Passing the invention test

Making it to the quarter-fnals of TV series Masterchef has helped Raemoir Houses

Alexandria Hay to become more spontaneous when it comes to creating dishes
WORDS PETER RANSCOMBE IMAGES ANguS BlACkBuRN
164 WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
fOOd & dRiNk
164-169_sf07.indd 164 28/05/2014 12:20:59
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 165
PASSING THE INVENTION TEST
Youve got to have
a hunger for it.
You only get out
of it what you put
in to it
A
lexandria Hay has already packed a lot
into her career. Despite only turning
28 in June, she has been crowned 2011
Grampian Chef of the Year, made it through
to the quarter-nals of the television series
Masterchef The Professionals, and then took
over as executive chef at Banchorys Raemoir
House in September. Not bad for someone who
never set out to become a chef.
I fell into cooking, says Hay, from Fetter-
cairn. It was never part of a long-term plan. I
liked food so thought I would give it a shot.
She trained at Angus College in Arbroath
and took part in the ScotHot competition,
which gave her a taste for the extra-curricular
activities that were on offer.
I thought it was amazing and decided it was
what I wanted to do, she says. Youve got to
have a hunger for it. You only get out of it what
you put in to it.
Having worked at Edzell golf club while
training in Arbroath, Hay began working under
David Littlewood at the Milton Restaurant in
Banchory after college. When the Miltons
then owners, Neil and Julie Rae, took over
the Raemoir Country House Hotel on Royal
Deeside in 2010, Littlewood and Hay joined
them in the kitchen. It was Littlewood who
encouraged her to enter Masterchef.
It started as a joke with David, Hay laughs.
At the start, we didnt realise how much work
was going to be involved. I didnt think I would
get as far as I did because thousands and thou-
sands of people entered. So I applied on a whim,
thinking I had nothing to lose and it could only
make me a stronger person. I told myself that,
as long as I didnt get knocked out in the rst
round, anything else was a bonus.
The invention tests on the programme in
which contestants are given a set of ingredi-
ents and told to create a dish had the biggest
impact on Hay and her cooking, especially after
she took over from Littlewood as the Raemoirs
executive chef in September.
We didnt know what we would be cooking
until we got there, explains Hay. We would get
to the kitchen and the rst we knew about it
was when Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti
told us. We were being lmed all the time so it
was 100 per cent real, there was no acting.
The invention tests were quite intense. We
only had two minutes to look at the ingredi-
ents. Its all right when youre in your own
kitchen because you have time to think about
these things. It has made me more spontane-
ous. Sometimes you get stuck in a rut and put
the same thing on the menu again and again. It
opened my mind to think outside the box.
There was one task that involved goat
something I had never cooked before. Things
like that make you think: why dont I put that
on the menu, or why dont I cook something in
the water-bath rather than in the pan? Theres
more out there than just your salmon or your
chicken or your venison.
Above: Alexandria Hay,
executive chef at the
Raemoir Country House
Hotel, was a nalist in
the BBCs Masterchef
professional competition.
164-169_sf07.indd 165 28/05/2014 12:21:26
166 WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
I didnt
think I
would get
as far as I
did because
thousands
of people
entered the
competition
Cauliower tempura,
with cauliower pure and
pickled cauliower
1 large caulifower, plus oil for deep frying
Tempura batter
100g cornfour
100g plain four (extra for dusting)
tsp bicarbonate of soda
750ml sparkling water
Method: Sieve the cornfour, plain four and
bicarbonate, plus a pinch of salt, into a bowl and
mix well with the sparkling water until a thin batter
consistency is achieved.
Take one large caulifower and cut into forets.
Blanch in boiling salted water for about seven to
ten minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water once
cooked. Drain then dust in the extra plain four, dip
in the batter and deep fry until crispy.
Cauliflower pure
1 large cooked caulifower, broken into forets
50g butter
100ml double cream
Method: Cook the caulifower forets until tender.
Drain and place in a blender with the cream and
the butter. Process to a smooth consistency.
Season to taste.
Pickled cauliflower
100ml white wine vinegar
50ml water
60g caster sugar
1 tsp turmeric
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
2 juniper berries
caulifower cut into small forets and washed
Method: Mix together all the ingredients (bar the
caulifower) in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
FOOD & DRINK
164-169_sf07.indd 166 28/05/2014 12:22:14
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 167
Left: Michel Roux Jr would
be proud of the touch of
elegance Hay brings to her
cauliower ensemble.
Below: A mouth-watering
loin of venison, served with
red kale and pine nuts.
PASSING THE INVENTION TEST
Strain over the top of the raw caulifower then set
aside to cool. Assemble the tempura, pure and
pickle as in the photograph, left.
Loin of venison, dauphinoise
potatoes, red kale and pine nuts
Serves 4
Loin of venison
800g loin of venison
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C. Remove
any sinew (your butcher can do this for
you). Season the loin and seal in a hot pan,
caramelising the outside. Transfer to the oven and
cook for eight minutes (medium-rare). Take out
and allow to rest for fve minutes before serving.
Dauphinoise potatoes
750ml double cream
4 garlic cloves, crushed
tsp ground nutmeg
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
8 Rooster potatoes
Salt and pepper
Method: Put the cream, garlic, herbs and spices
into a pan and cook until simmering, then set to
one side. Thinly slice the potatoes and layer into a
buttered ovenproof dish. Overlap the slices as you
go, seasoning every second layer, and pouring
the cream mix on every third layer. Cook in an
oven set at 155C for about 40 minutes till tender.
Red kale
800g diced pancetta
20g butter
10ml rapeseed oil
small carrot, diced
small turnip, diced
164-169_sf07.indd 167 28/05/2014 12:24:03
FOOD & DRINK
168 WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
Theres more
out there
than just
salmon or
chicken or
venison
50g pinenuts
20ml chicken stock
100g cream
200g picked red kale (blanched)
Method: Saut the pancetta in the butter and
rapeseed oil, then add the carrots, turnip and
pinenuts. Add the chicken stock and cream and
cook until reduced by a half. Add the blanched
kale and cook for about six minutes.
Chocolate tart with
raspberry sorbet
Tart
500g plain four
115g butter
60g icing sugar
2 eggs
10in fan tin
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the
four, sugar and butter together until it resembles
the consistency of breadcrumbs then add the
beaten eggs. Mix until dough is made, then chill.
Roll out the pastry quite thinly and place in the fan
tin. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Leave the oven on
until the flling is ready.
Filling
500g chocolate (53 per cent cocoa solids)
200ml milk
350ml double cream
3 medium eggs
Method: Melt the chocolate. Heat the milk and
164-169_sf07.indd 168 28/05/2014 12:24:34
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 169
Left: An elegant chocolate
tart, served with a vibrant
raspberry sorbet.
I told myself
that, as long
as I didnt get
knocked
out in the
rst round,
anything else
was a bonus
FIELD
FACTS
Raemoir
House
Hotel,
Banchory,
Aberdeenshire
AB31 4ED
Tel: 01330 824884
www.raemoir.com
PASSING THE INVENTION TEST
Wine expert David Austin
of Reubens Wine Store in
Dunfermline picks drinks
to accompany Alexandria
Hays three dishes.
FELIX SAINT-BRIS SAUVIGNON
BLANC, 2012, 11.99
Sauvignon blanc, but not as you know
it. This incongruous varietal from
Burgundy, just on the outskirts of
Chablis, is a one of a kind. It has
none of the grapefruity punch of
its Kiwi cousin, but is a supple and
mellow wine, more comparable to
a semillon or unoaked chardonnay.
The initial zing of the sauvignon
complements the pickle and pepper
of this recipe, and some hints of lemon, tropical
fruit and green nettle balance the batter of the
tempura and enhance the vegetal freshness of
the cauliower, resulting in a complex nish.
LES COTEAUX, COTES DU
RHONE VILLAGES, 2011, 9.99
A rich and smooth wine, this blend
of grenache and syrah is from 17
classied villages from Southern
Rhne. Les Coteaux has sufcient
body to stand up to the opulence
of venison and creamy potatoes
without becoming overbearing.
Dense and complex, its warm
avours and subtle oak make it a
great food wine, ideal with meats
and cheeses. The ripeness of the
vintage means that its still fresh and is packed
with cedar, cherries and soft textures, supple
enough to bring out the avours of the crisp
kale and buttery crunch of the pinenuts.
RECIOTO DELLA
VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO,
2008, 27.99
A rich, ruby dessert wine produced
from the same grapes as Amarone.
The grapes are left to dry for four
months in an aerated loft before
ageing in Slavonian oak to be
transformed into a delicious sweet
tipple. The dark fruit avours of
plum pudding and cherries, along
with oral notes of violets and rose
petals, perfectly accompany the summer
vibrancy of raspberry sorbet. Smooth bitter
chocolate and vanilla spice matches the intense
cocoa of the tart, with enough retained acidity
to refresh the palate.
Wine
to dine
Reubens Wine Store, 14 New Row, Dunfermline,
01383 731475, www.reubenswinestore.com
cream together (do not boil). Whisk the eggs into
the milk and cream mix, then strain this over the
chocolate and stir. Pour over the blind-baked tart
case. Place the tart in oven and switch off the
heat the tart will cook with the ovens residual
warmth. Leave in there for 40 to 45 minutes.
Raspberry sorbet
500g raspberry pure
40g glucose
350g stock syrup (175g sugar/175g water mixed
together and heated until the sugar dissolves)
90g ice-cream stabiliser (hot) (optional)
Method: Mix the raspberry pure, glucose and
syrup and heat to a simmer. Remove from the
heat then strain into an ice-cream machine and
freeze as per manufacturers instructions.
164-169_sf07.indd 169 28/05/2014 12:25:01