Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 15693
Michael Caines
Head chef and co-director, Gidleigh Park,
Chagford, Devon
"As modern-day chefs we offer little more than the opportunity to bring things forward, adapting and adjusting things to meet our own interpretations of what we think our customers would like to eat. Through our training and eating out we draw on experience and to every dish we create, there will always be a comparison to others and a likeness to ones that have been done.
"What, for me, makes the difference, is that we are all individuals and the millennium will offer the individual more opportunities to express his or her opinion of what works for them. It should be an interesting time!"
Poached peach and vanilla mousse and nectarine sorbet Serves eight
Ingredients
For the vanilla mousse
(8 x 50mm x 40mm rings)
75g sugar
25g milk powder
5 egg yolks
250ml milk
50g whipped cream
2 caps of vanilla essence
2 vanilla pods (split and scraped)
11/2 leaves of gelatine (soaked in cold water)
200ml whipped cream
For the poached peaches
4 peaches
1 litre water
300g sugar
1 vanilla pod
Juice of 1 lemon
For the nectarine coulis and sorbet
500g nectarines with stone removed and cut into pieces
200ml stock syrup from poaching the peaches
100ml stock syrup
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
50g crème de pêche
2 vanilla pods
For the blackcurrant coulis
500g blackcurrants
200ml stock syrup
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Splash of crème de cassis
Eight tuile biscuits (wrapped around the vanilla mousse moulds)
Method
To make the vanilla mousse, cream the egg yolks and sugar. Place the milk, cream, split vanilla pods, 1 cap of vanilla essence and milk powder into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add a third to the creamed egg yolks, mix well and pour back into the saucepan and cook to 85ºC. Be careful not to overcook.
Once cooked, pass through a sieve and dissolve the gelatine into the anglaise and place over ice to cool down.
Add the remaining cap of vanilla essence to the cream and whip to peak, fold into the anglaise and then set into the moulds.
To prepare the peaches, blanch them in boiling water for 10 seconds and then refresh in ice water, peel them, then place in a casserole tin. Add the water, sugar, vanilla pod and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until cooked.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Drain for the syrup and cut in half and remove the stone and place the halves on to a tray.
To make the nectarine coulis and sorbet, place all the ingredients into a stainless steel saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pods and then liquidise to a fine coulis and pass through a fine sieve. Put some coulis to one side and then turn the rest for the sorbet.
For the blackcurrant coulis, place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for about five minutes. Remove some blackcurrants for garnish and then liquidise the remaining mixture. Pass through a sieve and allow to cool.
To assemble the dish, spread some of the nectarine coulis in the middle of the plate and place the mousse in the centre. Encircle mousse with the tuile basket and then place a poached peach half on top. Point the plate using the blackcurrant coulis and add a quenelle of nectarine sorbet on top of the poached peach. Garnish with blackcurrants and diced peach.
