It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog piece but life hasn’t gotten any quieter! My dining club has been going for ten months now, and I’m happy to say it’s a huge success.  We’ve been fully booked every night, had some great times, and we will soon be taking bookings for early 2013!  I’d like to thank all of you who’ve helped make the Dining Club such a roaring success, here’s to many more memorable nights with old and new friends alike.

So things are wonderfully busy, but not just with Sara@St Johns.  I have gained some valuable experience teaching at various cookery schools. For example, I taught two courses on Italian cuisine at the inspirational Seasoned Ltd. in Derbyshire last summer, which I’m repeating this April and this brings me to my big announcement:

I am now offering my own cookery classes!

Starting in May, I am offering tailor-made cookery lessons at my home in York.  I am very passionate about the idea that people can dine well and eat healthily at home, so I’m delighted to be doing this at last.

The classes will not have a fixed date or subject.  Instead, I’d like you to contact me and let me know what you want to learn.  For example, some of you might want to learn traditional Italian techniques, or the fundmentals of cooking with game or seafood.  Others may be more interested in learning my original recipes from Sara@ St Johns or MasterChef.

Ideally, we’re looking at groups of about 4 people per class.  Classes will last up to 4 hours each.  They will be very much hands-on, to make sure you have the skill and confidence to produce wonderful food in your own home.

Classes will take place mostly during the week, but we can be fairly flexible.  Many of you will be able to get in contact with each other.  In that case, if you can gather yourselves into groups and decide what you’d like to learn about, that would make choosing dates much easier.

To find out more, or book a place, please get in touch using my contact form.

Until next time

Sara x

Last time I blogged about the stresses, strains and the wonderful privilege of running a dining club. So now you know that cooking is only the tip of the iceberg!

I love days @St. Johns as I can develop my skills and be creative. Even when I’m exhausted there’s the satisfaction of knowing I’m cooking for a living. Dish by dish my dream is coming true.

The doors @St Johns only open twice a week. My life as a professional chef involves lots of commitments and engagements beyond cooking food as I seek to plan medium to long term ventures (more on this on future blogs). Sometimes I balance so many responsibilities I feel more like a juggler than a chef! Here are just a few of them:

Never Ending Emails

Every day, the dining club receives dozens of emails. As front of house, David helps me a lot by taking care of the bookings and enquiries.

Aside from the dining club, many food related emails reach our Inbox – as well as a stream of admin from my other ventures: cooking schools, tailor-made cookery classes at home, food shows and charity events amongst them Doing paperwork for these events is not exciting, but is an essential part of running a business.

Finally, I catch up with emails, Tweets and Facebook messages from my fans. These brighten up my day. It’s always lovely to be appreciated and I’m touched that people contact me with a query or to give positive feedback.

Some days, responding to these enquiries doesn’t take too long. At other times, such as when I’ve had some national media coverage, it can take a big chunk of my day!

Cookery Events

In addition to the dining club, I am often busy with food related events: demonstrations, cookery classes, food shows and media interviews.

Just like the dining club, each of these events will only last a couple of hours, but the hidden work is enormous. Each event requires significant planning and preparation if I’m to give my best to the event.

Life on the Rails

My life as a chef involves a great deal of travel. In the last month alone I have been to Edinburgh, London, Glasgow and Birmingham.

I don’t have a car, so I tend to travel by train. On the positive side, this gives me time to think and read. But during heavy weeks, when I have bookings up and down the country, travelling can be extremely draining.

Media Interviews

Media Interviews are enjoyable events for me and take place quite frequently. Since the end of MasterChef 2011 I am often asked to chat to the press about my career, my cuisine, or to talk about an upcoming event I’m involved in.

Some interviews are quick and simple others take longer. All take a great deal of concentration as English isn’t my first language and I want to make myself crystal clear to the reporter.

As you can see, my life isn’t all experimental desserts and freshly made pasta. Becoming a professional chef has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I am happy in my work, which is a good thing I guess- because there is a lot of it to do!

I hope this has given you an insight into the hidden life of a Chef.

Till next time

Sara

This week saw the 600^th guest walk through the doors of the dining club. A brilliant achievement for our new business and I’m thrilled with how it’s going.

I’ve already blogged about the food, flavours and philosophy of our dining club, but many of you have asked me to talk about the reality of running my own food business.

So this week I’m going to blog about my day-to-day life @ St. Johns, to give you a taste of the joy (and the stress) involved in running the dining club.

Early to Rise

My day starts bright and early. My first job of the day is to get some exercise – I go for a run or a swim.

Exercise helps me to free my mind for the day ahead, and is an important way of grabbing some ‘me time’ before the frenzy of the hours ahead.

My husband David acts as front of house @St.John and, whilst I am swimming, he collects the shopping for the dining club, calling round our favourite suppliers, and the wonderful delis and market stalls in York.

Preparing to Cook

I start cooking at around 10:30am. Prepping all the courses can take several hours. Each week we serve a different menu, based on fresh seasonal produce and my culinary inspirations.

As an ex-MasterChef contestant, my guests have high expectations about the quality of the dining club.  @St. Johns offers an experience in fine dining, both in terms of the food we serve and the cosy and very elegant surroundings. Getting the house ready for our guests is no small feat!

A Dining Club is more than Food

Our business is run by only two people, David and myself. We don’t have a team of cleaners, sous-chefs or pot washers.

Once I have finished prepping the food, the house needs to be cleaned and tidied. It might not be glamorous, but someone’s got to do it!

I give the house a top to bottom clean, so my guests feel comfortable and welcome. Whilst I do this, David begins the meticulous task of laying the tables with the fine linen tablecloths, fine bone china crockery and stem less crystal-ware. The latter, the focus of considerable interest by some of our guests!

The Guests Arrive

Once the guests arrive, promptly at 7 pm, I am already in the kitchen, cooking and making final adjustments to the dishes.

These hours are always a whirlwind of cooking, plating up and serving. I’ve been on the go for 12 hours but I have to concentrate hard to ensure that each dish leaves the kitchen looking beautiful.

Visits to the kitchen throughout the evening are commonplace and I am always happy to be in photos and have videos taken.

At the end of service, I have a brief chat with diners and talk to them about their dining club experience. It is always nice to see empty plates and hear kind words, but I’m soon so exhausted that I hear my bed calling.

Running a dining club isn’t always glamorous, but I love it! Every week, I try to improve and refine new ideas, and I approach each new dining club evening with passion and a sense of pride in my craft.

I hope you enjoyed a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the dining club. Next week I’ll talk about the highs and low lights of juggling @St. Johns with my other commitments as a professional chef.

Till next time

Sara

It’s a rich cream-based dessert with a twist: instead of fruit or chocolate, it uses hearty (and seasonal!) butternut squash.

Butternut Squash Bavoir with Figs and Marsala Caramel, Served with Hazelnut Praline

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the Bavoir:

500 g of butternut squash purée
100 ml water
600 ml double cream
9 gelatine leaves (platinum grade, equivalent to 1 g per sheet)
130 dark muscovado sugar
2 vanilla pods, split and de-seeded

For the Hazelnut Brittle:

150 g caster sugar
50 g glucose
40 g hazelnuts

For the Figs and Marsala Caramel:

150 caster sugar
50 g glucose
4 fresh figs (or 3 dried figs and one rehydrated in the Marsala )
60 ml Marsala wine

Method

For the Bavoir:

To make the butternut squash purée, deseed and cook the squash in a heavy based pan and add the water to soften.

Blitz in a food processor to a loose purée, add the sugar and mix well.

Meanwhile, whip 2/3 of the cream to very soft peaks. Scrape the vanilla pods and add them to the remaining cream.

Soften the gelatine till blossomed in cold water and then squeeze it dry. Warm the vanilla and unwhipped cream gently before adding the gelatine, to make sure it dissolves properly.

Combine the cream and the butternut squash together and place in either single silicone moulds or in single ramekins.

Allow the bavoir to set for at least 4 hours in the fridge.

For the Fig and Marsala Caramel:

Place the sugar and glucose in a very heavy based pan and allow to melt, making sure the sides of the pan remain free of crystals. Cook until the sugar has reached 165 Celsius, or until a dark amber colour.

Meanwhile, peel the figs and blend to a purée. Add the Marsala Wine to the figs.

When the caramel is ready pour the fig and wine mix into it. Dont worry if the whole thing bubbles up and it ends up stuck to the pan – once it’s settled down just put it back on the heat and stir well til the mix has an even consistency.

For Hazelnut Brittle:

Make another pan of caramel by the same method. When it’s ready, place the hazelnuts in the caramel, stir and pour out onto grease proof paper. Leave until cold, then put it in a food processor and blitz into fragments.

To Serve

Scatter the brittle onto each plate, then turn the bavoirs out of their moulds onto to brittle. Finally, drizzle the fig and marsala caramel over everything.

Then, most importantly, enjoy!

Sara

Lots of fans have asked for an update on what I’ve been up to since MasterChef and I’ve finally got a few minutes to sit down and write, so I thought I’d give you a whirlwind tour of the highlights…

Food shows

I’ve been thrilled to cook at some of the UK’s most prestigious food shows which attract tens of thousands of people each day, including:

• BBC Good Food Birmingham, London and Glasgow
• MasterChef Live in London

In my local area I have been busy spreading the word about the dining club and supporting local events. York Food festival is an important annual event for the city and I was proud to be a judge (Wanna be a MasterChef), to host the Lord Mayor’s banquet and one of the Dine at my Table evenings.

I love the thrill of live events as it allows me to meet all those fans who rooted for me during the show and follow me with great passion and curiosity. I love talking to people, exchanging views on food and answering any question they might have. It’s always nice to meet people I’ve exchanged tweets with, or who are so passionate about food they have a list of questions about how to improve their cookery!

Cookery courses

In recent months I’ve started teaching ‘Absolute Italian’ cookery classes at The Cooking School at Seasoned Ltd, – a prestigious venue in the Peak District.

I’ve enjoyed helping my students develop a passion for Italian food. In particular, making pasta has converted many people to the joys of homemade pasta – some have even bought a pasta machine  so they can improve their newly found skills at home. The classes are full of laughter and enthusiasm and everyone goes home feeling they have learnt something, sampled some amazing food and spent an enjoyable day!

Latest from the dining club

The dining club goes from strength to strength. I’ve posted before about how Sara@StJohns is helping people to expand their tastes and become more adventurous in their eating habits. The dining club is always fully booked and the evenings are full of lively conversation and a genuine appreciation of fine dining.

Some stories stand out in my mind: last week a group of vegetarians visited the dining club. Even though I cater for vegetarians, they trusted my food would be so good they would ‘try anything’ – a compliment indeed (they had Pork Belly!)

In over four months, we have had only one complaint from a customer- that the email menu we send to guests doesn’t do my food justice. I can live with complaints like that!

The dining club is known for its amazing food, atmosphere and hospitability! By keeping menu descriptions short, clients are left with an element of surprise when the food is served. Last month I spent a few days working in Tom Kitchin’s restaurant: The Kitchin. I wanted to see if owning a restaurant was the future for me. After a couple of 16 hour days boning pig heads (!) I found a new appreciation for the dining club and the freedom it brings me.

For me, the dining club is the future. My husband Front of House love it that no two dining club evenings are the same, and I value the chance to use my creativity and to push my skills to the next level. We receive great praise every dining club evening and have met some wonderful people and, amazingly, have been invited for dinner: a rare event indeed these days.

Coming soon…

In the next few months I have lots of things in the pipeline….

• A new Taste Italia Recipe published
• MasterChef Live
• BBC Good Food Show at Birmingham NEC
• A stage at Michel Roux

Keep tuning in and I’ll keep you posted on my latest news. Don’t forget you can leave me a comment or use my contact form to ask me any questions you have, and do join me on twitter to keep the conversation going.

Till next time,

Sara

It’s game season. Here at the dining club, the menu is bursting with the flavours of the countryside  - partridge, pheasant, wood pigeon*, grouse, hare and venison. As the weeks go by, more and more diners are discovering the delights of ‘wild’ food and I’m reminded of how versatile and delicious game can be.
Often overlooked is how healthy and sustainable most game is: venison typically has ¼ of the fat of beef and none of the negative environmental ‘side effects’.

Yet in modern day Britain, game is all too often seen as a food to be prepared by experts, rather than something you can cook at home.

In the UK, sales of game birds have increased by 50% in recent years, but I am still shocked to learn how many experienced chefs are under-confident when it comes to cooking game.

So here are my simple tips for cooking game at home.  I’ll teach you how to make the most of the season’s bold, daring flavours with little hassle and a MasterChef result.

The Importance of Marinades

Some game (e.g. wood pigeon) doesn’t necessarily need marinating, but for most, a good marinade can help ‘tame’ the ‘gameyness’ of say hare or wood pigeon. When it comes to game, time is of the essence and in some cases 2 days in the fridge is what it takes for the meat to acquire a more palatable and interesting flavour.

A good marinade should be simple and made only from high quality ingredients. I try to draw inspiration from the herbs of the animal’s natural habitat. What grows together often goes together!

A beautiful marinade for game should be made from a high quality red wine and might include:

• Bay leaf
• Juniper berries
• Fennel seeds
• Thyme
• Carrots
• Celery
• Whole black pepper corns

Keeping Breasts Moist

If not cooked right, breast meat can easily become too dry and not very flavoursome. Many people are put off game by trying breast meat in a mid-price restaurant where it is often served rather dry and leathery.

Fortunately, with some care and attention, it is easy to keep the meat moist, succulent and full of flavour. To avoid the meat drying out, do not season until just before pan-frying rather than hours in advance, as salt dehydrates the meat.

Importantly, game in general can be served rather rare as it does not carry dangerous pathogens like salmonella so even birds are best done pink.

TOP TIP – To avoid a bleeding piece of meat cook it well in advance and let it rest for several minutes (up to 40) after pan frying. The blood will congeal and not spill on the plate.

Cooking the Perfect Leg

When treated right, the healthy, well exercised legs of game meat can be tender and tasty, but without a bit of love and care they’ll be tough and chewy.

It’s all in the way you cook them.

After marinating your legs, braze them well, and cook them slowly – they’re best done on a low heat oven for several hours. Legs done right should be moist with meat literally falling off the bone.

I hope my tips will help you to confidently cook game at home. So, this season, have a go at trying something different, your taste buds will certainly reward you!

Till next time,

Sara

* wood pigeon is technically not game as it is shot year round and is by some considered as vermin.

Every week, the dining club @St Johns hosts 20-30 guests. Each time we open our doors, we meet a new set of people, and each has a different relationship to food.

From anchovies to cheese, olives to pasta, most people who sit down at the table will have one pet hate. Some people have so many ‘problem foods’ that they are a little nervous when they first step through the door!

So I thought I’d write to reassure…

A dining club is different from a restaurant. Since we have a set menu, you can be sure that your meal has been given my full and undivided attention. We use fresh local ingredients, sourced just hours before they’re on your plate. Our love and devotion to the finest produce means that their flavour has often been radically transformed!

Take olives and aubergine. They have an honoured role in Italian cuisine, yet many newcomers to the club have had a bad experience with one or the other. Because both vegetables have a bold flavour and distinctive texture, they need to be handled skilfully in the kitchen.

If you have only experienced olives or aubergine in mid-priced restaurants or from the supermarket, then you probably haven’t tasted them at their delicious best. Writing them off before tasting them in their full glory would be like judging wine by drinking Lambrusco!

Quality ingredients, thoughtfully prepared can transform a dish. For example, I use a lot of olives from Liguria, which are smaller and have a subtler, gentler flavour than most olives from other parts of Italy and beyond. In fact olive oil from this part of the country is lighter precisely because of this.

For lots of people, the dining club can be very educational. In fact, one of the best parts of being a Chef is when I see my guests’ amazement as they are ‘converted’ to food that they thought they hated! The below recipe has seen recent success at the club. It’s even convinced life-long ‘phobics’ to give aubergine another chance…

Aubergine Parmigiana: I serve this meal, from southern Italy, as a starter. Reduced down until it is like jam, this is a very rich dish which one of my guests described as ‘sunshine on a plate!’

Also, it is a little known fact that some olives go well with mango and exotic fruits. After a little experimenting, I’ve found that olive caramel – a recipe developed by the legendary Spanish restaurant ‘elBulli’ – makes an unusual (and delicious) accompaniment to my passion fruit parfait or bavoir. Just a smear on the side of the plate is plenty – another exciting example of the versatility of olives.

At the dining club we can cater for people with food allergies, and promise not to serve anything too outrageous!  But trust me, you’ll get the most out of your night @St. Johns if you come with an open mind. Sit back, relax and allow me to make the ingredients sing.

Until next time,

Sara x

Following on from the amazing success of my cocoa and partridge ravioli, it is with great pride that Sara@StJohn’s sees the return of this magical dish!

Chocolate and game is not my invention! It has been around for a long time in many game dishes including hare and venison.

Here is the recipe for the perfect partridge ravioli: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cocoa_and_partridge_96043

The reason for using just the legs is because their muscles are well exercised unlike the breasts, which end up being a touch too dry. You can keep these for a game terrine or simply pan fry them with a knob of butter, fresh thyme and slice them into an autumn salad or a partridge and mustard sandwich. a light lunch.

A few tips: mix the cocoa powder (min 70%) with the flour before adding eggs and test the colour of the dough by wetting a pinch of the mixture on the palm of your hand and make sure you are happy with the colour you want to achieve. Mine were very dark and smelt like chocolate: don’t worry they don’t taste like chocolate!

This is what mine looked like tonight! Have a go!

Following Masterchef, it is about time I got in touch with you all!

Welcome to my blog, which will keep you up to date with all the great things I am doing with MasterChef live, Sara@StJohns Dining Club, cookery schools and much more. I will be sharing recipes and tips to be a great success in the kitchen… because to cook great food you needn’t necessarily be in a professional kitchen!

The show really has changed my life and wasn’t just a telly programme!

I have been through a few tumultuous months in which I quit my job, had a state of the art kitchen built, lost my beloved father in law, fixed my shoulder with surgery and set up a new business with my partner in crime and husband David.

Hence Sara@StJohns: a dream come true.

The idea was to have a fine dining establishment at home, share my passion for cooking fine food, meet the many fans who had followed me on MasterChef, meet new people (both fans and foodies alike) and, two months on, more than 200 people have now eaten at the Dining Club. Hence the silence on the Blog front!

The venture has proven to be extremely successful with return customers, empty plates, no disasters in the kitchen, appreciative cards and flowers, invitations to clients’ houses (so I don’t have to cook), customers exchanging emails, wine being shared, converting olive and aubergine haters and, thanks to a fixed menu, getting people to try new things.

Fine food and conviviality, the Dining Club’s ethos, have worked and is more successful than we ever imagined! So much so, bookings are being taken from January 2012 onwards.

Upcoming events include the York Food Festival where I shall be, for once, a judge at the Wannabe a Masterchef competition and have the honour of cooking for the Lord Mayor at York’s Mansion House and, with autumn upon us and needing a break from my kitchen, I shall be foraging in the hills of the Cinque Terre and come back to you with recipes and tips on my beloved porcini!