An extra treat this week for the 12 Week Certificate Course students, guest Chef Tom Hayes of Almost Anywhere, enchanted the group by passing on a variety of the techniques and dishes that have shaped his career.
It was all the more interesting for them because Tom’s is an alumni who sat in those exact chairs in the Demonstration Room in 2021.
Always fascinating to hear how the alumni use the skills they learn here to earn their living, could be as a chef, restaurateur, cookery writer, caterer, product developer, TV cook…
Tom shared his story. After the course he went on to work at the famous River Café in London, then onto Copenhagen where he spent several months at Surt and Øens Have, who also have an urban farm in the city.
In 2024, he returned to Ireland to found Mowgli now Almost Anywhere which alludes to the fact that he will pop up almost anywhere around the globe to create unique food experience centred on seasonal ingredients, local products and thoughtful hospitality…. from Liguria to Burgundy in the French countryside, Utah in the US. Cooking over fire on the cliffs at Ballyandreen or in the woods at Inish Beg in West Cork. He’s off to North Wales next.
Menu
Garden Vegetables with Champagne Sauce
Flatbreads with Boyne Valley Bán and Mint
Cavatelli with Courgettes and Parmesan
Braised Rabbit and Borlotti on Toast
Bouillabaisse
Strawberry and Rhubarb Cobbler with Crème Anglaise
He served young artichokes from the garden with a Champagne sauce followed by flatbreads with Boyne Valley Bán cheese and fresh mint.
There was also a feisty Bouillabaisse made from fresh fish and shellfish from the boats in Ballycotton.
He whipped up a fresh pasta dough in minutes and showed the students how to make curly cavatelli on a cavatelli board or a ridged butter bat. These were served with chilli and basil courgettes and a sprinkling of Parmesan. The main course was Braised Rabbit and Borlotti Beans on Toast followed by a dessert of a strawberry and rhubarb cobbler with crème anglaise – divine!
Tom, originally from Cavan who played football for his county, eventually chose professional cooking after he had completed a commerce degree and a masters in Food business from UCD‘s Smurfit School of Economics.
After a few years on the stove in top kitchens, he decided to become a roaming chef. He hosted all manner of exciting culinary events from intimate pop-up dinners, Farm to table suppers, feasts in castles, long table dinners in barns and greenhouses. Some are private events, others are open to the public, always collaborating with local producers, all fun, seasonal and delicious.
Follow his escapades on @almostanywhere_ on Instagram
Meanwhile, here’s a taste of some of Tom’s delicious dishes which he kindly shared.
Tom Hayes’s Garden Vegetables with Champagne Sauce
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 head of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves
250ml champagne or dry sparkling wine
100g anchovies
250g cubed butter
Maldon sea salt
1 lemon
Garden Vegetables
750g garden vegetables (whatever is in season at the time, courgettes, asparagus, chard, broad beans etc)
Method
Meanwhile, add the garlic cloves to a saucepan with your champagne. Reduce the wine to around 100ml.
Pass this through a sieve to remove the garlic. Add the anchovies to the champagne and dissolve them into the liquid on a low heat. Use a hand blender to assist you, ensuring the anchovies are completely broken down. Next, on a low heat, whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Next, blanch the vegetables in the salted water for 1 minute until it holds a slight resistance to touch. Drain and season immediately.
To Serve
Place
the vegetables unceremoniously on top of a pool of champagne sauce.
Tom Hayes’s Braised Rabbit and Borlotti on Toast
Ingredients
1 whole rabbit
50ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g pancetta lardons
1 head of fennel, cut into wedges
500ml dry white wine
1 whole chilli
1 head of garlic
2 lemons, zested
1 small bunch bay leaves
1 bunch thyme
1 bunch of rosemary
1 bunch sage
500g dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight in cold water and then drained (or fresh if it is the season!)
To Serve
1 loaf of sourdough
100g lardo thinly sliced
Method
Begin by jointing the rabbit.
Add the olive oil to your pan. Season the rabbit with salt and pepper. On a high heat, colour each piece of the rabbit, remove these and place them in a casserole dish. Next, add the pancetta lardons and fennel. Colour the vegetables and add them to the casserole dish. Deglaze the pan with the wine and add all of this along with the chilli, garlic, lemon zest, herbs and borlotti to the casserole dish.
You can top this up with a bit of water to ensure the beans are well covered. Cover the dish with a cartouche and a lid. Place in a pre-heated 180°C/Gas Mark 4 oven for 2 hours, until the rabbit easily comes from the bone and the beans retain no bite. Season to taste.
Keep the shoulders and legs of the rabbit on the bone. You can pick the meat from the rest of the carcass and toss through the beans.
To serve, warm two slices of
sourdough under the grill of your oven. Pour over the beans with some of the
liquor. Place a rabbit leg on top along with two slices of lardo.
Tom Hayes’s Strawberry and Rhubarb Cobbler with Crème Anglaise
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
For the cobbler topping
500g plain flour
350g cubed cold butter
100g caster sugar
250g buttermilk
1kg strawberries
500g rhubarb
200g sugar
egg wash and Demerara sugar for coating
To Serve
crème anglaise
Method
First make the cobbler topping.
Combine the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. At this stage add the sugar and mix through. Add the buttermilk and mix until it combines to become a dough. Place in the fridge to keep chilled.
Chop the rhubarb into pieces 2.5-5cm in size and toss through the sugar. Place in a baking tray or lasagne dish 31cm x 23cm wide. Using a spoon or an ice-cream scoop, shape chunks of the buttermilk dough into semi-spherical structures to rest on top of the filling. Cover the entire tray like this.
Egg wash the crust and sprinkle some Demerara sugar over the top.
Bake at 170°C/Gas Mark 3 degrees for 30 minutes until golden. Check that the rhubarb is tender and fully cooked.
Serve the entire tray to your guests with a dollop of crème anglaise in the centre.
Crème Anglaise (Custard Sauce)
This basic sauce is usually flavoured with vanilla but can be made with any number of other ingredients, such as lemon or orange rind or mint. It is used in many recipes including ice-cream, though in that case the proportion of sugar is much higher than usual because unsweetened cream is added during the freezing.
Ingredients
600ml milk
vanilla pod or other alternative flavouring
6 egg yolks
50g sugar
Method
Bring the milk almost to the boil with the vanilla pod. In a Pyrex bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and light. Whisk in the hot milk in a slow and steady stream. Replace in a clean saucepan and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens slightly. Your finger should leave a clear trail when drawn across the back of the spoon – the temperature should achieve 82°C on a thermometer.
Remove from the heat at once and strain. Cool, cover tightly and chill. The custard can be kept for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Note: The mixture is replaced in a clean saucepan to avoid the mixture catching on the bottom of the pan).
