30th March– 3rd April 2009

Dear Colleague,

I would like to invite you and your students to Lochgreen House Hotel in Troon for an Educational visit. The Hotel is 4 Red Star and has achieved many accolades including Scotland’s Hotel of the Year 2004 and 2005.
The restaurant has 3AA Rosettes and Costley and Costley Hoteliers
Were voted Scottish Hotel Group of The Year in May 2006.

The Agenda for the Day

9.30 am Arrival - Coffee and Home made Shortbread

10 am - Hotel Tour – with presentations from Greg McGarry (Operations Director) And his Departmental Heads –

Reception
Housekeeping
Restaurant
Bars
Kitchen
Banqueting

10.45 am – Culinary Demonstration – Innovative Presentation and Garnishing of Plated Desserts by Master Chef Willie Pike

12.00 p.m - 3 Course Lunch with a Glass of House Wine

2.00 p.m - Your Questions Answered

2.30 p.m - Depart

Cost per person £30

Bookings can be made through the Sales Department on 01292 313343

Or by contacting Willie on 01292 655 043

 

Recipes

Dessert Enhancements

Décor tuile

30 grms butter
40 grms egg whites
50 grms icing sugar
60 grms plain flour
few drops of vanilla flavour
chocolate colour

Method

1. Cream together the butter and icing sugar

2. Add the egg whites a little at a time until
incorporated.

3. Add the vanilla flavour

4. Fold through the flour

5. Take a little of the mixture and add a little
chocolate colour then place in a piping bag with a size o tube

6. Lay stencil onto silpat mat and spread the
tuile mixture on top, spread evenly and remove the stencil, pipe required detail with chocolate tuile and bake at 180/c for approx 4 mins, remove shape from the silpat mat and quickly bend/mould before the mixture hardens. store in an airtight container until required.

Praline dust

125 grms Caster sugar
15 grms Glucose
30 mls Water
15 grms lightly browned sliced almonds

Method

1. Add the water to the sugar in a pan and bring
to the boil, remove any scum and add the glucose.

2. Continue to boil until caramel then add the
sliced almonds, pour onto a lightly oiled marble or a silpat mat.

3. Break the praline into pieces and blitz in a
food processor then sieve and store in an airtight container.

4. Place a stencil onto a silpat mat and sieve praline dust over, remove the template and place the silpat mat in the oven to melt the praline, remove from the silpat mat and mould into shape quickly before it sets.

5. Before placing the praline in the oven to melt
it may be sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, black and white poppy seeds finely chopped pistachio nuts ect.

Puff Candy Caramel

600g caster sugar
1tsp bicarbonate soda
Method

1. Place sugar in a dry pan and cook to a light golden caramel
2. Add the bicarbonate soda and allow to foam up. Pour onto silpat mat and allow to cool
3. Break up and blitz to a powder in a food processor or high speed blender

Sesame Seed biscuit

250 grms Caster sugar
125 grms Sesame seeds
125 grms Melted butter
80 grms Plain flour
100 mls orange juice
1 orange zested
1 lemon zested

Method

1. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl

2. Add the lemon and orange zests followed
by the orange juice, and melted butter and mix well.
3. Stencil a little of the mixture onto a silpat then bake .when golden
brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
4. Store in an airtight container.

Coconut Tuile

Ingredients

5 ½ oz Dessicated Coconut
5 1/2 oz Icing Sugar
2 oz plain flour
4 egg whites
4 oz melted butter

Method
Place dry ingredients in bowl, add egg whites and comine followed by melted butter,
Stencil and bake as required.

Understanding Chocolate

What is Chocolate/Couverture ?
Chocolate is a suspension of cocoa butter, sugar and either cocoa solids, milk solids or a combination of both with a small proportion of lecithin, which acts as an emulsifier/stabiliser and natural vanilla flavour.

Chocolate Manufacture
In simple terms the cocoa pods are harvested and split removing the cocoa beans and pulp which is stored in a warm place to ferment for approximately 12 days. The cocoa beans are then dried the characteristic flavour and aid in the removal of the outer skin (husks).
The beans are now milled and pressed which extracts the cocoa fat (cocoa butter) from the kernel leaving the cocoa mass, which is refined to produce cocoa powder. The refined cocoa mass is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar and lecithin and conched (amalgamated together between rollers to produce the finished chocolate.

Dark Chocolate White Chocolate Milk Chocolate

Many chocolate refer to the percentage of cocoa i.e. 70% cocoa, this 70% is made up of cocoa butter and cocoa solids with the remainder being made up of sugar, vanilla and lecithin.
The characteristics of well worked chocolate are an excellent shine and a crisp snap when broken.

Microwave Method
For best results use the chocolate in button/pistol form or if it is a block it has to be chopped up into small pieces.
Place the chocolate in a plastic bowl (not ceramic as this heats in the microwave and will overheat the chocolate).
Place the bowl with the chocolate in the microwave and heat for no longer than 10 seconds at a time removing the bowl to shake or stir the chocolate between each 10 second burst. Once the chocolate is suitably softened it is ready for immediate use. Do not be impatient during the heating process and do not exceed 32oC.
Handling/Tempering of Chocolate
Chocolate has to be gently melted and worked within a certain temperature range in order to give the required finished result.
Incorrectly heating or overheating of the chocolate results in the cocoa butter coming out of the suspension creating a white streaky finish with a loss of shine and a waxy softness which will tend to stick to your moulds or acetate.
Traditional tempering of chocolate where the chocolate is heated to 49oC then cooled to the muddy stage 23oC and further re-warmed to 28oC-32oC to work is relatively complex and time consuming to most chefs and therefore for a busy kitchen I suggest the microwave method.
When you receive good quality chocolate into your kitchen whether it be in block for m or buttons (pistols) it has an excellent shine as it is in a tempered state.
Therefore if you can gently melt the chocolate and keep the temperature under 32oC the chocolate will be in perfect temper and ready for use.

Working with Chocolate
When chocolate sets it slightly shrinks and contracts and is therefore suitable for pouring into shiny plastic moulds and forms for making individual chocolates. When the chocolate contracts it is easily removed from the mould.
Use of acetate, florist paper, bubble wrap, cling film and commercially available products
When using chocolate on any shiny surface it is advisable to wear disposable plastic kitchen gloves to prevent finger printing the acetate of finished chocolate.

Acetate (Marbling)
Acetate
Can be cut into various lengths and heights, sellotape one edge to a flat surface then either marble with two chocolates, spread and comb dark chocolate with plastic comb scraper followed by white chocolate which you spread thinly, remove sellotape and butt the edge of the chocolate together to form a round casket, sellotape to secure.
When the chocolate has set run a little melted chocolate down the joining edge of the chocolate to further strengthen and reserve for use (do not refrigerate until you have fill the casket with your chosen filling/mousse at the cold air will cause the empty chocolate casket to shrink, warp and destort).
Cling Film
Cling film can be scrunched up into small balls, wrapped in fresh cling film and dipped into melted chocolate to form little chocolate cups.
I use the cling film for wrapping around small saucers which, I then marble the back of the saucer with dark chocolate, using gloves I then smear with white chocolate and clean up the edge with my finger, refrigerate to set then remove the marbles chocolate saucer from the cling film used in the dessert cappuccino before the coffee.
Acetate/florist paper can be taped onto the back of a tray or flat surface. Take a crunched up piece of cling film and dip into dark chocolate and quickly smudge the acetate, allow to lightly set and apply the white chocolate spreading thinly. On the point of setting the chocolate can be pressed and marked with a shaped cutter, expanding pastry wheels or a knife, refrigerate to set and remove your marbled chocolate triangles, rectangles, squares or discs for later use.
Florist Paper
Is thinner and more flexible than acetate and therefore can be spread with chocolate and wrapped around a pre-made desert and pinched together at the top/held in place with a paper clip. Refrigerate to set and remove florist paper prior to serving.

Bubble Wrap
Plastic bubble wrap can be brushed with dark chocolate, allow to set and then spread with white chocolate refrigerate to set. When set remove from bubble wrap and cut into shapes with warm knife or cutters.

Commercially Available (Available from Specialist Suppliers)
Thin acetate is available in a roll 45mm in heights, and can be cut to any required length.
Patterned acetate/plastic sheets approximately A4 size are available with various different designs from musical notes to red love hearts and white pokadots. The plastic sheets can also be manufactured to have the name of your restaurant or establishment. To use, coat with chocolate of your choice and allow to set, cut into required shape or break into pieces, the paternal acetate can also be cut to size and wrapped around desserts or gateaux.

Chocolate Techniques

Colouring of Chocolate
A little powdered food colour can be added to melted white chocolate, this is very effective when it is smeared onto acetate, allowed to set and finished with white chocolate before being sellotaped to form rounds or teardrops.

Chocolate Fans
Spread dark chocolate onto a warm very flat baking sheet as thinly as possible and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes until set. Lay the baking sheet on a flat surface and using a sharp edge triangular scraper in your right hand push the edge of the scraper down onto the baking sheet while keeping the index finger of your left hand at the edge of the chocolate as you push (this keeps the bottom edge of the chocolate together creating the fan.

Two Tone Chocolate Copeaux (Chocolate Curls)
Spread the tempered white chocolate thinly onto a marble slab and comb with a serrated plastic scraper. When it set, spread the tempered dark chocolate keeping the chocolate as thin as possible. When just set and using a long straight edged knife or scraper lay the edge of the blade on the chocolate and shave into the marble creating the chocolate curls.
Chocolate Copeaux can be practical using just one type of chocolate i.e. dark before moving on to the two-tone type.

Chocolate Band
Prepare the acetate strips. Cut into the size required.
Spread a thin layer onto acetate strips. Allow to set slightly and place around the mould.
Allow to set, remove from the mould and acetate.

Chocolate Casket
Prepare the acetate sheet. Cut into the size required.
Spread a thin even layer of the white couverture chocolate. Shape the acetate inside a mould and allow to set.

Piping Chocolate

100 grms dark chocolate
100 grms neutral piping jelly

Method

1. Melt the chocolate and add the piping jelly a little at a time mixing thoroughly
until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl smoothly.
2. The piping chocolate can be covered and kept in the refridgerator for up to 4
weeks.
3. To use warm gently in a microwave and use as required.