To have a head chef cook dinner in the comfort of your own home is something my wife Jackie has often dreamed about. Well, on the evening of February 14th (Valentine’s night) her dream became a reality.
It all began at a recent Springboard (a hospitality industry charity) event to celebrate Caterer's Best Places To Work awards, when I bid for and won the services of head chef, Christian D Hirons and his junior sous chef David Evans both from the Novotel in Coventry to visit my home and prepare a “Ready Steady Style” dinner.
All I had to do or should I say all my wife Jackie had to do was, supply the ingredients and Christian and his colleague David said they would be up for the challenge to create a wonderful culinary creation…..and believe me, they didn’t let us down. Firstly, there was a selection of breads ranging from walnut and raisin, ciabatta, and garlic flavoured soda breads – two choices of butters, salted and French Normandy.
As each course was brought into the dining room, Christian and colleague David would give us a brief description of the culinary delights we were about to consume.
For the starter, pan fried duck nestling on a northern delicacy – Bury Black Pudding on top of a bed of wild mushrooms. Then for the main course, pan fried tuna steak on a tomato and herb ratatouille with sweet potato and a mash made from locally grown parsnips garnished with chives, and then for the sweet course……..absolutely delicious……..a selection of pancakes……not any old pancake……we had a choice of Grand Marnier or black cherries drizzled with chocolate sauce and fresh cream.
I don’t know about the “X” factor, but Christian and David certainly delivered the “WOW” factor. They are both a credit to the industry they serve.
