MadKlubben at Cail Bruich

..with guest chef Graeme Cheevers, Head Chef of Martin Wisharts, Loch Lomond

Cail Bruich is a family run award winning restaurant that is situated on Glasgow's Great western road opposite The Botanic gardens. It is well known for its Scottish/French style of food and prompt efficient  service. When I heard they were doing a second MadKlubben (that's Danish for cooking club) I couldn't turn this one down. A friend of mine, Craig Grozier was the guest chef at the last MadKlubben and he raved about the night, so I had to witness this for myself. Especially when I heard that Chef Graeme Cheevers was was to be the guest chef. For those who aren't in the know, he currently heads up Martin Wisharts One Michelin starred restaurant at Cameron house on Loch Lomond. 

We arrived on a cold and windy monday evening in January to a warm and homely restaurant with that special kind of family feel, after sitting down and having a quick glance of the menu, I instantly know we'd be onto a winner with this menu. 

Owner & Chef Chris Charalambous and Graeme Cheevers did a little introduction into what they both do and handed the reigns to Graeme to take us on a journey of taste. 

We started off with the canapes which were served to us by Graeme himself, an awesome touch, we were so excited about them that we forgot to take a picture. The sharp beetroot macaroon cut right through the rich creamy foie gras mousse which was beautiful. 

The Seabream was a lovely balance of simple clean flavours which was matched well with a delightful chardonnay. 

The Scallop dish, what can I say to give this dish it's justice... The moment my lips touched this fork I was blown away, I was actually in shock at how well this combination went together. The basic flavours of Onion and the sweetness from the Scallops were exceptional.  It left my mouth watering after every bite which was washed down with a great wheat beer. This dish laid down a serious benchmark.

Onto the Artichoke & smoked potato which was served to us by Chris, was a good plate of food. At this point though I was still ranting on about the  previous dish that it almost dwarfed the artichoke dish, not to take any credit away from yet another good dish. 

We felt we had a little friendship going on with Chris as he was back again, to deliver the pork dish, which was a very attractive little number. He described the dish as being topped with that he claims to resemble a Glaswegian style Pickle supper, a little cornichon that has been deep fried in a very light batter. It's was a stroke of genius, all of us loved it as well as the mexina salsa. The pork was as soft as butter, I had to savour this moment as this dish was great especially with the well matched Gewürztraminer. I'll definitely be using that little pickle in the future at some point.  

Duck, honey, turnip & pomegranate... Those words alone make my mouth water. One of my fellow diners was very excited about this dish and it didn't fail to get her going once she took her first bite. I wasn't over impressed with the Corvina, it's a nice wine but I felt it was just a little too much for what was a delicate duck dish. You're probably surprised at those words but the dish itself really was the lightest duck dish I've eaten, which is a good thing. 

I've previously tasted Graeme's chocolate cremeux and it is a great component and when it came out to us, it didn't let us down. The sharp citrus fruit cutting through the rich french Valrhona chocolate, cremeux was beautiful, I'd easily eat this dish ten times over. 

As we came to the last sweet we were all rather merry after a good wine selection but nothing could prepare us for this final 14 year old dessert wine. It was like liquid caramel with a punch that almost blew me off my seat. It was a great choice to go with the caramel & poached pear finale. 

Our service throughout the evening was great with that family, homely, yet professional touch. The waitress couldn't be more knowledgeable about every element of each dish or drink. She was charming and very very attentive. 

Our service from both Chris & Graeme was a highlight of the evening. I'll definitely be back to the next MadKlubben and probably to the one after that. Keep up the good work and roll on to what can only be a great year for Chris and his team.

Thank you to Graeme for a night of great food. 

**Apologise for the photo quality, we were only able to use a camera phone in this instance 

Basic Jam Soufflé

The soufflè is a classic, timeless desert that is traditionally thought of as being a temperamental desert to produce, however follow these instructions for the perfect soufflè which will raise itself above anyone else's!

Jam:

2kg fresh fruit puree e.g raspberry, apricot, apple etc. 

500g caster sugar

70g corn flour

Juice 2 lemons

Heat up the sugar & puree and reduce by half. Mix the lemon juice & corn flour together then add to puree mix and whisk over heat until it thickens. Pass through a sieve and chill in the fridge. This can be kept up to 3 weeks in an airtight container.

Before you make the soufflé you'll need to butter your ramekin's with a good generous coating of soft butter, this will help the soufflé rise but remember to always brush with upwards strokes or it won't rise properly.

Soufflé:

360g egg white

100g caster sugar

600g jam

Whip up your egg whites in the mixer, or by hand if you wish, slowly adding the sugar until you have a peaked meringue mix. Try not over whip them tho. Take 1/3 of the mix and add 600g of jam and mix together. You can be quite rough with this part as you need to get the jam totally incorporated into the meringue. Take that mix and fold it into the other 2/3 of the whites. Place a few spoonfuls of the mix into the ramekin, level the top off & place into a preheated oven at 180*c Fan or 200*c non fan & bake for 8mins.  This should give you 8 large soufflé's, just enough for a nice little evening party or a quick pudding after a family meal.  

Ginger Pannacotta, Poached Rhubarb & Hazelnut

This week we recieved some great rhubarb from Mark Murphy fruit & veg supplier and decided to throw up a quick little dessert. 

Ginger pannacotta:

1000ml double cream

150g caster sugar

5 candied stem ginger chopped

4 bronze gelatine

Poached rhubarb:

500g Yorkshire rhubarb

400ml water

200g sugar

Rhubarb foam:

500ml rhubarb poaching liquid

0.8g Lecite

To garnish: 

Chopped hazelnuts

Red vein sorrel

1. To make the pannacotta heat the cream, sugar and ginger up to the boil then take off the heat & leave to infuse for 40 mins. While doing this bloom the gelatine leaves in some cold water until they are soft, roughly for 5 minutes. Once the cream is infused then pass through a sieve and heat back until its warm to touch but not boiling. Add in the gelatine and mix with a spoon once dissolved then pour into your mould and set in the fridge for 2 hours. 

2. Bring to the boil the 400ml water & 200g sugar. While this is on you need to peel the rhubarb with a small knife or peeler, keeping the peelings and add them to the syrup and let infuse for 30 minutes. The liquid will become bright pink. One the liquid is infused then strain out all the peelings and add the rhubarb to the liquid, bring it up to 60*c and leave it to rest off of the heat for 5-6 minutes until tender. If its still hard then leave for another couple minutes. 

3. To make the foam you need to cool the reserved poaching liquid and add the lecite and blends with a small hand held kitchen blender until the foam arrises. Try and keep half the head of the blender out the liquid and rock it like a wave so you get the oxygen into the liquid, this will give you a better foam. 

4. Place the peel hazelnuts into the oven for 4/5 minutes until golden brown. Chop them with a knife until you achieve a crumble consistency. 

To assemble the plate you'll need to dip the pannacotta mould into warm water for 1 second so that it pops out the mould properly. Place on the centre of the plate, place rhubarb around the pannacotta, a small sprinkle of hazelnuts, some foam and finally some red vein sorrel. 

Introducing The Late Winter Menu

Pigs Head Terrine 

Pigs head is one of our favourite cuts from the animal. Full of meat that is braised over night to produce tender, succulent cuts from the face that is pressed into this terrine. Complimented with a sweet chorizo jam made from spanish chorizo and fresh, british granny smith. Served with a side of home baked toasted brioche. 

Risotto Milanese 

Classic Risotto Milanese made with bone marrow, saffron from Milan. This dish is full of deep and rich flavours, yet it retains its light and delicate texture. This dish could traditionally be served as it is, or with a meaty fish, such as Halibut or the classic Ossobuco. 

White Chocolate and Vanilla Parfait 

Simple as it sounds, these two wonderful sweet flavours paired together perfectly in this smooth, creamy parfait. Served with mango ice cream, poached pineapple and ginger jelly. This desert is light on the pallet yet satisfies a sweet tooth. A spring time classic.

Banana Soufflè

  

Our latest creation is this banana soufflé, served with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream. A traditional blend of flavours, sculpted into a contemporary desert which is forever popular on any menu.

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@ChefTemple