Winning Ways With Cheese
We spoke to Paul Robinson, tutor at The Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, about his varied career to date and what it's like working with young people in the industry.
I teach various age groups at The Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education's Hospitality department. This academic year I will be teaching trainee chefs aged 17 plus, working towards the Level 3 Professional Cookery qualification. I'm also the programme leader for hospitality so I'm responsible for the staff team within the department.
Tell us about your career to date.I was cooking from a very young age and since I loved being in the kitchen, I decided to pursue a career based on food. I joined the Royal Navy and trained as a chef, spending eight years travelling around the world. I saw so many different ways of cooking in this time and expanded my food knowledge by using a huge variety of ingredients. In 2003 I bought the Willow Restaurant in Lincolnshire and during the first five years we won many awards. I then decided to work towards a food manufacturing foundation degree as well as gaining my certificate in education.
What challenges do you face as a tutor?As tutors, we have the responsibility of delivering skills and knowledge to young chefs so they have the best chance of being successful after training - in a tough industry like hospitality and catering, this put us under a lot of pressure.
Working in our training restaurant can be a challenge - we have to make sure we're producing quality dishes for customers and that we're maintaining our focus during these production lessons and not losing our cool with the trainees, unlike some head chefs I can think of!
What industry activities are you involved with outside of the Grimsby Institute?I've recently been involved with national competitions; I coached a team of students to enter the Nestle Toque D'or competition where we won a place in the final and went to the awards ceremony held at The Dorchester hotel in London.
Individually, I won the northern heat of the Vive le Cheese competition where I filmed a short cookery programme in which I prepared my Hazelnut Brie with a Cherry and Red Wine Reduction. I'm also going on a cookery holiday with Valentina Harris in Umbra, Italy after developing a winning recipe of mozzarella as a starter using various molecular gastronomy techniques and infusing traditional Italian flavours.
What have been your career highlights to date?
There have been many great moments but one that stands out was the day I spent with Jean Christophe Novelli cooking at his academy. He is inspirational and a really easy going guy - even though I've been cooking for most of my life, I still went away from that day learning a lot.
I have been lucky enough to meet many great chefs including Tom Aikens, Franck Pontais, Mitch Tonks, James Martin, Brian Turner, James Tanner, James McKenzie and Anton Mosimman. It can just take a conversation to inspire a new dish and when you talk to someone passionate about their work it can only have a positive effect on what you do.
Tell us some more about your involvement with the British Sandwich Awards last year.I tested several recipes but the one that stood out was the sandwich using ciabatta and filling it with chorizo, Port Salut & sun-blushed tomatoes. I used Cantadou cheese instead of butter or margarine on the bread and I think this made my sandwich really interesting.
What's your signature dish?To be honest I don't really have one - I have many favourite ingredients but food is like fashion and these change all the time!
What is cheese like to work with, as an ingredient?Soft cheeses are my favourite to work with; because of the texture and delicate flavours, there are many things you can do with them. From cheesecakes to soups, soft cheeses are the most versatile. My favourite soft cheese is Boursin, which is great for enhancing stuffings, using as a base sauce for meat dishes and even mixing into bread dough to make fantastic pizza bases.
What do you think about Bel's cheese?Bel produces a range of cheeses where it's clear that there's been a great attention on getting the flavours perfect. This makes my job of producing a great dish easier as one of the biggest challenges facing a chef is sourcing produce from reliable suppliers. They're all great and it's difficult to choose a favourite as it depends on the mood that I'm in; Cantadou is a great cheese - creamy and easy to us. But Port Salut, breaded, deep fried and served with redcurrant jelly is delicious. And Leerdammer, between two slices of plain bread with pickle creates a great tasting sandwich.
What do you like about being a Bel Cheese Academy Ambassador?It gives me more of a chance to do what I love - creating recipes. I hope that everyone will give some of my recipes a go to see how versatile cheese is. Some of these recipes take just minutes to make but taste amazing - they couldn't be easier to prepare and can be used to impress friends at dinner parties or simply just as daytime snack. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to produce my own cookbook which will show people how they can easily use ingredients to make professional looking dishes easily.
“Bel produces a range of cheeses where it's clear that there's been a great attention on getting the flavours perfect.”
Paul Robinson, Chef and Grimsby Institute tutor
Puschka's passion for Boursin
Nestling in Liverpool's Old Georgian Quarter, popular restaurant Puschka has been described by The Guardian as “the kind of place that you don't want to leave”. Serving modern British and European cuisine it has included Boursin in its menu since opening in 2001. Head chef and co-proprietor Glen Dumbell explains why Bel cheese has become an important part of his menu:
“One of our most popular dishes is pan roasted free range chicken breast with Boursin, basil confit tomato stuffing wrapped in pancetta which has been on our menu since we opened in 2001. My Italian uncle introduced us to a simpler version when we were kids and we've always loved the combination of roast chicken and creamy, salty cheese. As our palates matured we found the ricotta in the original recipe was a bit bland. We tried it with other cheeses but none of them had the depth of flavour we were looking for. Boursin was something we'd previously enjoyed as part of a cheeseboard or on its own but we'd never cooked with it. After trying it out in this recipe, we found it to be the perfect combination of creaminess and full flavour to complement the sweetness of the tomatoes and the roasted chicken. Using the name Boursin on our menu helps to sell the dish because our customers recognise the brand and associate it with quality.
“We use Boursin in a few of our recipes. Experimentation is key and we do a fabulous version of pommes Dauphinoise using Boursin and sliced white onion that has been browned in a little olive oil. We also use it to enrich a veloute for smoked haddock with a few finely chopped chives to add both colour and flavour.”
Chef Robbie Gleave shares his secrets of sandwich success
Robbie Gleave, development chef at award-winning catering company Heritage Portfolio and innovative event food concept Beetroot Blue tells us about his award-winning sandwich recipes, his favourite Bel products and why they work for his business.
“We use around 30 to 40 different cheeses, including a number of products from the Bel range. My favourite is definitely the Smoked Port Salut. It warms well, has good stability and tastes great hot or cold. I also really like Kiri, which is well balanced and one of the best soft cheeses I've seen on the market,”
Robbie Gleave, development chef and winner at 2010 Sandwich Designer of the Year Awards
