Food and Drink at Old Course Hotel

Hi and welcome back to the food & drink blog.

As I type this it is howling a gale outside! It’s day like this that I love nothing more but too make a big batch of soup to warm me up! The autumn and winter seasons are great as there are so many brilliant vegetables to be had. To name only a few of the produce I’ve welcomed this season: pumpkins, quince, parsnips, carrots, beetroots, butternut squash and brussel sprouts are not too far away.

I’m sure you are like me and have that one favourite soup recipe that you will make time and time again. This recipe has probably been passed down to you from your granny and I’m sure it’s guaranteed to perk you up when you’re suffering from the winter blues! Well, today I am going to share my favorite soup recipe with you. I hope you enjoy this yummy parsnip soup as much as I do!

Spiced Parsnip Soup – Serves 4

Ingredients

600g peeled and chopped parsnips

100g butter

100g Shallots

10g Garlic

200mlCream

600ml Ham Stock (or vegetable stock)

Method

1. In a heavy based pan melt the butter, add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft.

2. Add the parsnips to the pot, season then sweat until the vegetables start to soften.

3. Pour in the stock and cream then simmer for 20 minutes.  

 4. Check that the parsnips are cooked through and blend to a smooth consistency.

5. Serve with a crusty roll topped with lots of butter!

You can catch the video of me demonstrating how to make my Spiced Parsnip Soup over on our YouTube page. I would love for you to share your favourite soup recipes or let me know if you have been experimenting with soups to make something a little bit different!

Take care

Ross

Hi and welcome back to the food & wine blog.

The best months for oysters are any month with the letter “r” in its name! Here at the Old Course Hotel we serve oysters in our famous Sands Grill seafood platter and this year they feature on our Christmas Menu in the Road Hole Restaurant. There are three kinds of edible oysters: Rock, Pacific and Native. They can all be found in Scotland but are not all native to our country.

The Pacific oyster is from Japan and can be found in the warmer waters of the Pacific, in recent years it has also been introduce to North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

The season for Native oyster officially starts on the 1st of September. They are left all summer to reproduce then as we approach winter and the waters cool the mussels begin to harden, so the colder the water the better the oyster! These oysters tend to be a bit meatier than the Rock or Pacific and have a great flavor and that’s exactly why I prefer to use them in the Road Hole Restaurant, they are more expensive but definitely worth it.

Rock oyster grow well throughout the year and are much easier to source. These are the oysters that we serve on our seafood platter in the Sands Grill. If we find that the Rock oysters become difficult to get in the colder months then we will switch to the Pacific oyster to ensure that we have consistent quality.

Here is a classic, simple dish from the Sands Grill, if you have a good quality oyster then there is no need to play around with them.

Ingredients

Dozen fresh opened oysters

3 Shallot

5ml of oil

30g sugar

For the red wine vinegar             

100ml water

50ml red wine

juice of a fresh lemon

Crushed ice to serve

Method 
Dice the shallots very fine and sweat off in the oil making sure the shallots are clear. Add the vinegar, red wine, water and sugar then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice then allow to cool.

On a large plate place the ice and arrange the oysters on top. Serve the red wine shallots on the side and add as you require to your taste.

I’ve also added a video on to YouTube of my Sous Chef and I demonstrating how to open and prepare oysters. They really are so easy to prepare, they will definitely impress at your next dinner party! If you would like any advice on how to choose or prepare oysters then please do get in touch.

Take Care
Ross

Hi there and welcome back to the Food & Wine blog.

For a bit of fun this month I thought I would pass you over to one of my Chef de Partie to give you a bit of an insight into the working day of a chef at the Old Course Hotel! The term Chef de Partie comes from the old French brigade system, run in all the classic French kitchens, “partie” means section, so it basically means “chef of the section”.

 I currently run my kitchen with 4 Chefs de Partie and 1 Commis (our apprentice chef), I really rely on these men and women to work to my recipes and exact standards. We have a small but closely formed team who all work together to produce a fantastic dining experience for our guests. Today I’m going to pass you over to Paddy Boyd: Paddy has been with the Hotel for two and half years and in that time we’ve worked with Paddy to teach him the ways of a 3 AA Rosette restaurant. As you know, I’m really keen to help young chefs develop and I really believe that one day Paddy will make a cracking Head Chef!

Hi, my name is Paddy Boyd and I am a Chef de Partie in the Road Hole Restaurant at the Old Course Hotel. My working day usually starts at 9am and finishes around 11pm, it is a hard shift but I love what I do! Last Saturday I kept a log of my shift-

11pm Time for a quick stop at our local pub in town with the team to debrief and chill out after a busy day. In the words of Gordon Ramsay…done!

Hi Ross here again, since the guys seem to love my team dinners I thought I would share the recipe for my famous pasta carbonara. It’s really quick and simple but above all it’s super tasty!

Carbonara – serves 4 people
Shallots 100g
Garlic 4 cloves
Butter 45g
Cooked ham hock 300g
White wine 150ml
Ham stock 300ml
Cream 400ml
Parsley, chopped 10g
Linguine ½ a packet
Egg yolk 50ml

Method-
Start by sweating the garlic and shallots with a little butter in a sauce pan with a heavy base, then add the ham hock along with the white wine and allow to reduce. Add the ham stock and reduce by half, follow by adding the cream and reduce by half again.

In a separate pan, cook the linguine in boiling salted water. Once cooked to your liking strain off and add to the sauce along with the parsley. Just before serving stir in the raw egg yolk.

Tip: The key to this recipe is to add the egg yolk just before serving, if you add the yolk too early and continue to cook it, the sauce will become stodgy. Don’t worry about adding in the yolk at the last minute, the heat of the pasta will cook it through.

If you have any questions about my recipe of if you would like any more information on the Road Hole Restaurant then please do get in touch. And remember, if you are visiting the restaurant and you would like to chat then do let your waiter know. I’d love to come out for some foodie chat!

take care
Ross

Hi folks

 Last week I was honoured to be joined in the kitchen by two very promising young chefs Eve Archibald and Rachel Notarangelo, both girls are taking part in Springboard’s FutureChef programme. I am really keen to encourage more young people to join the chefing world so both Simon and I were really pleased to be able to host the lunch in partnership with FutureChef. STV news joined us and filmed the whole afternoon, if you haven’t already seen the clip then you can catch it here….not that I’m showing off!

The girls joined my team in the Road Hole Restaurant to prepare lunch for a group of food and drink writers. Eve and Rachel were a brilliant help, together we served a delicious menu of Crab Salad with a Slow Cooked Hen’s Egg for starter; followed by Puddledub Farm Pork Belly, Black Pudding Bonbon, Pomme Puree and Apple Gel; finishing up with Blackberry Soufflé and Pear Ice Cream. I really hope that their time in the Road Hole Restaurant kitchen has inspired the girls to keep going in their journey to becoming top Scottish Chefs. One of the main reasons I’m so eager to help encourage more people into the industry is so that one day when I retire I know that I will be able to dine in great quality restaurants!

 FutureChef also helped me to launch my Recipe Competition. Over the next few weeks all secondary schools throughout Scotland will receive an information pack inviting pupils to take part in creating and submitting their very best recipe. I will judge the entries and the most creative and innovative young chefs will be invited to attend a very special event at the resort on Saturday 26th November during the St Andrews Festival weekend. Can’t wait to see what all the kids come up with!

If you would like any more information on the competition then please do get in touch. I’m off back to the kitchen to prepare for a busy evening in the Road Hole Restaurant!

Take care,

 Ross

Hi there and welcome back to the Food & Wine blog.  While many of the ingredients we use change with the seasons one that we will always have on our menu is beef.

The versatility of beef makes it a tremendous ingredient to work with.  We offer a range of different dishes around the Hotel from a simple roast beef sandwich in the bar to a tasty burger in the Jigger Inn, a great grilled steak in the Sands Grill or a more elegant dish the Road Hole Restaurant.

In the Sands Grill beef is king, simply served with a slow cooked tomato, chips and a choice of sauces. The cuts range from the 20oz rib chop to an 8oz fillet, grilled to your liking in our Josper oven. A Josper oven comes from Spain and is filled with charcoal before every service to give a unique grilled flavor to the meat.

Of course we cannot forget the famous Jigger Inn burger! The burgers are made with a secret recipe including 10oz of quality minced beef, made daily and cooked to order. You know, it is not unusual for us to go through 50kilos of beef at the weekend! Along with the Jigger Ale and landlady Antoinette Leask, the Jigger burger is a local legend.

We may offer a range of different beef dishes however there is only one kind of beef that we use and that is Black Isle beef from Inverness-shire. We are in constant contact with our local butcher John Henderson from Glenrothes, discussing the different cuts and ensuring the quality of meat. As we move into autumn I am looking at using some heavier cuts, in the last week I have been trying out dishes using oxtail, beef cheek and shin…hearty cuts that will warm you up on a cold evening!

I have prepared a simple recipe for you to try on chilly autumn night that will warm you to your bones…

Braised Beef Cheeks – for two people

Ingredients:

Beef Cheeks      2                            Carrots              5

Beef stock         1litre                    Potatoes            6

Red wine           200ml                 Full fat milk      50ml

Shallots             2                             Butter                100g

Method:

First, cut the cheeks in half and sear in a hot pan, once sealed remove the cheeks. Add the shallots and three carrots to the same pan, roast until caramelised then add the wine and reduce. Put the cheeks back in the pan and cover with stock, place in an oven at 140°C and cook for 4 hours.

While the cheeks are cooking peel the potatoes and boil for mash, cut the remaining two carrots into even shaped cubes and roast in the oven. Once the potatoes are cooked, mash and beat in the cream and butter.

Place a good dollop of mash in a bowl, add the roasted carrots, top with a beef cheek and add a generous amount of sauce. Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy!

I do hope you give the recipe a go, it’s really simple and very tasty! Let me know how the dish turns out and why not show off by posting a picture on our Facebook page?!

Speak soon

Simon

Hi and welcome back to the Food & Wine blog.

 I am really looking forward to the Dundee Food & Flower Festival this weekend. I would usually go along as a visitor, I love watching the cookery demonstrations and visiting all the food produce stalls for samples and a chance to chat with the producers. This year, however, I will be on stage demonstrating my new lamb dish from the Road Hole Restaurant: Provencal, Slow Cooked Shoulder and Rack of Lamb, Sweet breads with a Smoked Pepper Foam. You can watch my demonstration on Saturday 3rd September at 2.45pm. For tickets and more information on all the events at the festival visit their website – http://www.dundeeflowerandfoodfestival.com/

 The organic lamb we use in the Road Hole Restaurant comes from Drumcarro Farm just outside St Andrews. The farmer Hugh Gillan rears a pedigree flock of Lleyn sheep before delivering them to the abattoir in St Andrews, only three miles away from the farm. Once the lamb has been slaughtered Hugh picks the lamb up and takes it to artisan butchers Stuart Minick on South Street, St Andrews. Stuart simply cuts the lamb in half before Hugh collects it and drops it off at the Hotel. By my calculations that means that our lamb travels just under 7miles from the field to our door.

The Journey our Lamb Makes from Field to our Door

 Many conventional sheep today are fed on kale turnips concentrate pellets. The Lleyn sheep on the other hand is a superior breed, chosen by HRH Prince Charles the lambs graze on clover only. This allows the farm greater confidence that the lambs truly are organic. Originally from Wales (the name was a clue!) the Lleyn breed has become more popular around the UK in the last 10 years.

Lleyn Sheep

I do hope you can catch my cooking demonstration at the Dundee Food & Flower Festival this weekend. Remember if you do come along to the Road Hole Restaurant and you would like to chat about the food we serve then let your waiter know, I would love to come out to say hello!

All the best

 Ross

Hi, welcome back to the Food & Wine blog.

Last week was a very busy and exciting week for us! On Friday Simon and I were at the Foodies Festival in Edinburgh, despite the mud and rain we made it on to the stage for our cooking demonstration. We had a great time meeting the audience and answering all their questions.

Another highlight of my week was the arrival of the Glorious Twelfth! The 12^th of August is the start of the grouse shooting season. Grouse shot at the start of the season (on and around 12^th  August) tend to be soft and full of great game flavour, meaning that they are ready to prepare and serve straight away. Birds shot after this time are a little firmer, the bird should be hung to allow the meat to be come tender. Traditionally, the grouse would hang until the head fell off. Today, this seems a little extreme, the longer the bird hangs the stronger the game flavour. I would suggest hanging the bird for no longer than a week, allowing the flavour to develop without overpowering the other ingredients.

After our demonstration at Foodies I rushed back to the Hotel to prepare the grouse that had been delivered earlier that day by our suppliers Ochil Foods. In the Road Hole Restaurant that evening I served the grouse with Sharpes Express potatoes, baby onions, Scottish girolles and celeriac.

It’s been great speaking to you. Do let me know if you would like any information on preparing a grouse dish yourself, alternatively I would love to hear your suggestions for serving grouse.

Hope to see you in the Road Hole Restaurant soon.

All the best

Ross

Hi folks and welcome back!

I am absolutely thrilled to share with you the news that Ross and I have been invited to perform a live cooking demonstration at the Foodies Festival in Edinburgh later this month.

Foodies Festival - Edinburgh 14th August

You can catch us in the Chef’s Theatre on Friday 12^th August at 4pm. I have chosen one of my signature dishes, Pheasant Dumplings with Quince Compote. It will be fantastic having the chance to create one of my favourite dishes in front of so many people with a real passion for food. It’s a real honour to have been asked to attend.

After the cooking demo we have the opportunity to speak with the audience. As you know I am an avid believer in the provenance of the ingredients I use in my dishes; so it will be great having the chance to answer any questions and get involved in some exciting foodie chat.

In addition to the cooking demonstrations at the Chef’s Theatre the festival also offers attendees the chance to enjoy a hands-on tasting session in the Food Masterclass Theatre as well as the Drinks Masterclass Theatre; the little ones can join in on the fun at the Young Cooks Masterclass. If all the food chat and cooking demonstrations have inspired you to create your own masterpiece then you can pick up some wonderful fresh produce from local suppliers at the Producers Market.

 So put the date in your diary – Friday 12^th August at 4.00pm, you can purchase the tickets from Seetickets on 0871 230 5573 or online at http://www.foodiesfestival.com/ticket-information/.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Warm regards

 Simon

Chocolate Heaven!

Hi folks, it’s good to speak to you all again.

I am delighted to announce our wonderful new chocolate selection at the Road Hole Restaurant supplied by Iain Burnett- The Highland Chocolatier. I will warn you now…this post may leave you running for the nearest chocolate bar!

Based in the small village of Grandtully, Perthshire the Highland Chocolatier produces fine chocolates made from a rare premium cocoa from the island of São Tomé and a selection of fresh Scottish cream and fruit.

Both Ross and I chose a small selection of chocolates to serve after dinner in the Road Hole Restaurant- it was a tough job to do but someone has to do it!  After trying many delicious chocolates we agreed on a mouthwatering selection. Dark Velvet is firm truffle with a more bitter and intense flavour while the Espresso Truffle contains a dark ganache with locally roasted espresso beans. The Marzipan treat is pure German marzipan dipped in 70% São Tomé dark chocolate. The Mocha Truffle is a milk chocolate alternative to the Espresso using fresh cream and Perthshire coffee. To add a bit of colour to the plate we chose a delectable Cinnamon Praliné with a hint of clove in a milk chocolate gianduja. Wow I’m hungry just writing about them!

My favorite chocolates from our selection have to be the award wining Velvet Truffles. Apparently the Cocoa Dusted Mild Velvet truffle took 3 years to develop and over 120 adjustments to the methods and recipe. We also chose the deliciously fruity White Strawberry truffle- a white ganache with red strawberry powder.

Remember these scrumptious chocolates are only available with coffee after dinner in the Road Hole Restaurant. http://www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk/restaurants/rhg_index.html The perfect way to end an exquisite fine dining experience, I’m sure you will agree. I’ve added a few pictures of the tasty treats just to tease you even more!

Speak to you soon

Simon

Hi there and welcome back to the blog.

Just as we say good bye to the Scottish asparagus season we welcome the Scottish girolles, also known as the summer chanterelles and Scottish gold. Every chef eagerly awaits the start of the girolle season and I am lucky enough to have excellent suppliers who have been able to deliver them to us straight away. Ross has prepared Brewster Farm chicken with delicious girolles and baby leeks to serve in the Road Hole Restaurant in the next few weeks.

Girolles begin to appear in mossy, forested areas in late spring, but they grow in abundance over the summer months. They come up a few days after heavy rainfall, which makes them particularly suited to a typical Scottish summer. I try to remember that fact every time I have a grumble about the patchy Scottish weather!

The girolle is a species of the chanterelle mushroom with a yellowish funnel-shaped cap 2 to 8 cm wide. It is characterised by the deep ridges (instead of gills) which run underneath its orangey funnel-shaped cap. Its flesh is yellowish-white, soft and has a fruity taste. They are a fantastic edition to a summer chicken or fish dish.

To prepare a chanterelle, I would advise scraping them with a knife blade and brush the ridges with a pastry brush. Do not wash the girolle as all mushrooms absorb water. You can then wipe the top clean using a small cloth. Cut off any spoiled sections as well as the earthy bottom of the stem.

As you know I love a good old foodie chat so please do post your favourite girolle dishes and comments.

Best wishes

Simon