Noble Sauvage

There is no doubt that David Everitt-Matthias is a gifted chef. During his 12 years as chef-proprietor of Cheltenham restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage, he has scooped many awards - four AA rosettes, the 1996 National Chef of the Year title and County Restaurant of the Year in the 2000 Good Food Guide. But this week his career reached a new height with the news that he had won his second Michelin star.

It's a rare distinction, and one that recognises the confidence he has brought to his cooking. "When we first started here, I was quite young and eager to cook for the guides. I tried too hard and it brought a lot of heartache. But as I have developed, I have really learned," explains David, who celebrates his 40thbirthday later this year. "Maturity has taught me to cook, and now I cook what I like eating and what I am excited about."

That confidence was recently picked up by the Oberserver's Jay Rayner. Having eaten at the restaurant with his wife eight years earlier, he revisited Le Champignon Sauvage last summer so he could review it for the newspaper's Life magazine. Rayner commented in his review that because he and his wife had ranked their first meal there to be "the best we have ever eaten", they were a little reluctant to spoil their memory. But they were not disappointed. Instead Rayner found the food to display "genius" and "a talent for making dishes taste more of themselves than the original ingredient".

David's obsession with flavour has been long-standing. If an ingredient graces his menu, it does so after scrupulous examination. Take pumpkin as an example. David and his wife Helen (who runs front of house and is co-proprietor in the restaurant) regularly go foraging in the Forest of Dean, and on one occasion five years ago they came across a pumpkin farm. They bought 10 varieties, cut them into four, cooked them using various methods and examined the flavours and textures of each, dismissing the ones they felt were too watery, starchy or fibrous. They hit upon one that they believed to be the best - a sweet pumpkin with very little water content, the Crown Prince. Currently, it is served in a dish of seared scallops and baby squid, pumpkin purée and squid ink sauce.

The hardship of Le Champignon Sauvage's initial years meant that David could not afford to put many luxury ingredients on the menu. "I had to cook with wood pigeon rather than squab, mackerel rather than sea bass. But that has helped me a lot. The restaurant has been fantastic in helping me develop my style. Now I combine the rich with the poor successfully," says David. "I bet there are a lot of young chefs today who have never worked with mackerel."

To ensure that his second (and only) chef, Anthony Rush, does not fall into that category, David occasionally buys in whole animals - maybe lamb, calf, deer, rabbit or pig - so that he can share his knowledge and skill. "He gives me his time," he explains, "and I give him one-on-one training. I would hate him to leave here thinking he hasn't learnt anything."

In between shifts, David also arranges for Rush to spend time at the local butcher so that he learns how to bone out a hind or forequarter.

When a whole animal is bought in, it is not used for training purposes only, David warns: "We use them wisely." With rabbit, for example, the offal is served with split peas; David bones and stuffs the legs; the saddle is roasted plain or stuffed; he makes rillettes using the front legs; and the bones are used to make a creamy rabbit soup.

Rabbit, along with deer and wood pigeon, is regularly supplied to the restaurant by a customer, a local jeweller who enjoys shooting. "He ate in the restaurant one day when we had wood pigeon on the menu and happened to mention to Helen that it was his favourite. He managed to get me out of the kitchen (which is very rare), said he went shooting and asked me if I would be interested in anything. Occasionally he brings in other things, such as wild duck and hare, and he supplies us with cockles from a cockle patch he has in East Anglia."

Although David has been invited to join the shoots, he has always refused. "I don't mind cooking, gutting and using every bit of the animal - pig intestine, anything - but I'm not interested in seeing anything get killed."

The restaurant's success is not entirely down to the talents of the kitchen, though. In fact, many of the guides make a point of mentioning Helen's work front of house.

"She has a natural ability to work with people. She knows when to be formal and when to be informal, which is important," says David, adding that his confidence in front of house has allowed him to focus solely on the food.

"Helen has taken a lot of the pressure involved with running a business off my shoulders. She is the one who looks after the monetary side of the business, such as balancing the books."

Helen is also responsible for the ordering of the wine. Their collective knowledge - David has a passion for reds, Helen for whites - has developed over the years through tastings with suppliers or by exploring while eating out at other restaurants, here and abroad. The wines featured in Chef illustrate their preferences in regions and wine-makers.

David's knowledge of wine is also passed on to his chefs, if they are interested in learning about it. Clive Dixon, who steps down as head chef of Merchants in Nottingham next month (See Caterer, 13 January, page 4), worked at Le Champignon Sauvage in the early 1990s and says he knew nothing about wine before working with David.

"He taught me so much about it. He would think nothing of going to the cellar, opening a bottle of wine and showing me what to look for while tasting it. If you ask him a question he doesn't just answer, he shows you."

Despite being a provincial restaurant, Le Champignon Sauvage has always reflected food trends because David is so well read. "Because David is wrapped up in his own little world," adds Dixon, "he feels the need to be learning constantly. As a result, he comes up with such amazing ideas."

Ultimately, concludes Dixon, nobody in the restaurant world will be surprised that David has been awarded his second Michelin star. "Without doubt, he's one of the finest chefs in Britain."

Wiltshire pork with chou farci (serves six)

INGREDIENTS

For the pork jus

4 finely sliced shallots

2 crushed cloves garlic

50g butter

30ml red wine vinegar

100ml port

200ml red wine

Sprig of thyme

1 star anise

600ml brown pork stock

50g unsalted butter

For the pork chou farci

200g lean pork

100g belly pork

50g back fat

30g bread soaked in milk

1 finely chopped clove of garlic

50g finely chopped shallots

Seasoning

6 large cabbage leaves (Primo)

6 100g fillets of pork

50g powdered cèpes

Seasoning

50g duck fat

6 slices of black pudding

To garnish

Celeriac purée

Girolles

Bay boletus

Crosnes

Haricots verts

Garlic confit

METHOD

For the jus, fry the shallots and garlic in clarified butter until golden brown, deglaze with vinegar, and reduce until evaporated. Add the port, and reduce until evaporated. Add the red wine, and reduce by half. Add the thyme and star anise. Add pork stock, and simmer to the correct consistency. Pass, monté au beurre. Check the seasoning and acidify with a little sherry vinegar if needed.

To make the chou farci, mince the pork, belly and back fat, and beat well. Squeeze the bread and beat it in. Sweat the garlic and shallots in a little duck fat until cooked, cool and add it to the mince. Season, and fry a little to taste. Blanch the cabbage leaves, and cut in half along stem. Remove the stem. Cut the cabbage to size and stuff with farce. Form into 12 balls, season, and wrap in cling film to get a perfect shape. Steam for six to eight minutes. Keep warm.

Roll the fillet of pork in powdered cèpes, season and cook in duck fat until just cooked. Reseason.

To serve, heat the black pudding and celeriac purée. Sauté the mushrooms, and season. Cook the haricots verts, and season. Colour and crisp the garlic confit. Roast and season the crosnes. Assemble the dish.

Wine notes: David Everitt-Matthias recommends Cornas Berard 1988

"One of my favourite regions, it has intense fruit flavours and will stand up to this powerful dish. If there is any wine left over, it goes great with goats' cheese."

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20 - 26 January 2000