Regional produce showcase on a plate

SCARBOROUGH can draw on both sea and country, as Laura Crothers reports. Pictures by Gerard Binks.

The region’s catering industry enjoys rich supplies of fresh fish coupled with locally reared meat and game and a varied selection of vegetables throughout the year. So, as spring arrives, chefs across the county gear up for next crop of seasonal produce, shrewdly planning and preparing their new menus.

To mark the change in season, student chefs at Yorkshire Coast College were tasked with creating their own menus from some of Scarborough’s best local produce. The Scarborough-based college has won a firm placing on the culinary map after training some of the North’s top chefs including James Martin, Andrew Pern, and James Mackenzie.

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The ingredients for the challenge were sourced by regional food development agency Deliciouslyorkshire, which collected a wide selection of fresh food straight from the shelves, dairies, fishing nets and abattoirs of its members on the Yorkshire Coast. Pork lion and dry-cured bacon came from the award winning Trotters Farm Shop in Potter Brompton, where pigs are reared on site to produce an inventive choice of free range pork products.

Covering the sea food element was Pete Thundercliffe of Thundercliffe’s Fruit of the Sea based in Ramshill Road in Scarborough. Pete supplied the students with an impressive range of fresh fish, landed in Scarborough that morning – plaice, lemon sole, cod and haddock fillet, king scallops and dressed crab.

Cedar Barn Farm Shop, on the outskirts of Pickering, donated its award winning Aberdeen Angus beef steak as well as a selection of locally grown vegetables, rhubarb from Wakefield, and local cheeses from Thirsk based Shepherds Purse.

Jonathan Knight, chief executive of Deliciouslyorkshire, was on hand in the kitchen to see first hand the transformation of Yorkshire’s finest raw produce into hand crafted dishes.

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He said: “The start of spring sees everything come to life again. The first bit of real activity is when you see the oil seed rape bursting in to yellow. In Scarborough we see the first run of brown crabs in March and April. This time of year also marks the start of rhubarb season, and later in April we enter asparagus season. There are still winter vegetables around too.”

The students, all Level 3 Advanced Apprentices, researched the ingredients before planning their own spring menus, which read like those on the menu of a sophisticated a la carte restaurant.

Student Chris Ramsden created a perfectly balanced combination of soft and crispy with his starter of scallops with pea puree, apple batons and crispy bacon, followed by sirloin steak, garlic pomme puree and red wine and thyme reduction for main. Luke Cornwall made the most of Scarborough’s sea food offering as he cooked up potted crab and melba toast to start, and “Fish 3 Ways” with herb veloute to follow.

The pork was the obvious choice for pig farmer Scot Craven who paired the fillet with caramelised apples and apricots, preceded by scallops, hollandaise sauce and fresh pea shoots to start. The only pudding of the challenge came from Bryony Elliot who crafted “Rhubarb 3 Ways” to follow a main of Yorkshire blue cheese beignets. Peter Steel, curriculum and quality manager for hospitality at the college, paid tribute to the young chefs. “They have got to have enthusiasm and potential to succeed at this level.”

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Eye-catching contrasts of colour and shape delicately pieced together on the plate made a perfect frame for Scarborough’s best ingredients. Jonathan Knight added, “The college is making a name for itself as the centre for culinary training in North Yorkshire.”

* Yorkshire Coast College runs its own restaurant, Fledglings, open Monday to Friday 12 to 1.30pm and Tuesday evening 6.30pm and 8pm.