ANTHONY BYROM, executive head chef at the Three Crowns Restaurant and Inn at Scouthead, brings you some top tips for producing your own food from scratch.
DECEMBER IS upon us and as the gruelling festive period looms ever closer I’m sure I can speak for most in the industry that the slightly relaxed pre-Christmas month of November has been somewhat of an anti-climax with most customers saving themselves for forthcoming parties.
Or like me they are having to save pretty much all of their hard-earned wages to buy the children the ever-increasing catalogue of requirements from Mr Claus (oh the magic of Christmas).
So with the slight downturn in business,this is the norm for most. It has been a great source of achievement to set myself and the team in the kitchen the task of keeping things tight and saving as much money as possible without any compromise to the high standards and quality of my food.
In reality this has been a great boost to the repertoire as we now produce ‘in house’ our own pasta tinted with squid ink for the Friday fish specials. We also churn our own butter on a daily basis using great cream from Yates’s dairy in Saddleworth.
And I’ve even got down to nurturing my own yeast, which is now getting on for nearly its first birthday, to produce a fantastic deep flavoured sourdough bread.
And at the moment I’m experimenting with various herbs and spices for my own black pudding, which has a completely different texture to the traditional but the depth of flavour is amazing. When paired with the little stew of slow braised pigs cheek, baby onions and home baked beans, hopefully it will win the approval of the loyal customers at the Three Crowns and become one of my winter signature dishes. I’ll let you know how it went in my New Year column.
I’m telling you all these things after hearing on the grapevine that one of the four pillars (the regulars who keep the bar propped up) had mentioned we should be shouting from the rooftop that not only do we confess to source as much local produce as possible, we are now producing from scratch a great deal more than you would normally expect from a high end restaurant, let alone a small local pub.
So is it worth it? Absolutely – the feeling of achievement and a sense of pride from the boys in the kitchen, the first class comments from the customers, the increased profit margins compared to buying in, and the smile on the bosses face when the bills are reduced. Happy days!
And what are my recommendations this month? If you can spare the time, try to produce from scratch any meal as opposed to buying ready prepared. Or if you don’t have the time pop down to the Three Crowns to sample our seasonal, locally sourced and in house prepared British pub food at great value for money.
Happy cooking, Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and the new year.
Visit The Three Crowns Restaurant and Inn, run by Ray and Sue Hicks, at 955-959 Huddersfield Road, Scouthead, or call them on: 0161 624 1766 or visit their website: www.thethreecrownsinn-scouthead.co.uk
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