It was a beautiful morning, I was up and excited for the days tuition and cooking, sleep had been restful, the Harbour Hotels bed and pillows agreed with me, after a cup of tea and shower I walked down to the harbour to look at the day boats before heading to the school, a daily habit.
The communal table at the far end of the ‘kitchen’ was my starting position, welcomed by Phil, ‘what would you like to drink Jules’, I would alternate between Latte and Cappuccino, soon the others would drift in and discuss the previous evenings activities, we were all staying local but in different hotels and guest houses. I still had the previous evenings meal on my mind, it was really good, what were we going to cook today was my next thought.
Nick came over and asked us to the front of the kitchen, ready for the next demonstration, we were going to cook Mussels, hmmmmm, what did I have last night, these were different, no XO, but Garlic, Tomato, Chilli and Parsley, delicious. We were taken through the process, and at the same time questions were asked and stories told about Nicks chef life, interesting and amusing at the same time, he had some great stories to tell which got everyone engaged.
Interesting was the source and reasoning for picking a particular supplier of mussels, West Country Mussels, they are amazing. Grown offshore near Fowey they are very plump, have a thinner shell and much less gritty than the mussels you get rope grown in estuaries and close to the shoreline, they were the same ones I had the previous evening.
After Nick prepared each dish we all got to take a picture of the finished meal, we also got a taster so we could understand what our dish should be like flavour wise, obviously everyone has their own palate so there was always an amount of ‘interpretation’ here and there! Above left is Nicks taster, right is my lunch at the communal table, it was very tasty.
It’s Sunday and earlier today there was an episode of Ricky Stein’s Seaford Odyssey on TV, he was in his original small kitchen at ‘The Seafood”, cooking Lemon Sole with a delicious spiced butter, I know it’s delicious as we all cooked the very same dish last week, on day 2. Learning the 2 common methods of preparing the fish before cooking was fascinating, can you spot the difference in the picture above. There were a couple of amusing stories relating to this, if you want to find out you will need to book the course and learn some fab skills at the same time.
Off we went in our pairs, chatting, chopping, slicing and preparing, deciding which method to go with, it made a difference but ultimately, a delicious grilled flatfish with flavoured butter ended up on the dinner plate, along with crisp glass of Muscadet this time, served by the ever present Phil, who also advised, guided and ‘got stuff ready’, so we could focus on the cooking and make the most of our time.
Excuse my french but Gurnard is a bugger of a fish to prepare, it has an awkward shape and bones in unusual places, Nick sorted one like it was child’s play, the rest of us took a little longer! This was a brilliant dish from ‘Rick Steins India’ book, a Madras Curry base packed with tomatoes, mustard seeds, onion and Tamarind it was a belter. This could easily be prepared using Cod or any other firm white fish, it wasn’t too challenging except the fish preparation, one of the reasons we were all attending the school.
Singapore Chilli Crab was our next adventure, after Nick explained how to tell the difference between male and female we all got a crab to prepare, its not too difficult once you have been shown the good and not so good bits. No part of the crab is poisonous, some parts are just unpleasant so don’t believe all the stories you may have heard about dead mans fingers!
We had all been snacking on demo dishes and eating our own efforts, I was conscious that I was out again that evening so put the breaks on and let my colleague have my efforts, so that I had some space for the special event later on.
The ‘Tuesday demo’ was a delicious looking Indonesian Seaford Curry (£39.95 in the restaurant), served with a Green Bean and Grated Coconut Salad, Crispy Shallots and Garlic. We were shown the various stages and when completed everyone was given a serving, it was very popular.
In the summer, Padstow is heaving with people, this time of year it’s a peaceful idyl, there are a few tourists around but come evening it’s almost empty. I went for my routine stroll, the evening was warm, the forecast rain had not arrived and I sat by the harbour looking at the fishing boats and imagining the horror of being on one, during really rough seas, not something I would want to experience.
St Petroc’s Bistro was my evenings destination, the executive chef Mark O’Hagen and I had a conversation on 10th November 2021, I had suggested adding some black pudding to the pigeon salad dish I had that evening, we had remained in contact ever since.
Starting with service Yaz was going to make sure I had a great evening the menu arriving promptly, along with a ‘Tarquins Rick Stein’ gin and Fevertree Tonic to set the evening going. As the previous evening I had been looking at the menu for weeks before, trying to reduce my options to a point of decision, it was still difficult.
There were appetiser options before starters and something caught my eye, Salt Cod Brandade with Olive Tapenade and Sour Dough toast, that sounded interesting and something I had not eaten before so it went straight to the top of the ‘must have’ list.
What a decision, absolutely delicious…. Notable (I’m fussy), the Sour Dough was perfectly grilled, no soft lazy edges it was brilliantly done, I know its just a bit of bread but when you have a soft Brandade you need the contrast, it was perfect. As for the Brandade it was delicious, meltingly soft, seasoned with a spread of Olive Tapenade it was a perfect way to get the taste buds going, boooom.
For starters I chose the Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream and Walnut Bread, another delicious banging dish. Yaz had been the perfect host so far, checking on me occasionally, not imposing, a beautiful balance of service and attention, a credit to St. Petroc’s.
Back to the starter, the Salmon had a delicate smoke, not heavy and intrusive but subtle and sitting in the background, the Horseradish Cream had the right amount of heat, the chives providing a hint of onion, the Walnut Bread was a perfect match, enough Walnut to be noticeable and offer some texture, simple done brilliantly.
It was the main event and Yaz walked up with my Bass, Beure Blanc and Spinach, it looked fab. Bright Yellow butter sauce, obviously using quality eggs again, St.Ewe as I was to find out later in the week and perfectly cooked Bass fillet, crispy skin and soft giving flesh, it was delightful. My chosen wine for the evening was a bottle of Domain Horgelus which was a perfect match, cutting through the rich sauce like hot knife through butter, what a meal.
A busy day in the kitchen prepping, cooking eating and just the best evening, beautiful service from Yaz and Mark, you knocked it out the park (again), thank-you for making my lonesome evening so enjoyable and memorable.
(Just a quick note, I paid full price for this week in Padstow and have received no incentives or persuasion that would affect my comments and reviews, they are all my personal and unbiased experiences)
……………………………………………Until Next Time……………………L8ers………………
I’m very familiar with the setup at Richard’s School, this would be my six course, having spent days with the likes of Mark Hix, Dhruv Baker, José Pizzaro and Omar Allibhoy as well as the master Bread Maker himself Richard, you are always guaranteed high quality chefs, a relaxed atmosphere, great support from the team of lovely ladies that organise and clean (esp. newby Charlotte), and teaming up with like minded enthusiasts all ages, and from all walks of life who want to learn new skills. After the usual Tea, Coffee and Toast (Richards Bread is just fab) with home made conserves we were introduced to the menu we were going to prepare, in 2 groups of 4 people. Anjum explained that we were going to be all hands-on, no demonstrations as she would be working with us, explaining the necessary techniques on the way which sounded just perfect, and just ask questions if you are not sure.
So we started to prepare the Goan Prawns and accompanying Chutney, this is where being with the author of the book really helps, as it’s very difficult to explain texture, smell and flavour in a book, preparing it with the cook in the room and you start to pick up all the important hints and tips to get the best out of the recipe. This was a case in point with the texture required for the Prawn Cakes which needed blending, but not to extinction!!!! The correct balance of ‘glue’ to texture would provide the desired effect and so we took a step by step approach so we could see what was required.
There is only one book (that I am aware of), that takes this issue full on and that’s Marcus Wareings’ “How to Cook The Perfect”, which goes a good way towards addressing the challenge of subtle technique, and is highly recommended.
As we carried on with our preparation more questions followed, the subjective issue of herb quantities for the Chutney, to join the Goan Prawn Cakes we were making a Tangy Coriander Chutney, the ‘Tang’ provided by Lemon, with some texture from Pistachios, with Mint and Garlic to add to the flavoursome accompaniment. The consensus was that at the end of the day, everyones palate is different and adjust to what YOU like but we all agreed testing the Chutney without having some Goan Cake at the same time was the only way to ensure the flavour profile was appropriate. 
Shock, Horror, OMG, its delicious, we made that!!
I love Biryani but here in the U.K. we have a little problem, I am yet to have eaten a Biryani in a restaurant or takeaway, nope, definitely not a proper Biryani, not one that even comes close. Today we MADE A BIRYANI, a proper one, from the Kutch region of India, a result.
Kutch district (also spelled as Kachchh) is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,674 km², it is the largest district of India. The population of Kutch is 2,092,371. And THEY know how to make a proper Biryani.
Anjum is an absolutely lovely lady, patient calm, full of enthusiasm and abound with knowledge about the food and region, her life story is really interesting and forms the start of her book I love India where the recipes for the cookery session came from. She was really happy to answer all the questions we threw at her, at times it must have seemed like a ‘barrage’ during a 17th century attack on a ‘Fortified Castle’, relentless!!
Those that have been to Richard’s School will know about the late morning break, those of you that don’t, pick a course, book it and find out for yourself as it’s part of the experience, ’nuff said.
So what about dessert. Charlotte, one of the lovely ‘BackStage Girls’ as they are know who clean, make tea, prepare as necessary mentioned ‘Frogspawn’ a couple of times!!!
The Goan Prawn Cakes and Tangy Coriander Chutney were outstanding, really tasty and the Tang of the Chutney went very well indeed. I reckon (only a personal opinion), this could be served with the addition of a Kachumber, a salad of Onion, Tomato and Cucumber (with a Tamarind Dressing), which would be a perfect match and make a lovely lunch or light supper.
It was so nice to be eating a proper Biryani again, light, fragrant with textures and pings of flavour from the addition of Currants and Almonds fried in Ghee, and the Fried Onions I had prepared earlier. It was bl@@dy tasty as they would say in Australia!
We were all so busy commenting on the starter and main, asking Anjum so many questions and having a great foodie conversation I forgot to take a picture of the dessert. We could not get ‘proper’ Mango’s and those we had didn’t have the best flavour, although the result actually tasted Ok.
I love food, or should I say I love food that has character, flavour and maybe a story behind it, as it makes things much more interesting. The area of Southern Asia covers a huge expanse, and includes the likes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and its resulting rich and diverse culture and cuisine. There is a mountain of history that defines these distinct areas and that has developed over the years and influenced some of the food that we have become familiar with, including 
Onions seem to form the basis of many dishes that come from the region of Southern Asia and the Korma is no different. Now, I really hate Korma or should I say Chicken Korma, I suspect because of the dishes I have tasted are either from a take-away (once), or one someone close to me has made (I suspect from a Jar, Shhh) again once, I did not like either of them!
Back to the Onions as there are two different ways they need to be dealt with, sliced and given a liberal salting, and chopping finely. Above you can see above a considerable amount of onions sitting in the colander, once salted and left for at least 30 minutes, the amount of water that gets extracted is quite significant in the picture below. The Onions need to be fried (use a deep fat frier on about 160 degree’s) until golden brown, then drained very well and blitzed with some water to create an Onion Puree. The salting process helps remove much of the water but be careful as there will be a lot of spitting when you put the Onions into the Oil.
Once completed the aroma is slightly sweet, pungent and just yum, you can see my effort above. I suspect many of the Korma’s in restaurants and in jars have sugar added to provide the sweetness, this recipe has no added sugar (I have just checked two well known sauce brands on the internet and yes, they both have quite a lot of added sugar)!
The other core elements that make this dish ‘sing’ include Black and Green Cardamom, Ground White Pepper, Kashmiri Chilli, Cloves, Cinnamon and Ground Coriander Seeds. To add to the this, a puree of both Almonds and Cashew Nuts are needed along with Saffron, (I used Afghanistan Saffron which comes from a village co-operative encouraged to stop growing drugs, that’s got to be good). The majority of my spices come from 
I had a ‘debate’ with my partner of 27 of so years on the Chicken cut, and I stood my ground (typical obstinate bloke I her you say). I had a pack of Chicken Thighs which would be perfect, but I was battling against Breast Meat which my partner wanted to go with.
I will admit to cheating a bit with the Rice, and used a couple of packets of the ‘quick cook’ variety but with some added ingredients. Golden Raisins which had been steeped in Earl Grey Tea for a least an hour, some cloves, a little broken Cinnamon stick, a few crushed Green Cardamon pods and a light sprinkling of the Saffron Water, finally some chopped Coriander and a few flaked Almonds, the whole lot goes in the Microwave for 2-3 mins (yes a Microwave)!
So, the Korma hating critic was gobsmacked, this was bl@@dy amazing with deep flavours, a slight nuttiness but not too much, sweet but not sweet (the Onion puree I guess), this was just sublime. The Kashmiri and Ginger (I didn’t mention the Ginger so you do need the book to recreate this 🙂 providing some heat long with the White Pepper.
Julian Rolfe 
