Guest Chef Evening - Fickle.

CONCEPT

The Guest Chef Evenings are a new series at Three Pools, where we collaborate with chefs that share the same passion for food and sustainable eating as we do. We will be showcasing a different guest chef or chefs every month for the winter season. The evenings aim to bring together like-minded, food conscience people to experience different cooking styles, cuisines and atmospheres as we move through winter.

FEBRUARY

Fickle. as a food brand has a very specific focus; pickled foods, fermented foods and foods that target the body's gut biome. Rupert and Chelcie, with backgrounds in catering for yoga and wellness weekends, were welcomed to the Three Pools kitchen for our February Guest Chef Evening.

Utilising skills and methods from a variety of international cuisines including, Korean, Chinese and Welsh, Rupert and Chelcie set out to combine these flavours in a night of culinary fusion!

THE FOOD

WELSH RAREBIT SERVED WITH A SELECTION OF PICKLES AND CHUTNEYS

We started the evening of with a national favourite, Welsh rarebit, however, this Welsh rarebit had a twist. To accompany the fire toasted sourdough and the local welsh cheese (farmed only 17 miles away), Rupert and Chelcie pickled and fermented in true Fickle. style a selection of accompaniments; apple & chilli chutney, date and apple chutney, kimchi and pickled daikon. Some of these had been in jars for up to 4 weeks before!

What I found quite novel, was the way in which the starter was served. The sourdough and rarebit were presented in rustic farmhouse style on individual plates, whilst the pickles and chutney's were served on slate sharing plates. This encouraged people to mix and match, discussing there pickled combinations of choice. It created a fantastic atmosphere in the room and got the evening off to a flying start.

I loved the way the tartness of the pickles and chutney's cut through the richness of the rarebit - it was a taste sensation, a true welsh fusion that many including myself did not know existed until the fork hit the mouth.

SEASONAL SAUSAGE AND MASH SERVED WITH PICKLED ONION GRAVEY

As a quote from Julian Tailleur reads 'A great dish is one that is recognisable to the diner yet unreachable in taste'. I think the main course that Rupert and Chelcie served really brought home this thought. Bangers and mash essentially, a crowd favourite, a dish that brings a wealth of warm and fuzzy feelings everyone.

In the past few years, there has been in a gargantuan explosion in the meat substitution market and sausages have been at the forefront of this vegetarian lifestyle movement. We've tried many varieties here at the farm and we can safely say that none of them have come close to what Rupert created. The base of the sausage was butter beans and mushroom, mixed with a selction of farm herbs and spices. The sausages were then rolled and steamed, before cooking over the open fire.

The traditional potato mash was infused with Three Pools beetroot cider vinegar, creating a wonderful colour and edge. Again they took a classic idea, onion gravy and put their Fickle. spin on it, a simple yet very effective touch, we are still debating whether the idea of pickled onion gravy has been done before, either way, it should be a household classic!

COCONUT RICE PUDDING WITH PICKLED FRUIT

The evening was finished off in a nostalgic fashion with the coconut rice pudding. Many of the guests commented they hadn't had rice pudding in years, yet it was a favourite of theirs growing up. This rice pudding pickled combination took tastes and expectations to another level. The apple had been pickling in a sweet, rich honey juice for a few weeks which complimented the dank creamy ice pudding extremely well. The final dusting of lemon zest and cinnamon really bought the favours together and tied the whole meal off in keeping with the strong pickled theme.

THANK YOU

We would like to say a massive thank you to both Checlie & Rupert for their time and creation put into our second Guest Chef Evening. Also, a big thank you to everyone that came and supported the event. The whole night was excellent and we look forward to putting on more food focused events here at Three Pools - helping us to bring people closer to the food and the methods that our used in producing and sourcing the ingredients.

Our next Guest Chef Evening on the 30th of March, will be with Billy Collins and his food brand Honest Edibles.

To book a place place email us at info@threepool.co.uk