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Which other members of the royal family have you worked for<br />
and what have been the most exciting or memorable times you<br />
have experienced as part of the team working for the family?<br />
“My time as chef to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester was<br />
very happy and a wonderful introduction to life in the royal<br />
household – I loved every minute of my two years with the family.<br />
Moving to the household of the Prince and Princess of Wales was<br />
a dream come true for an ambitious 23-year-old chef. It was a<br />
very exciting time for me and presented so many extraordinary<br />
experiences and opportunities – sometimes I had to<br />
pinch myself. Experiences such as cooking on the royal yacht<br />
while sailing up the Amazon, to picking wild mushrooms on the<br />
Balmoral estate. Every day was different and every day was busy.”<br />
Your cookbook The Royal Touch is a hit the world over.<br />
Do you have plans for a second book?<br />
“Yes, I do. Baking is my great passion and my head is bursting with<br />
ideas for another book, many of which I have now committed to<br />
paper. The tricky part of the process is trying to reduce the<br />
number of recipes to make the book a manageable size.”<br />
You are very much in demand abroad. Tell us about<br />
your current business ventures…<br />
“I have a loyal local client base for whom I enjoy cooking<br />
when they have a special event, but I also have many other<br />
exciting projects on the go. I work with several travel<br />
companies, creating bespoke events for their clients and<br />
also doing group interactions. I am working with some<br />
overseas companies doing product development and licensing<br />
as well as product promotion. I have created a beautiful range<br />
of kitchen and tableware and am looking forward to seeing<br />
that on the shelves of some of my favourite retailers both here<br />
and on the other side of the Atlantic.”<br />
Finally, which one ingredient or item could you not<br />
do without in the kitchen?<br />
“I love fresh herbs and my kitchen windowsill is jammed with pots<br />
of basil, Greek basil, thyme, lemon thyme, chives, mint, sage and<br />
parsley. Everything I cook either has fresh herbs in it, on it or with<br />
it. They add such wonderful flavour, aroma and colour to both<br />
sweet and savoury dishes – the perfect finishing touch. Also, I’d<br />
be lost without my non-stick sauté pan. It is used on the hob or in<br />
the oven for everything from bacon and eggs and tarte tatin to<br />
frittata, ratatouille, home-made chips and spaghetti carbonara.”<br />
168<br />
TARTLET OF ARTISAN GOAT’S<br />
CHEESE WITH SEEDED CHIVE<br />
PASTRY & MINI TOMATOES<br />
Makes 12 small tartlets<br />
Preparation time 25-30 minutes<br />
Cooking time 30-35 minutes<br />
INGREDIENTS<br />
For the pastry<br />
• 175g/6oz plain flour<br />
• 100g/4oz cold butter, diced<br />
• 1 tbsp each of pine nuts, sesame<br />
seeds and pumpkin seeds<br />
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped<br />
• 1 egg yolk, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water<br />
• Pinch of sea salt flakes<br />
For the filling<br />
• 250g/9oz ricotta<br />
• 100g/4oz artisan firm<br />
goat’s cheese, grated<br />
• 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt<br />
• 1 egg<br />
• ½ tsp paprika<br />
• Pinch of salt and freshly<br />
ground black pepper<br />
• 200g/7oz mixed small tomatoes,<br />
halved and dressed with a drizzle<br />
of olive oil and balsamic vinegar<br />
• Tiny sprigs of fresh Greek basil,<br />
to garnish<br />
1. For the pastry, put all the ingredients<br />
into a food processor and whizz until<br />
starting to bind. Tip onto a lightly<br />
floured surface, gather into a smooth<br />
ball then carefully roll out thinly. Use a<br />
cutter to cut out 12 pastry circles then<br />
use these to line a 12-hole tartlet tin.<br />
Chill for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.<br />
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven<br />
to 200°C, 400°F, Gas 6.<br />
3. Line the chilled pastry cases with<br />
baking parchment and fill with<br />
ceramic tbaking beans then bake<br />
blind in the oven for 10 minutes.<br />
Remove the parchment and beans<br />
and bake for a further 5-8 minutes.<br />
Remove from the oven and lower the<br />
temperature to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4.<br />
4. Meanwhile, make the filling. Place<br />
the ricotta, goat’s cheese, yoghurt,<br />
egg, paprika and seasoning in a bowl<br />
or jug and, using a stick blender or whisk,<br />
blend until smooth.<br />
5. Spoon the filling into the<br />
tartlets and bake in the preheated<br />
oven for 15-18 minutes, until the filling<br />
is lightly set. If tested with a skewer, it<br />
should come out clean.<br />
6 Serve the tartlets warm, topped<br />
generously with the dressed<br />
tomatoes and finished with tiny sprigs<br />
of Greek basil.
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