Our regular monthly Masterchef series in Devon Life provides celebrated local chefs with the opportunity to present some of their favourite recipes and for us to try to re-create at home
Some of the best restaurants and noted chefs are located in Devon and they work hard to present us with fresh and delicious food using only the very best of locally sourced ingredients for which Devon is renowned.
From farm-fresh mushrooms and strawberries to fresh fish landed at Brixham or Plymouth and mussels harvested from the Torridge estuary, from free-range Devon chicken to lamb reared on organic meadows, this selection of recipes from two of our foremost chefs in the region is guaranteed to inspire you.
FEATURED CHEFS :
Craig Stevens, former Head Chef at The Seafood Restaurant at The Rose & Crown, Yealmpton, where fresh crab, lobster and scallops, brought in daily from Brixham and Plymouth, are what you can expect on the menu. Craig, who has two AA rosettes to his name, was previously number two chef at the Horn of Plenty, and his other culinary capers have taken him to all corners of the world, with two years on the QE2, and stretches at London's famous Ivy Restaurant, the Dorchester and the Four Seasons.
Recipes • Pan-fried scallops with green pea soup and white truffle oil • Sea bass baked in a salt crust with new potatoes and B�arnaise sauce • Vanilla pannacotta with rhubarb compte and biscotti • Pan-fried mullet with plum tomato and basil galette • Lobster thermidor • Vanilla crme brl�e with fresh raspberries.
Simon Keating is the Head Chef at Doyle's Restaurant at the Woolacombe Bay Hotel (previous winners of South-west Tourism's Best Large Hotel award) and returned to his native North Devon after developing his trade working in other hotels across the South-west. These include Watersmeet Hotel, Trimstone Manor Hotel and Kittiwell House Hotel in Croyde, where he studied classic French cuisine under David Rainer. Simon has a real passion for organic local produce, sourcing wherever possible from local suppliers. He also features in the Guinness Book of Records, having played for Ilfracombe Juniors Rugby team, the world's longest undefeated rugby team.
Recipes • Smoked Lundy Island mackerel pt� with watercress, salsa verde and brioche melba toast • Roasted rack of organic lamb with rosemary-infused ratatouille and confit garlic jus • Yoghurt pannacotta with gooseberry compte and balsamic syrup • Brixham crab cocktail with Hernan's gazpacho and truffle oil • Pan-fried breast of free-range Devon chicken with mushroom risotto, crispy pancetta and tarragon oil • North Devon strawberries with home-made Church Farm clotted cream ice cream • Baked confit leg and pan-fried loin of rabbit and apple chutney • Baked fillet of cod with leeks, fine beans and Torridge mussels • Baked cheesecake and late-summer berry compte and raspberry and black pepper tuiles • Roasted pumpkin soup with courgette spaghetti and goats' cheese ice cream • Pan-fried fillet of beef with horseradish polenta cake, wild mushroom and parsnip crisps • Apple crumble tart with apple mille feuille and caramel sauce
Don't forget to source your ingredients as locally as you can. The distance from farm to fork is key to getting the best taste from your ingredients.
