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Friday 26 November 2010
Birthday meal for 2
08:39 | 
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Unknown |
'Thanks again for the wonderful meal Friday night.
We really appreciated your friendly and unobtrusive manner and thoroughly enjoyed every delicious mouthful'. Michelle Trevor
We really appreciated your friendly and unobtrusive manner and thoroughly enjoyed every delicious mouthful'. Michelle Trevor
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Tuesday 21 September 2010
A Birthday 3 course Dinner for 9
“We were blown away by how good Stephen was. He listened to what we wanted and came up with some delicious-sounding menu options. He was easy to deal with throughout the whole process. Above all, the food was outstanding – right up there with top Auckland restaurants, and his service was friendly but discreet. If you want to enjoy an amazing meal in your own home, without the hassle of cleaning up afterwards, try the Free Range Chef” - Mark and Kirsten Hodgson
Monday 30 August 2010
Herradura Tequilla Degustation Dinner comments
'Thank you so much, it was absolutely amazing!! The food was fantastic and so was the tequilas, a relly nice night, thank you so much for thinking of me!'
-Hollie Smith
'Had amazing fun last night, what a lovely end to a wierd Tuesday!'
-David Farrier 3News
-Hollie Smith
'Had amazing fun last night, what a lovely end to a wierd Tuesday!'
-David Farrier 3News
Thursday 26 August 2010
Herradura Tequilla Degustation Dinner
So since July I have been working in the executive chef capacity at Dallows restaurant at Sale St in Freemans Bay, AucklandOn the evening of the 17th August Dallows restaurant hosted a degustation evening matching tequila to food. I created a menu to food match to the four tequilas from Herradura.
A short history:
Herradura was founded in 1861 by Feliciano Romo in Amatitan , a small hillside town six miles from the town of Tequila. According to the family history while Feliciano was looking for a building site for the distillery, he caught a glint of light flashing on the ground which turned out to be an old horseshoe, and so the site was selected. The brand name Herrradura means horseshoe in Spanish.
All Herradura Tequilas are made from 100% blue agave and the tequilas have no additives, sugars or colourings and have earned the right to use the legal terms 'natural' and 'estate bottled' on it's US labels.
The evening was hosted by Sale St owner Luke Dallow and Ruben Aceves the Herrdura owner, shown below discussing the finer points of a glass of tequila.
Dallows restaurant was packed with a mixture of celebs and media folk all intrigued by what was awaiting them !!
The tequila and the food:
First was the Herradura Blanco, this colourless young tequila is only aged in oak barrels for 45 days. It's a clean smooth attack with hints of citrus, vanilla and spice with a full feel on the tongue, followed by a astringent drying of the palate.
I wanted something clean and flavoursome, light and fresh to match with this tequila and thought about something south American. Ceviche was my choice, using snapper and scallops. I mixed Muscatel vinegar with the lemon and lime to add a touch of sweetness and depth, to add texture and colour I then added red corn chips, which we broken into pieces and a Avocado creme to complement the whole dish.
For the Entree was the Herradura Resposado. A light yellow coloured tequila, aged for 11 months, five times the norm, in white oak barrels. It has a pungent sharp ripe apple aroma and hints of acetone, brown spices, dried fruit and a rich earthy agave flavour, it has a long smoky finish.
For this course, I looked at a signature dish of mine, which I changed to match the tequila. I needed something to live up to the strong attack of this tequila and wanted to enhance those warming flavours. Plus this dish has an Asian theme, which would be a nice contrast from the appetizer course.
I cured pork belly for 24hrs with Asian spices, orange and cinnamon and confit the whole belly in duck fat, Pork stock, orange and more brown spices, cooked it slowly for a number of hours and then press the whole belly. For service we crisped the top of the belly pork which added texture to the melt in your mouth pork. The addition of crab is there to balance and to add a sweetness and light element to the dish, plus pork and seafood match very well together. We placed the whole dish on a marinated cucumber ribbon and finished it with a micro salad and a tart apple dressing.
The main was matched with the Herradura Anejo, which is aged for two years in white oak barrels, it has a dark copper colour, with toasted oak and caramelised aromas, it has a medium body with caramel flavours, hints of pepper and a long oaky finish, reminiscent of a good bourbon whisky.
When I read the tasting notes and tasted this tequila I immediately thought of coffee, and how well the two would go. I have cooked meats with coffee before and thought this would be a rich complement to a fine tequila. I decided to use ox cheek, as it would take on the flavour well with the marinating and slow cooking. The addition of veal was a contrast, (the sugar lumps to your coffee!) a lighter meat to change the colour of the over all dish. I just poached the loin in a light flavorful stock. Parsnip puree is one of my favorites and just works so well with the rest of the flavours.
The dessert course was matched with the Herrdura Seleccion Suprema. This tequila is aged for over 4 years and is the pride of Casa Herradura. It has a very dark gold colour with a definite wow!
Cream soda and oaky aromas, hints of white pepper and citrus, with sweet oak, caramel and a long rich finish.
The Deconstructed Passion fruit brulee on the menu of Dallows restaurant was a perfect match for this tequila, served with compote of berries and a marscapone cream, it was held up to the fine tequila well.
Below Hollie smith and friends enjoying the evening.
'Thank you so much, it was absolutely amazing!! The food was fantastic and so was the tequila, a really nice night, thank you so much for thinking of me' - Hollie Smith
Below (left) Kelly Gibney (Sale St events manager) with partner Luke and Dish editor Victoria Wells.
'Had amazing fun last night, what a lovely end to a weird Tuesday. Thanks!!' David Farrier, 3News
Just like to say thank you to to Scotty for the creative input and the Sale St kitchen team for there hard work on the evening. I now have a new appreciation for tequila and really enjoyed food matching to such a quality product.
Stephen
Monday 23 August 2010
Orange and Cinamon Crispy Confit Belly Pork, with a Crab Salad and Apple Reduction
Rick Stein Visits New Zealand
On the 4th and 5th of August Rick Stein visited New Zealand doing two shows at the Aotea center Auckland. This was to be his first ever theater audiences.I managed to secure 2 VIP tickets and took my foodie partner to the show.
Rick Stein has always been a food hero of mine, his attitudes towards good simply food and of course his love for seafood. I like many have watched him on TV for many years, starting with the Taste of the Sea in 1995, since then Rick has done eight more series, with the latest series still being shot on the food of Spain (another favorite food and place of mine) due to be finished in summer 2011.
I have enjoyed making many of his recipes over the years and have been influenced by his enthusiasm for fresh ingredients, celebration of seafood and his philosophy on the sustainability of our seas. So to see him live and to finally meet him here in Auckland was a great experience.
We started the evening in the VIP room with great New Zealand wines, canapes and a quick pre speech from the man himself.We left there to the main room with a bag of goodies, a signed his cook book Coast to Coast, a Rick Stein apron and bag and lots of other bits and pieces.
Mark Sainsbury hosted the evening, to a packed Aotea center. The stage was elegantly done,with a home style feel to the kitchen and big screens to be able to see what they were doing, and a dining area where a few lucky people got to go up on stage to try a few dishes.
The 2 hour show comprised of hand picked best bits from his TV series some of his favourite recipes, stories from his travels around the globe. Starting with his home town of Padstow (just over a two hour drive from my home town), moving on to the recipes of French Odyssey, then to the Mediterranean Escapes and finishing in the Far Eastern Odyssey.
Head Chef Paul Sellars joined Rick and Mark on stage. Paul worked with Rick for seven years in Padstow, and has owned his own restaurants, going back to working with Rick again in the cooking school in Padstow.
Below is the Seared NZ scallops with lentils and a tomato and herb de Provence dressing, some lucky people at the front got to try this.
Below the Balinese seafood curry, the smells coming from stage were making us hungry!
Filleting fish, a Treacle tart, a show piece on Chalky (his dog that past a few years ago), a video of him visiting the Sea Mart in Auckland early that morning, tips and tricks in the kitchen, lots of joking about and a cook off between Rick and Paul with 2 people on stage to judge the final dishes(it was a draw!) were all part of a great evening.
It was a lot of fun to watch and be part of and if he comes back I highly recommend it!
For more information on Rick Stein visit www.rickstein.com
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Gallery Photo- Putting together starters
Putting together the starter for 10 girls on a hens night.
Anna Holly- Hens Night
“My lovely bridesmaid’s used Stephen from "Free Range Chef" for my Hen’s night and he cooked the most amazing 3-course dinner for us, tailor-made with my taste buds in mind! Complete with our own waiter for the evening we had the best time – I would totally recommend this experience!”
– Anna Holley
– Anna Holley
Sunday 27 June 2010
Martin - dietitian for the Japanese International Rugby team
“I spend most of my time fighting with chefs around the world in different hotels to get the right balance of foods for the team. Stephen took on board what was said at the meetings and came up with great menus with lots of variety with healthy options, keeping in mind the Japanese heritage. The team appreciated your hard work and we’ll see you next year for the world cup”
Martin - dietitian for the Japanese International Rugby team
Faye Westrop - Suit Yourself Magazine
"Steve and the team have done many an event for us now. Most catering companies roll out the same tired and bland menus, not Steve, exciting, tasty and most importantly affordable elegance. Brilliant team, great service"
Faye Westrop - Suit Yourself Magazine
Common Sense Media UK
"We found The Free Range Chef to be an exacting, professional and highly competent service. We work with some of the most challenging clients there are and Steve took that on the chin and created a range of menus to suit a number of tastes, food allergies and fuebles. We 100% recommend him"
Common Sense Media UK
The Penfolds - Somerset
“We absolutely loved Stephen and The Free Range Chef. Weddings are a really stressful thing to go through but the food is something we didn't worry about once. He gave us so many options to choose from based on a few initial ideas David and I had put together. He 100% 'got it', he understood exactly what we wanted and the food was prepared calmly, with precision and to exemplary standards. Without any shadow of a doubt I will ask The Range Chef, to do every dinner party and function I am responsible for from now on, even if I do have to fly him from the other side of the world to do it"
The Penfolds - Somerset
Gallery Photo - Getting ready for service.
Canape of mini jacket potato with a cold lemon and chive hollandaise.
Monday 21 June 2010
Fine Food Fair
The Fine Food Fair ran from 13th to 15th June and was strictly only for people working in the food industry.It's New Zealands first International food and hospitality event, with new products, equipment and ideas.
The ASB show grounds hosted around 240 exhibitors and support organisations such as HANZ and HSI.
It is a great opportunity to find new ideas, products and to network with existing and new businesses, so the Free Range Chef went for a visit.
It is a great opportunity to find new ideas, products and to network with existing and new businesses, so the Free Range Chef went for a visit.
As part of the fair there was the Nomis restaurant,which gave exhibitors and visitors the chance to dine in the main hall, with demonstrations and tasting plates from the mobile kitchens.
Leading chef demonstrations throughout the 3 days,the culinary challenge where New Zealand and Australian chefs went head to head, and the bakery of the year competition were just a few of the events going on through out the show.
I caught up with Lyn at Puhoi (some of my favorite cheeses are made by Puhoi) who was showcasing there new Gruyere cheese which was very good, the perfect balance between sweet and salt , with a creamy nutty finish, this cheese will get better with age. 
Found new suppliers of Mediterranean products. Lena was very helpful on the Mediterraneo range with olives, oils, vinegars and Antipasto products.
A great array of suppliers of crockery, knives, catering equipment and very new disposable canape and buffet ware were on show, giving lots of innovative ideas and giving the Free Range Chef a ever increasing wish list.
The Bakery competition was hotting with the 9 young finalists competing for the baker of the year crown and $14,000 in prizes. The competition was held in 3 heats over the 3 days, the cake decorating was amazing and the attention to detail where excellent.
Other foods of interest were from Mercato, with there huge range of specialist dry goods,meats and cheeses and there range of molecular gastronomy products.
Choco Vic Origen Unico chocolate is worth a mention. The range offers 3 different products with distinctive characters of there own. All are gluten and nut free.They even put the year of the harvests on the packaging as there are variations between the different harvests.
Another highlight of the food fair was seeing how to make Haloumi in 20 minutes courtesy of Over the Moon dairy. There cheeses are very good another favorite of mine. They run cheese making courses, teaching how to make all your favorite cheeses at home.
Warm milk. Add the Rennet. wait 30 seconds to a minute for the curd to set. Cut the curd into small pieces, press and drain the whey of the curd.
Then tip out haloumi when solid and drained well. Heat whey. Add the haloumi, cook through for a minute or to in the hot liquid.remove and put in to put into a water and salt solution for few minutes dry and cook...Very tasty and so easy !!!!
The show was very good and talking to the exhibitors they all thought it was very well organised and that it was one of the better food shows around. I agree I enjoyed it so much I went on the second day too. I tried so many products that I couldn't mention them all in this blog but I'm looking forward to the next time.
For any information on any of the products or on the fine food fair just hit the contact button and drop me a mail.
Tuesday 8 June 2010
Catering for the Japanese National Rugby Team
Between the 31st May and the 5th of June the Japanese National Rugby team came to Auckland to train and have a friendly match against North Harbour as a prelude to the Rugby world cup happening in New Zealand in 2011.
I was lucky enough to get the contract through Bstaff agency to cook for them with my sous chef Ryan, while they stayed at the Gulf Harbour Lodge in Whangaparaoa ran by Marie and Adrian Hunnego.
We had to cook them breakfast, lunch and dinner and they were specific about times and types of foods.Before they arrived we received sample menu plans, and liaised through Marie with the team HQ in Japan.
When they arrived we spent time talking to the teams nutritionist Martin their manager J.K and their coach the kiwi legend John Kirwin to get the foods right.
They were basically looking for menus with variety, that were healthy, with high carb options, and plenty of it.
The team was a lot more westernised in their food habits than first expected but we still put on Japanese influenced menu with Miso soup and rice being on at every meal, stir fried rices, Teriayki roast chicken, Miso marinated salmon, braised soy beef, Daikon salads, Japanese curry, fresh fish every day and lots of pasta and noodles just to name a few of the things we did and the lads could eat!
The Team were very friendly with a number of Kiwi and Australian players in the squad. J.K, the Manager, had his birthday on the last night so we made a very large cake to help him celebrate.
We had many good comments all week from the team and management and it was great to be able to sit down with John Kirwin and the rest of the teams management and have a wine after service.
Unfortunately the team lost the match against North harbour, but they were still in good spirits.
Marie, Adrian, Paul and the front of house team did a fantastic job looking after the lads while they stayed at the Lodge, and we were very grateful for your help in the kitchen to.
I would just like to thank Ryan for doing such a great job too.
We got the contract for next year !!!
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