Supplying only the Best to The Great British Menu 2019 | The Tool Shed

Supplying only the Best to The Great British Menu 2019

The Great British Menu has once again returned for 2019 and even within the first few weeks we have already seen some stunning dishes scoring the ultimate 10 but also some faring not so well in the eyes of the esteemed chef judges.

We take a very keen interest to see what dishes the regional chefs are creating to match to this years brief, celebrating the British Music Industry. Equally, it’s always of interest to see what equipment and techniques the chefs are using. As a supporter of the series Sousvide Tools provided a range of equipment for filming and already we can see they’ve been put to good use.

‘The only way to cook my lobster tail on Great British Menu was to use the Japanese Konro grill. Achieving that gentle, smokey flavour which so many other bbq’s fail to get right’ Luke Selby, South East Region Winner.

Luke used the Konro for his Fish Course Titled “Rocks Stars” which Judge Angela Harnett gave the prefect 10 score.

The Equipment Stars of GBM’19

“The Sousvide Tools ‘Hendi’ Dehydrator as featured on this years GBM, offers great value, along with a build quality that is both robust and reliable. Compared to other brands that are synonymous to food dehydrating, I would personally choose the Hendi Dehydrator every time.”

David Coulson, Chef Patron – Peace & Loaf (Newcastle)
North East Region Competitor – 2018

Sous Vide Tools’ very own Chef Director, Chris Holland was a previous contestant on Great British Menu so we caught up with him to talk about what it was like being in the GBM kitchen and how important the equipment is to those taking part.

What do you recall of your time on GBM and the pressures you were under in front of the camera’s?
GBM for me was one of my proudest culinary achievements and a real honour to be representing the North West region. The production process of such a programme provides many obstacles and hurdles along the way for all competitors as the deadlines are tight and timings critical. It’s for this reason in my opinion, why you see the chefs competing using kitchen equipment that provides as much control and efficiency as possible. Accuracy is indeed key and using the correct equipment to give you consistency, is extremely important.

What essential pieces of Kitchen Kit could you not have been without when competing?
I appreciate that not everyone likes to use SousVide, but for my menu it was very important as it provided the perfect control and accuracy without too much extra pressure on overcooking or undercooking but at the same time locking in the flavours. For me also the use of a smoking gun gave me the very best control when smoking my salmon and as we’ve seen this year already for final presentation of dishes to add the wow factor to a dish .

What’s caught your attention with this year’s chefs and their use of kitchen equipment?
This year we have already seen the Japanese Konro grill being used by a number of the chefs. In recent years it was all about the Kamado style bbq’s but again as we have seen it’s not always about the charring of meat and fish but also adding real dynamic flavours to grilled vegetables. When I filmed GBM I chatted my cabbage in a very hot pan – the Konro would have been perfect for this. I know we are only into the third week but I am sure we will see chefs using the dehydrator to help concentrate flavour and to add new and important texture to their dishes but also the use of the vacuum machine for instant pickling, compression and also aeration.

Finally any advise you would give to chefs given the opportunity to appear on the series?
If you are given the opportunity to compete in GBM do it! It was an exhilarating experience that not many are lucky enough to do.

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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