insideKENT Magazine Issue 24 - March 2014 | Page 70

FOOD+DRINK

A YEAR OF KENT GOURMET
FOLLOW CHAPTER ONE’S CHEF PATRON,
ANDY McLEISH, ON A YEAR LONG JOURNEY
TO DISCOVER THE FABULOUS FOOD KENT
HAS TO OFFER.
Last year when I decided to launch
cookery classes at Chapter One, I
wanted to create exciting courses
where I could pass on my
experience, share tips, teach people
essential cooking skills and generally
help them become better home
cooks.
Because of my profession, I
frequently get asked questions
about food and how to prepare
specific dishes. In the past, there
have been a few occasions where
I’ve attended a friend’s dinner party
and somehow have been
persuaded to ‘help out’ in the
kitchen. A few years ago, it really
dawned on me, especially with the
rise in the number of TV cooking
shows that there is a huge demand
for people wanting to learn how to
become better cooks.
I’m very much a field-to-fork chef
and even hunt for the game that’s
served in my restaurant. In addition,

I love nose-to-tail dining, and at
Chapter One I incorporate this
philosophy – nothing from an animal
is wasted. I even use the bones to
create my stocks. The style of my
classes reflect these practices. For
example we hold a ‘Field-to-Fork’
class, where I teach basic butchery
skills and demonstrate whole
carcase butchery of a roe deer.
Attendees will also learn the different
cuts of meat and its uses.
This year, I have added three new
classes including a pasta making
class, a canapé preparation course
and on 23rd December I have
created a turkey preparation class
where guests will prep their bird
and stuffing and take it home with
them for their Christmas lunch or
dinner.

and it’s important to me to make them as interactive as possible, to ensure
the class are getting as much out of it as possible. Of course, I couldn’t
run our cookery school without encouraging my students to buy local
ingredients and celebrating Kentish produce. This county without a doubt
has an abundance of quality food.
The aim of my classes are not only to help you cook and eat better but to
also support our local producers.

I’ve designed the classes to be small
with no more than 10 people. They
are extremely informal, as I like to
teach in a laid back atmosphere

This month’s recipe is taken from one of my courses; it’s a French classic
and absolutely delicious – my take on the Apple Tarte Tartin. Enjoy!

Apple Tarte Tatin
Serves four
INGREDIENTS
• 5 Jazz apples (or Pink Ladies)
• 100g caster sugar
• Mixed spices (vanilla, star anise,
cinnamon)
• 75g unsalted butter
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 sheet of rolled puff pastry, slightly
bigger than the pan
METHOD
Peel the apples and cut each into
quarters. Remove the core and round
the edges of the apples with a potato
peeler. Caramelise the sugar and
spices together in the pan to achieve
a dark caramel colour, then
immediately remove from the heat and
add the butter and lemon juice. Leave
to cool for five minutes and arrange
the apples as neatly and tightly as

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possible, then cover with the puff
pastry and trim the edges. Tuck the
pastry in and around the apples and
cut a cross on top in the centre. Return
to the heat and caramelise until the
sugar starts boiling around the sides
of the pan. Bake at 185°C for around
45 minutes. Remove the pastry as
soon as the Tatin comes out of the
oven and leave aside to cool for a few
minutes. Then replace the pastry on
top and place a plate on top of the
pan and quickly turn the plate and the
pan over serve immediately with either
vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche.

Follow Andy on Twitter: @andy23471
Chapter One, Farnborough Common
Locksbottom, Kent BR6 8NF
To book call: 01689 854848 or visit
www.chaptersrestaurants.com