Christmas is all about precious family time for Alex Clare, winner of the Chef of the Year award, sponsored by City College Norwich
Scooping the honour of being named Chef of the Year at this year’s Norfolk Food and Drink Awards was a moment of extraordinary mixed emotions for The Ingham Swan’s Alex Clare.
Less than 24 hours before the award-winning pub and restaurant was destroyed by a devastating blaze. But as plans begin to rebuild the business, Alex’s skill and experience isn’t going to waste. He is now head chef at the Swan’s sister restaurant – The Warwick Street Social in Norwich – where he is introducing some of his flair and creativity to the menu.
Alex, who is Norfolk born and bred, began working in kitchens at the age of 15 and he says Christmas for him is all about family time – and a spot of cooking.
“Christmas is a very important time for me as it brings my family together. This year I’m lucky enough to have Christmas dinner cooked for me by my nan, but I can’t help but get involved and I love to join whoever is cooking.
“There will be at least 10 of us so it’s always good to have lots of food!”
Here is one of Alex’s favourite festive recipes which is easy to do at home – the Christmas pudding parfait.
Recipe: Christmas pudding parfait
Ingredients (serves six to eight people)
- 5 egg yolks
- 90g caster sugar
- 200ml double cream
- 200g Christmas pudding
- half a vanilla pod
Method
De-seed the vanilla pod and set aside. Break up the Christmas pudding into small pieces, ready to fold through the mixture later. Over a bain-marie, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture thickens. Whisk the double cream with the vanilla seeds until it forms soft peaks. Mix together the whisked egg and sugar mixture with the double cream using a wooden spoon. Fold through the Christmas pudding pieces and place the mixture into a mould (or a loaf tin will do) and freeze until set.
To serve
Slice with a hot knife, then why not add some pouring cream or vanilla ice cream to create a delicious dessert for the festive season?
2 Warwick St, Norwich NR2 3LD, 01603 627687; warwickstsocial.co.uk
