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Sleeping with Lobsters

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Most young children wake up snuggled to their favourite teddy but Valentis (chef extraordinaire) woke up surrounded by lobsters. Why? Because Valentis’s father is a fisherman and at the age of six he would take Valentis in his boat fishing with him.  As Valentis slept in his hammock his father was busy catching lobsters. The noise of the clapping lobsters used to work well as an alarm clock to wake him up! I think I will stick to the traditional way of waking with an alarm clock and a very kind husband’s lovely coffee.

To prepare a lobster for cooking: when I was training as a young commis chef we were taught to use a sharp knife to dig straight into the lobsters head right between the eyes killing it instantly. For me this appears to be a far more humane way, others prefer to immerse them in boiling water. 

Cooking lobster at Valentis’s grill bar: You can cook lobster in many different ways; in Halki they do a wonderful lobster spaghetti where all of the lobster, including the shell, is used to produce a most delicious flavoured sauce which soaks into the spaghetti making a most sumptuous, flavoursome meal. However I prefer mine grilled and at Valentis’s grill my lobster was cooked beautifully. The Greeks say that the meat in the lobster’s head is the sweetest. My lobster was also full of beautiful pink roe which tastes most delicious, a sweet delicate flavour, with a smooth light texture. The lobster was served with a sauce in a separate bowl of lemon and olive oil with oregano . Now lobster is one of my most favourite foods to eat and this was the best lobster I had tasted in 15 years. It was fresh Halki lobster, not brought in from another island, and was like a fresh fruit handpicked from a tree, ready and ripe to eat. It was truly divine and a thing of (unusual!) beauty to look at.  

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Grace and Jack’s wedding

image Weddings these days! You can get married almost anywhere in the world, but alas some are so commercially driven that they lack the personal touch, others are so very stressed and fraught with trying to make things unnaturally perfect. Grace and Jack’s wedding appeared to be so very natural and a calm affair. As we say in my family “in Greek time” – a more relaxed and slower pace of life. I am sure there were a few mixed emotions of excitement and a touch of nerves but Greek Time gives the opportunity to make the very best of a special day and to savour every precious moment, where treasured times can move in slow motion and remain that way in your memory forever. Halki was their choice; a perfect island known as the island of peace and friendship. It’s like no other Greek Island I have ever experienced; unspoiled and with Italian influenced buildings, glorious rugged beauty seen in the mountain tops and it’s beautiful turquoise clear blue waters. All this and peopled with international holiday makers – British, Greek Americans, Italians, French and more. To start Grace and Jack’s celebrations the children of Halki in full traditional costume danced for the newlyweds in Valantis’s Taverna while the guests sipped champagne. image The wedding breakfast was created from Valantis’s extensive menu: Greek salad consisting of cucumber, tomato, sweet onion, oregano and delicious Feta cheese image Dimitri’s special village bread image Crab salad (a traditional island favourite) with extra special ingredients created by Livanio,

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calamari tempura perfectly cooked by Livanio

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and a choice of meats cooked on the spit by Valantis, real melt in your mouth moments Spit roast lamb Spit roast Pork Chicken souvlaki All served with salad roast potatoes.

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To end the meal perfectly was a Wedding Cake by Theodosia, a family run business opened in Halki in 1999 producing some of the best patisseries I have ever tasted. Theodosias also make their own ice cream and sorbet. They created an elegant and simple naturalistic looking cake, yet inside this beautiful cake was an incredibly sophisticated masterpiece that only could be created by a person with great skill. A Genoese sponge layered with a very light creamy mousse, truly a taste sensation and a moment of pleasure not easily forgotten.

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My thanks to Grace, Jack and mother of the bride Mary for allowing me to write about their daughter’s wedding Breakfast. To Valantis Grill for allowing me to be a part of their team that day and for Valantis and Livanio for teaching me some amazing Greek cooking.

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Fantastic Fish at Valantis

Valantis has an exciting new menu. Livanio Roditis, a chef with 24 years experience and specialising in fish, has joined them. He also kindly taught me a few things about his local fish dishes.

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The Scorpion fish comes from the family of the world’s most poisonous fish. As it’s name suggests it has a sting – sharp spines coated in venomous mucus. However properly prepared this fish makes a delicious Greek fish soup rich and creamy. Red snapper and Sea Bream (which tastes a lot like Sea Bass) are two other fish prevalent in the Dodecanese.

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Livaniosroditis@gmail.com

Leavers Dinner

Some of the children Chesham Prep were getting ready to move on to their next school, my son being one of them who had experienced seven fantastic years. It is such an emotional time when your child changes school especially when he has been so very happy and what a send off all the children experienced! As well as special trips out all week long (one being going sledging in the middle of summer – what fun!) they also experienced a very special night – a dinner dinner dance organised and created by the Headmaster’s wife Isabelle Davies. Not only is she passionate about her food, she works very hard and puts great care and attention to special events in the school. Isabelle designed the menu and the beautiful table decorations. A good time was had by all, a fantastic send off, their next schools will havea lot to compete with.

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In preperation, Jewelled rice boats – just one of the dishes we made:

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Halloha!

Friday, July 4th, was American Independence Day and here at CPS we have been having our own celebration focussing on the newest state in the US – Hawaii.  We have been dusting down our grass skirts and trying traditional Hawaiian cuisine.  Amazingly Spam is a popular meat there, dating back to the posting of a sizable number of US troops to the islands during World War Two.  With the troops came their rations which is where the tins of Spam came in.  Having discovered the delights of this tinned meat the Hawaiians incorporated it into their traditional dishes, for example Spam Mushi (a Hawaiian version of Sushi).  However, it has not all been Spam, there has been coconut, chilli and pineapple galore.  Particular favourites have been coconut and lime chilli salmon with pineapple rice followed with coconut cake.  We spent all afternoon dreaming about lying on the beach and riding the surf!

The children also got to try lots of enjoy exotic fruit:

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Magic Glasses

The children at CPS have been busy piling vegetables and other healthy food on to their plates recently.  Why?  – because I’ve been patrolling the dining hall wearing my Magic Glasses.  I am sure many of you are jealous of me and my Magic Glasses, after all who as a child didn’t long to own a pair.  Although you may have hoped to see through or around objects; see what wasn’t really there or just wanted to world around you look different, my special glasses help me see how much healthy food the children have on their plates.  Anyone with two of their five a day may get a chance to high-five me and try the glasses on for a bit.  Now what I don’t know is, are those glasses magic for everyone and what do they show? Could some see people turned into pirates, footballers or princesses or could the teachers even be turned into monsters…….watch out the Magic Glasses are about!

The CPS dining room

The dining room at Chesham Prep School has been undergoing quite a transformation of late.  Having taken over the head chef role this term, the first thing Cookies extraordinaire Michele undertook was to send out a questionnaire to all the children and staff of the school.  Over 250 replies came back, keeping her very busy reading through them all.  Whilst some suggestions like candyfloss on the salad bar, dinner plates with NO vegetables and chocolate fountains for everyone to dip their strawberries in are unlikely to go ahead, there are many fantastic improvements that will be appearing.  So far cheese boards and fruit platters have been seen and stir-fries are becoming a popular addition to the menu.  Children have shown an amazingly adventurous streak by expressing a great interest in sushi and fajitas.  Watch this space to see what other fantastic changes are happening…………

Sushi

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A fab fun thing to do with your children. When we think of Sushi we think raw fish but it’s not all fish though. At Yo Sushi there’s a huge variety of food, cooked or cold dishes, dancing their way around a conveyor belt. Small potions served in colourful bowls – a perfect way to get your little eaters to try something new as they have control over what they choose to swipe off the belt. I took my children and we had so much fun. I highly recommend it if you want your little monkeys to become more adventurous with food.

Egg Gazing

In our cookery sessions this Easter we’ve been doing some Egg Gazing and looking at various eggs.

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Ostrich is the largest living species of birds and lays the largest eggs – equivalent to 24 chicken eggs and weighing roughly 3 pounds each. One would make a massive omelette or could be served as a big old dippy egg instead of a fondue and could possibly bring new meaning to an English Breakfast (if you can find a pan big enough to cook it up as a fried egg) – where’s Heston when you need him?

Goose eggs are 3 times the size of a chicken egg and make a delicious moist and rich cake, although a little dense in texture which can of course be corrected with an alternative method of baking the cake…but I am not prepared to give away all my secrets!

Quail, the smallest of game birds, habitat consist of woodlands and forests and there are over 15 different varieties. Their eggs are packed full of vitamins and minerals and are delicious in salads, smoked, pickled or used as a canapé or in a fish pie. Or perhaps if you’re brave enough eaten raw as served in Japanese Sushi.

And finally who can forget that most delicious of egg…Chocolate!

Happy Easter to one and all.

Old Macdonald had a farm…………and a Nursery

Recently I visited Old Macdonald’s latest addition to their children’s nurseries at Latimer. I was so impressed with the nursery and the team working there that it has inspired me to post this. It’s a bright and colourful room, spacious and with a very high ratio of fully qualified nursery staff. It’s fully equipped and especially designed for purpose with what looks like no expense spared. Every effort has been made to ensure the children have an enjoyable and educational experience. If only my children were nursery age- I would have been very happy to send them there. No wonder Ofsted rated all their nurseries as outstanding. Go check it out at www.oldmacdonaldsdaynursery.co.uk