important when it comes to getting other things, like staff food, done. All the guys agree she makes the best grub. A great allrounder, she definitely has what it takes to go far!
HUSSEIN MOHAMMED
Hoxton Grill nominated by Tank Loy
Hussain is a team player who always strives to do his best and a quality larder chef.
PAWEL TREBACZ
Soho House Berlin, nominated by Tomasz Izworski
Pawel join Soho House Berlin in November 2013 and has quickly established himself as a leading member of the kitchen brigade. Always wearing a smile and continually helping others, he has a stunning ability to deliver constantly high standards. Pawel is an asset to the company and a pleasure to be around.
GIORGIO MAZZOCCHIN
Electric Club nominated by Gilbert Holmes
Giorgio works in the club and has been with us since we opened the new Electric. Definitely the most passionate and fun person in the kitchen, always willing to put in the hours and always working hard. It is a pleasure to have him here and he is without a doubt the one to watch.
MATEUSZ NIEDOCHODA
Chicken Shop Tooting, nominated by Sienna Pulati and Piotr Engler
Mateusz has worked for Chicken Shop in Tooting since just after it opened and it’s been a pleasure to see him learn and grow. He has such a great attitude and is always willing to help in any area. A great part of our team.
JOIN US!
Soho House is recruiting chefs. Email cookhouse@sohohouse.com or visit www.cookhouse.com
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www.sohohouse.com
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FRESH FACES
Soho House Group is always on the look out for new talent. If you want a great career in food then get in touch. We have restaurants, hotels and clubs in our venues in the UK, Berlin and North America, with more opening soon. We offer tailor-made training, excellent support and the chance to travel or possibly even work overseas. Our farm-to-fork food philosophy is all about working with great ingredients, treated simply and with respect - whether we're flipping burgers at Dirty Burger, making pasta in Cecconi's, or wood-roasted pizza at Pizza East.
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
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For more information about current kitchen vacancies worldwide and how to apply visit our website, www.cookhouse.com, or call +44 (0)20 7074 1449
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L’AMOUR MODERNE CREATED BY JOE McCANTA THIS BITTERSWEET MARTINI WITH NOTES OF RICH POMEGRANATE, PASSIONFRUIT AND PINK GRAPEFRUIT IS AVAILABLE IN EVERY HOUSE BETWEEN MARCH AND MAY. PAIRED WITH CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND TORTE. TO SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS COCKTAIL GO TO WWW.HOUSETONIC.COM
For the facts drinkaware.co.uk ©2014 GREY GOOSE, THE GREY GOOSE BOTTLE DESIGNS AND THE GEESE DEVICES ARE TRADEMARKS AND/OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.