Guides and goals
When Robert Clayton took over as head chef of Hunstrete House in Chelwood, near Bath, two years ago, he had his culinary goals clearly in focus: he wanted to retain three AA rosettes and obtain a Michelin Red M for the hotel's 50-seat Terrace Room restaurant.
Although he eagerly awaited the publication of the 1995 Michelin guide he recalls that when it finally came out, the hotel "only got a mention".But he did not see this as a setback and despite his youth, he was mature enough to realise it would be a mistake to allow the guides to dominate his career.
When the Michelin guide was published earlier this year, he casually dropped in to a bookshop in Cheltenham with no great expectations. He could not believe his eyes when he read that Hunstrete House had been awarded a star.
"I thought I was cooking to a high standard, but it was no different to the way I had been cooking since becoming head chef at Hunstrete two years ago - I was really chuffed," says Clayton who has only just celebrated his 26th birthday.
Clayton is modest about the accolades he has brought to the Avon-based hotel. His achievements, though, are all the greater when you consider he is running a seven-day-a-week operation. He concedes: "In a restaurant you can close for one or two days a week and get away from the place, but in a hotel someone has to be here all the time."
At Hunstrete Clayton is responsible for offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, banquet and party catering for about three conferences a week and 30 weddings a year, as well as room service for the hotel's 23 bedrooms. But he is not fazed by this daunting amount of work.
As he sits in the library, which looks out on to the immaculate deer park surrounding the hotel, he explains how he relishes the challenge. "I love the way of life here," he says. "When I worked in London at Menage à Trois and Simply Nico, I enjoyed the restaurant scene but I didn't like the lifestyle. You need to have a passion for London to enjoy it."
Situated to the south of Bristol and Bath, Hunstrete House is owned by the 15-strong Arcadian Hotels group. The 18th-century house, which is set in more than 90 acres of privately kept grounds, has a stately feel with chintz-covered furnishings and hundreds of beautiful antiques. It is uncharacteristically well-equipped with an outdoor swimming pool, a tennis court, croquet lawns and a walled garden supplying herbs and vegetables throughout the summer for Clayton's kitchen.
Northern cuisine
The Cleethorpes-born chef is a down-to-earth northern lad who doesn't brag about his food or ability. He believes his cooking is steeped in tradition and describes it simply as "meat and two veg - as you would get in Yorkshire". Besides his culinary accolades - rosettes and a star - he was a finalist in the 1994 Roux Diners Scholarship and a finalist in the Young Chef of the Year competition on three consecutive occasions.
Clayton operates set-price lunch and dinner menus (£17.95 and £32.50 respectively) and a seasonally changing à la carte. The set-price menus offer two choices per course and Clayton also writes a separate vegetarian menu (£19.50 for lunch, £32.50 for dinner) with dishes such as marmalade of onion crispy tart with a rocket butter sauce; Oriental spicy mushrooms in a puff pastry tartlet with basil vinaigrette; and potato, chive and cheese brûlée with crispy shiitake mushrooms.
The current à la carte offers fives starters and five main courses. It carries a selection of sea fish in a star anise nage (£9.50); pan-fried foie gras toasted brioche with a Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar sauce (£17.50); and chargrilled best end of lamb with Oriental ratatouille, sautéd noodles and a Madeira jus (£24).
When Clayton took over as head chef in April 1994, he immediately simplified the presentation of the dishes. "I wanted to concentrate on the flavours, textures and taste," he explains.
Determined to ease the load for his six-strong brigade, he says: "I kept everything to a minimum so that I could keep most things already prepped up. Most people stay here for a few days so they tend to go for the set-price menus which is great because it essentially means I keep six dishes en-plas."
Clayton is an admirer of Sally Clarke's no-choice menu at Clarke's in London. However, he believes Hunstrete customers would find such a menu regime too extreme.
One of the recipes he has chosen to share with Chef is guinea fowl and Madeira boudin with creamed leeks, which has been on the à la carte menu as a starter (£9) for the past two years. "I introduced it as soon as I took over. It has been very popular." The idea behind the dish came while working for Nico Ladenis at Simply Nico six years ago. Ladenis served miniature boudins - Clayton simply took the concept of the dish forward.
Initially Clayton accompanied the boudin with a mousse but felt it was too light and the dish needed something firmer, so he experimented with a mushroom duxelle and creamed leeks. "There was an abundance of leeks in the garden and they just worked well together."
This dish is a further example of how he endeavours to simplify life in the kitchen. "You need dishes like this to maintain consistency. It's an excellent dish for the à la carte because you can make the boudins up four days in advance."
The second recipe featured is risotto of lobster and salmon, which has become Clayton's signature dish and usually features on the à la carte menu as a starter (£15). He uses wild salmon when in season and serves it with a saffron velouté.
Although Clayton is a keen fisherman, fish does not dominate the menus at Hunstrete. He fishes at least once a week at nearby Chew Valley Lake, and if he catches a trout it will be served in the restaurant the following day either chargrilled with a red wine butter sauce or perhaps as a lobster and trout risotto. He can normally get about four portions out of each trout.
Clayton's modesty hits home when he reveals the story which seems to delight him as much, if not more, than being awarded a Michelin star. One of the first calls of congratulation came from former boss Nico Ladenis. Ladenis was particularly interested in one of the dishes mentioned in the guide, Clayton's risotto of lobster. "He paid me the ultimate compliment of asking me how I make it," says Clayton beaming proudly.
NEXT WEEK: Concluding the Take Five series, we visit Dorset and talk to a new recruit who has returned to the South-west after a spell cooking in Australia
Risotto Of Lobster And Salmon With A Saffron Veloute
(Serves six)
INGREDIENTS
4tbs of olive oil, 1 x 2lb lobster, still alive, 2 onions, 2 leeks, 6 sticks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 large carrots, 8 button mushrooms, Sprig of basil, tarragon, thyme, Pinch of saffron threads, 1tbs tomato purée, 1lb root ginger, 2 pints fish stock, 6 ripe tomatoes, 1 pint dry white wine, 1 pint Noilly Prat, 2 star anise, 1 fennel bulb, 1 lemon, 6 peppercorns, 2 pints double cream, 2lb salmon fillet, 10oz Arborio rice, 6 sprigs of chervil for garnish
METHOD
To kill the lobster, place it in the deep freeze for about two hours. Take out, twist and pull off the body and the legs.
Boil up a small pan of water with the peppercorns, a slice of lemon and a sprig of thyme. Place the body of the lobster in the boiling water for five minutes and take out. Cool under running water to stop the cooking process. Repeat this for the claws.
Take the meat out of the claws and body of the lobster, peel the tail like a large prawn. Place all the meat on a plate. Dice the tail and cut the claws into six portions. Cover with clingfilm and put in fridge until needed. Keep the shell, claws and head for the sauce.
To make the sauce and velouté, dice the vegetables into 1cm dice. For the first sauce, heat 2tbs of olive oil in a saucepan. Add all the carrots and half the rest of the diced vegetables, plus one garlic clove. Brown the vegetables, then add the lobster head and claws. Add the tomato purée, tomatoes, basil, tarragon and thyme. Add 1/2 pint of white wine, 1/2 pint of Noilly Prat and reduce by half. Add a pint of fish stock. Reduce by a quarter. Add a pint of double cream. Simmer for five minutes and pass through a fine sieve. Put into a saucepan, reduce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the saffron velouté, place the rest of the vegetables in a saucepan with 2tbs of olive oil. Sweat them off for about three minutes until transparent, then add 1/2 pint of white wine, 1/2 pint of Noilly Prat and reduce by half. Add a pint of fish stock and reduce by a quarter. Add a pint of double cream, simmer for five minutes and pass through a fine sieve. Put into a saucepan with the saffron threads, reduce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Liquidise with a hand blender to produce a frothy velouté.
Peel the ginger bulb and slice into a julienne. Keep in the fridge until needed. Before assembling the dish, deep-fry until golden brown. Place on kitchen paper and season. This is the garnish for the risotto.
Boil 4oz of risotto rice in plenty of boiling water, with no salt, for 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve and run cold water over the rice until cold. Drain and put into a saucepan.
Add the lobster sauce to the rice and bring to boil. Simmer until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Dice the lobster tail and add this to the rice. Warm through. Check seasoning. Meanwhile, heat the saffron velouté.
Slice the raw salmon into six thin, wide slices. Wrap in clingfilm and place in fridge.
Take six bowls, place the risotto in the centre using a tablespoon. Place the salmon and the lobster claw on top. Grill for four minutes and pour the saffron velouté around the base. Place deep-fried ginger on top and garnish with a sprig of chervil. Serve immediately.
Guinea Fowl And Madeira Boudin With Creamed Leeks
(Serves six)
INGREDIENTS
4 guinea fowl breasts, skinless and boneless, 1 onion, peeled, 1 clove of garlic, peeled, 1 egg, 1 pint double cream, 18 button mushrooms, wiped and cleaned, 5 leeks, 2 springs of tarragon, 1/2 pint white wine, 6 sprigs of chervil for garnish, 1/6 gill Madeira
METHOD
Dice the guinea fowl breasts and place in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt and 3ml of white pepper. Process to a smooth paste. Add the egg and the measure of Madeira. Then add 1/2 pint of double cream. Take out with a spatula and put into a bowl. Cover with clingfilm and put in fridge until needed.
Finely chop the mushrooms, garlic and onions. Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent, add the mushrooms and the white wine. Simmer gently until the mixture becomes dry. Add the chopped tarragon and allow the mixture to cool.
Add the mixture to the guinea fowl paste. To make the boudin shape, you will need clingfilm and a piping bag. Put the mixture into the piping bag, pull out the clingfilm and double over. Pipe the mixture along the length of the clingfilm, about 1in thick and 3in long. Fold the clingfilm over the top of the mixture, and roll tightly, tie each end. Repeat this five times.
Bring a pan of water to boil and place the sausages in the pan. Place a tea cloth on top - this will keep the sausages submerged. Bring back to the boil and simmer for two minutes. Leave to cool in water. (These can be made in advance as the sausages will last up to four days in the fridge.)
Dice four of the leeks into 1cm cubes and one of the leeks into julienne. Put aside until needed.
To assemble the dish: take the boudins out of the clingfilm, slicing them off with a sharp knife. Put the boudins on oiled baking paper and cook them in a 375ºC oven for 15 minutes, turning them every five minutes to even colour. Meanwhile, blanch the diced leeks in boiling salted water. Pour cream into a saucepan and add the blanched leeks, bring to the boil, season and add chopped tarragon. Deep-fry the julienne leeks until golden. Put the creamed leeks into the centre of a bowl. Place a boudin on the top of the leeks. Place the crispy leeks on top of this. Garnish with chervil.
