Seven of Kent's best chefs collaborate for charity dinner

The Ultimate Pop Up

The Ultimate Pop Up on 20 June

Seven of the region’s most sought-after chefs join forces for The Ultimate Pop Up at Hush Heath Winery to cook a six-course tasting menu to raise funds for children’s charity, Tree of Hope

Fresh from being crowned Kent Chef of the Year, The Small Holding’s Will Devlin will be cooking alongside star of the Great British Menu and Head Chef at Verdigris, Scott Goss and chef owner at The Compasses Inn, Crundale Robert Taylor. Former Kentish Hare and MasterChef the professional’s personality, Bobby Brown, chef-proprietor of The Michelin listed Wheelwrights Arms in Matfield for 6 years, Rob Marsh and Hush Heath’s Executive Chef, Fabio Vinciguerra will also be cooking while The Bicycle Bakery’s Jamie Tandoh will be making dessert.

Tammy Jackson, the Leigh based mixologist behind For Cocktail Sake, is creating a cocktail for the evening which will be served to guests on arrival along with a selection of canapes.

This one-off special event, sponsored by CCLA, will take place on Thursday 20 June and will raise funds for Tonbridge based charity Tree of Hope, who support families of disabled and seriously ill children across the UK to raise funds for treatment, therapies and equipment recommended by their healthcare teams.

Tree of Hope’s Fundraising Manager Kate Bourne, who is organising the Ultimate Pop Up comments “We are extremely lucky to be based in a region with a thriving food scene but the opportunity to indulge in a meal prepared by some of the area’s very best chefs using the finest local produce, in stunning surroundings is rare and we’re delighted that such a special night will raise funds for Tree of Hope. With over a million children now registered as disabled in the UK, we are so aware that the hundreds of families we currently assist is just a drop in the ocean. The Ultimate Pop Up will enable the charity to reach more families that so desperately need our help.”

The Ultimate Pop Up will take place on Thursday June 20th at Hush Heath Winery. Tickets can be purchased online https://www.treeofhope.org.uk/event/the-ultimate-pop-uk

To find out more about the work of Tree of Hope go to www.treeofhope.org.uk

Foraging at The Beacon with the Chef's Forum

Sunny, but muddy. Foraging in the 13 acres at The Beacon.

KENT CHEFS GO FORAGING WITH  I'LL BE MOTHER AT THE BEACON, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Foraging has been popular for some years now, and professional chefs’ enthusiasm for gathering food from wild and natural places is only increasing. On Monday 13th March, over sixty top chefs from Kent and surrounds flocked to a fascinating forage led by wild food expert David Harrison.

The Beacon’s impressive thirteen acres were slightly muddy from rainfall the day before, but that didn’t dampen chefs’ spirits as they braved the crisp Spring air to embark on a flora and fauna adventure. Harrison is Michelin-starred chef Simon Hulstone’s personal forager and sources wild ingredients exclusively for Simon and his small team of talented chefs at The Elephant, Torquay.

The event was hosted I’ll Be Mother's Executive Chef Scott Goss, who demonstrated a duck dish with crispy skin and duck soup. 

The Beacon, positioned on the brow of the hill overlooking the Happy Valley perfectly lent itself as the perfect venue for the cheffy wild food hunt. The impressive garden sits below the patio terrace, dropping away from the restaurant towards the valley with three refurbished lakes to be filled with trout next year.  .

Scott said, “I’m really lucky to have these beautiful grounds on my doorstep – I am spoilt for choice.  I thought the event today was brilliant and it’s great to be able to educate and enthuse fellow chefs on our philosophy on food: zero waste using the whole animal and use of as much kitchen waste as possible.  Foraging makes up a big part of my menu here at The Beacon– Most of our mornings are taken up with foraging and it’s great to learn of all the other species available here from David Harrison – We’ll definitely invite him back next season to show us more!”

The culinary experts went on a tour of The Beacon’s impressive grounds, learning to find and identify the abundance of edible plants, seeds, nuts, flowers and fungi that grow wild in the beautiful Kentish countryside. They learnt that provided you are furnished with a permission from the land owner, the only real cost of foraging is time, a valuable resource for chefs. Most foraged produce is perishable and requires picking for service daily or every other day. 

Forager David Harrison told chefs: “Once you pick something, it immediately starts to lose its peak flavour and texture. So we do not store for that reason; we forage every day.  It’s great to see so many chefs in attendance – I hope that foraging with the chefs today spikes and interest in foraging and encourages them to bring this old skill back into the kitchen” 

The event was a great chance for chefs to learn about foraging for their menus and the copious amount of amazing wild ingredients growing all around them.

The Chefs’ Forum launched in Kent in 2013 and has gone on to see many young chefs find work placements and apprenticeships in the best professional kitchens across the county and beyond.

The Chefs' Forum: Inspiring the next Generation

Scott Goss from The Twenty Six at The Chefs' Forum lunch at The Yarrow Hotel

The Yarrow Hotel at East Kent College was the latest venue to host a Chefs’ Lunch to raise vital funds for The Chefs’ Forum Educational Foundation. The assembled chefs and industry experts had the chance to sit back and relax for a change as they tucked into a delicious ‘Pay as You Can’ lunch which raised over £1400 to support 14-25 year olds entering the hospitality industry.

The Chefs’ Lunch gave hospitality students at the college the opportunity to work with some of the best chefs in the country and an impressive number of East Kent College alumni were present, showing their support for the college and The Chefs’ Forum Educational Foundation.

The meal began with Scott Goss (The Twenty Six) cooking a dish of pigeon tartare, apple and foie gras. The fish course  of mackerel with beetroot and horseradish by Will Devlin from No Fixed Abode, followed. Cooking the main course was Bobby Brown of The Kentish Hare with a breast of duck with potato fondant, celeriac and Roscoff onion. Masterchef: The Professionals finalist Petrus Madutlela created a pre-dessert of buttermilk and calamansi iced parfait, white chocolate and baobab, influenced by his South African heritage. John Bingley of the Hythe Imperial Hotel rounded-off lunch with a lemon tart.

Scott commented: “It was a pleasure to be back in my old college and to be able to share some of my skills and knowledge with these young people.  The future of the industry depends on these students and based on the talent I saw today, I am very impressed.”

Founder of The Chefs’ Forum Catherine Farinha said: “The Chefs’ Forum was created with the aim of making a positive change in the hospitality industry. It aims to connect chefs with education, suppliers with chefs and education with suppliers to help the industry unite and work towards the shared goal of showcasing the incredible talent we have here in industry whilst raising money for young chefs via The Chefs’ Forum Educational Foundation."

Photography credit to www.kentfoodphotographer.co.uk

The Chefs’ Forum holds 36 chef events a year across 9 regions.  Its main objective is to bridge the gap between education and industry, bringing together top chefs, hospitality students and market-leading suppliers to trade.

An early Autumn feast

I ate all of this in about 5 minutes.

Black treacle pork chop, black pudding crumble and pickled blackberries

When the lovely folk at Good Things magazine asked for an Autumn recipe from The Twenty Six, Scott Goss knew immediately what he wanted to cook. Being the dedicated publicist I am, I volunteered to help on the shoot. Anyone who knows me really knows that my dedication is a thin disguise for 'gimme that plate of food'. It's so good and easy to make at home and is already a firm favourite.

This is a hearty, family style dish with big flavours. Add a big bowl of mash (celeriac maybe?), a decent bottle of wine (Australian Pinot Gris for me please) or more of the Kent cider and this is a delicious and slightly different take on a Sunday roast.

Serves 2 (but can be easily scaled up)

2 bone-in pork chops, roughly 300g each. Ask your butcher to remove the skin
100g black pudding, cubed
75g cobnuts (or hazelnuts), roasted, skinned and roughly chopped
50g pumpkin seeds
5 or 6 large sage leaves
2 tablespoons black treacle
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
75g blackberries
50ml cabernet sauvignon vinegar
4 shallots, skin on, halved lengthways
300ml cider
Tablespoon of butter

Method:

The night before, or 24 hours in advance, mix the blackberries and cabernet sauvignon vinegar together and leave to pickle.

Rub the skin for the crackling in rapeseed oil and salt and blister in a hot oven at 210 degrees for 20 mins. Turn the temperature down to 120 degrees for a further 2 hours.

When ready to eat, season the chops and fry in a hot pan until golden brown on both sides. Put in the oven at 160 degrees for 12 minutes for medium.

Mix the black treacle and wholegrain mustard together and spread on the chops while still hot from the oven. Rest for 10 mins.

For a simple gravy, deglaze the roasting tray with the cider and reduce by two thirds and finish with a tablespoon of butter. Check seasoning and keep warm.

Leaving the skin on, cut the shallot in half lengthways. In a non-stick pan with a little rapeseed oil, char the cut side of the shallot until blackened. Flip over and cook for a further minute. Turn off the heat and let the shallot cook in the residual pan heat.

Chop or crumble the black pudding and fry in a little rapeseed oil in a hot pan until crispy. Add the chopped cobnuts or hazelnuts and the pumpkin seeds to lightly toast. Tear in the sage leaves, crisping in the black pudding oil for a further minute.

To plate:

Pile the black pudding crumble on top of the black treacle chop with the crackling, roast shallot and pickled blackberries on the side and a spoonful of cider roasting juices.

The mother of all roasts

Dry-aged Herefordshire sirloin

Kent restaurant group I’ll be Mother launches new Sunday Lunch Club

The first in the once a month club will be at The Twenty Six and is the mother of all Sunday Roasts, a classic roast of dry-aged Herefordshire sirloin with all the trimmings and some special touches from Chef Patron Scott Goss.

Each month, at either The Twenty Six or The Beacon, the menu will reflect the quality and provenance of a beautiful piece of meat. On occasion, we will also invite the supplier or farmer to the lunch to tell you more about the animal and its meat.

In the family spirit, which is at the heart of I’ll be Mother, everyone will all eat at the same time, 1.30pm. I'll be arriving a little early for either a Chapel Down Kir Royale or a Bloody Mary before sitting down at the feasting table.

www.thetwenty-six.co.uk #SundayLunchClub

"Our Sunday Lunch Clubs are all about sharing good food with good company." Scott Goss

Sunday 26th February
Everyone to sit to eat at 1.30pm
£26 per person

Small Plates
Blow-torched mackerel & rhubarb
Ham & frozen foie gras
Cauliflower & fermented mushrooms

Main Event
Roast Shorthorn beef, fresh horseradish, beef dripping potatoes, sharing Yorkshire pudding, roasted garden roots, bone marrow and thyme gravy

To finish
Baked blood orange meringue
Coffee and Chocolates

Scott Goss, one of the UK's most influential chefs

Pleased as punch that Scott Goss, Chef Patron at The Twenty Six, part of the I'll be Mother group of restaurants in Kent has been included in food and travel magazine Olive's list of most influential chefs in the UK and 'one's to watch' in 2017.

The Twenty Six is my test kitchen. There are no rules. 

Scott's food is deceptively simple, big on flavour and technique, with a passion for ingredients and integrity. There's always a surprise of something unexpected or untried before. He's a big talent and one I'm sure the Michelin inspectors are looking at very closely!

See Olive's full list in their January issue or see this link.

One to watch. Grab a table while you can!

Guest chef supper series at The Twenty Six

Scott Goss, Chef Patron of The Twenty Six, is to host a series of supper clubs with guest chefs, who all have strong connections to Kent. Andrew Clarke of acclaimed restaurant Brunswick House, London, will cook the first supper with Scott on Thursday 13th October.

Scott and Andrew, with a shared passion for fresh flavours, colours and seasonal produce, will each cook 3 courses for a 6 course menu, including a cheese course and paired wines. Tickets for this exclusive, one-off event are £60 and can be purchased by calling The Twenty Six on 01892 544607 or www.thetwenty-six.co.uk.

The 6 course menu will also have an accompanying wine flight, included in the price.

Cep and bone marrow gougères (AC)
Gruner Veltriner Yealands Estate, New Zealand

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Raw salmon, devilled crab, cucumber and sea rosemary (SG)
Herdade Do Rocim Amphora, Portugal (white)

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Salsify, razor clam, fennel, trompette, radish (AC)
Herdade Do Rocim Amphora, Portugal (red)

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Goatober faggots, parsnip, burnt butter, Cornish ale gravy (SG)
Cote du Rhone La Petit Caboche, France

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14 day-aged Challans duck, green olives, red chicory, mint (AC)
Barbaresco Conti Speroni, Italy

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Malt ice cream, espresso stout affogato (AC)
Pedro Ximénez, Spain

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Chocolates and a night cap (SG)

Andrew and Scott have known each other for over 10 years. Both favour British food with European and other worldly influences with an emphasis on flavour, colour and texture. Andrew is now Chef Director of Brunswick House, situated in Lassco, an antique dealers and architectural reclamation yard in Vauxhall, South London. Previously Head Chef at Salt Yard and more recently Rita’s Bar and Dining, Andrew’s food is bold, fresh and full of character. London restaurant critic Fay Maschler described a dining experience at Brunswick House as ‘Like a treasure hunt with clues, a piece of music with reflective melodies or a tapestry with tight intricate stitches, the menu is woven together in a way that is enticing and also sensible.”

Further dates and chefs in The Twenty Six series to be confirmed in due course.