Richard Bertinet will be joined in the Kitchen today by Jane Baxter for this very special spring Chef’s Table. Always a sell out event, Jane will be adding her gastronomic flair to proceedings. A regular columnist for the Guardian, Jane currently runs the phenomenally successful food and events company Wild Artichokes based in Devon.
You will start with a Richard Bertinet themed cocktail, today Jen will be making a sbagliato (mistake in Italian) where the gin in a classic Negroni is replaced by prosecco to go with accompanying canapés. Together with Richard and Jane you will be preparing canapés of whipped cod’s roe with fennel crackers and a crab and Courchamps bruschetta. To follow the canapés you will be enjoying stuffed squid with tomato and basil and a rotolo of spinach, squash and ricotta with sage butter. The main will be grilled marinated spring lamb, salsa verde beans and pepperonata. To go with this will be artichokes, broad beans and peas with potatoes en Papillote with wet garlic. This spring feast will be rounded off with a cherry clafoutis and cherry ripple ice cream.
As well as the delectable food, there will of course be plenty of wine to enjoy, all carefully chosen to match the food throughout the meal.
You’ll come away having learnt lots of new skills to add to your cooking repertoire, as well as a very enjoyable evening. It promises to be a meal to remember!
Jane started her career working for George Perry Smith at Riverside in Helford, followed by a stint at The Carved Angel in Dartmouth under Joyce Molyneux, whom she sites as one of her major influences. Joyce was a dear friend and neighbour to Richard and she is much missed in the culinary world.
Jane’s time at The River Café in London also gave her invaluable experience and started her love of all things Italian. After working in various London establishments Jane went “off piste“ to the South Pacific where she worked and lived for 7 years, the influence of these years can still be found in her cooking today.
On her return she started working for Riverford, first setting up the staff canteen, then local school meals and finally was responsible for the style of food and service at the Field Kitchen along with Sam. Jane also wrote the recipes for the two Riverford Farm Cook books – the first of which gained two Guild of Food Writers awards. Recently she has written Leon Fast Vegetarian and has just finished Leon Happy Salads which will be available in May and is working on Leon ‘Free From’.
This class runs slightly differently to our usual classes and starts at 2pm, with the build up cooking continuing until you all sit down to enjoy the feast a few hours later. Of course, there will be lots of delicious tastings throughout the afternoon, before you sit down later for this special dinner.
