Eat, drink and be Jèrri!

Monday 01 July 2019

---

It’s often said that the best way to a man’s heart is through his belly... but does this mantra apply to travelling tourist tongues?

In an island well known for its local produce and focus on fine dining, chefs Andrew Baird and Marcin Ciechomski as well as Maître D’ Nicolas Marais are no strangers to making the most of what Jersey has to offer.

Their work could, in part, be the key to helping Visit Jersey reach its ambitious target of attracting one million annual visitors to the island by 2030, as Express found out...

Andrew Baird’s first scuba experience wasn’t so much a baptism of fire as a baptism of ice.

“I wore what you’d call a semi-dry – there was nothing dry about it at all. It’s supposed to be a close-fitting wetsuit that traps a layer of water which your body warms up.  

“Because I was skinny at the time – I was skinny, once – it was baggy on me and I just froze to death! The water temperature – I’ve got it in my log book – was six degrees. Pretty damn cold,” he laughs.

 

Pictured: Longueville Manor Executive Chef Andrew Baird. (Gary Grimshaw)

It was only, he admits, the fact he’d pre-paid for his course at Bouley Bay many years ago that he bothered to stick with it.

“If I hadn’t, I don’t think I would have gone back… They say if you can dive in Jersey, you can dive anywhere in the world. And that’s what I’ve gone and done – Great Barrier Reef, Caribbean, Malaysia, Africa – and really enjoyed it." 

It’s an unexpected segue in an interview with Longueville Manor’s Michelin-starred Executive Chef, but one highlighting why the man known as the ‘Godfather’ of modern Jersey cuisine is so adept at translating the island’s flavour for international palates.

When he’s not in the kitchen, Andrew makes the most of the “mutual respect” achieved through his dive time to negotiate seafood from mariners to mouths. 

“One day I was virtually begging the scallop guy in the middle of February – imagine how cold it was – and he said, ‘Look, I can only see half-a-metre ahead of me’… He wouldn’t do it unless we had that rapport and understanding.”

With keeping menu items fresh and seasonal a key part of Longueville’s promise, it’s no surprise that much of his time is spent with a hawk-eyed focus on the sea. 

“At the moment, we’ve got spring tides of 10 metres-plus, so the netters can’t really net for fish – there’s too much movement in the water, but the guys with the low lines can go, so you can communicate with those guys and try and get what you can,” Andrew continues.

“Sourcing ingredients is a huge part of what I do. We do about 200 meals a day on average. All that food comes from somewhere. We don’t just go to [the supermarket] and pick something up.” 

While Andrew is a champion of local produce – describing the island as “blessed” with world-class crops and dairy – he is pragmatic about the challenges of making each plate 100% genuine Jersey.

Pictured: Andrew says Jersey is "blessed" with world-class delicacies.

Describing meat as a product becoming increasingly “luxury”, he explains: “We do as much as we can locally, but when it comes to meat, there just aren’t enough animals… If I put lamb shank on the menu, I can use 140 a week. That’s 70 lambs’ worth. I don’t think there’s 70 lambs in Jersey in one week.”

Where local produce isn’t possible, Andrew personally ensures that each product is palate-perfect and he can tell you exactly where each ingredient on his menu is from. 

Many herbs originate in Longueville’s garden; “whether off Bonne Nuit or towards the Minquiers, I know where they were caught, which boat,” he says of scallops; and some of the beef used has been “cherrypicked” from his own brother-in-law’s award-winning Northern Irish supply. 

That knowledge is exceedingly important, as trends show consumers are more interested than ever in the providence of what’s on their plate.

Following decades in the fine dining world, Andrew says he’s also noted a rise in specific dietary requirements – gluten-free and vegan being the most widespread.

In response, Longueville, which this year celebrates its 70^thbirthday, launched a vegan wine list – drinkers might be surprised to learn that the winemaking process is often expedited by adding a small amount of animal ingredient – with prices set for a wide range of consumers between £30 and £300.

Over the years, Andrew has also become a fluent speaker in the language of “allergens,” ensuring that no one is a second-class diner by guiding his international team through refining recipes and scanning ingredients.

The process is tricky but necessary. “You can find gluten in some bizarre places,” he explains – one Irish Porter cheese, for example, is “washed in Guinness – and that has a trace of gluten in.”

But while dining habits change, the high-level skills behind each dish have not. Navigating aromats for “classical” sauce-making, for example, is time, energy and cost-intensive, but Andrew refuses to give up the “dying art." 

The other constant is that tourists are still after Jersey’s best-known products. They are, however, “a bit more open-minded and willing to try things… So you’ve got to challenge and push the boat out, but not so far that people feel alienated.” 

Pictured: "You’ve got to challenge and push the boat out, but not so far that people feel alienated.” (Gary Grimshaw).

Andrew’s team, therefore, always looks to put their own spin on the well-known.

“They’ve started already catching local mackerel. It’s good value, it’s plentiful, it’s sustainable… We’re working on a recipe at the moment which is a kind of marinated teriyaki mackerel.”

It’s not on the menu yet, but Andrew teases that one local fish seller who tried it confided: “that’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

A thirst for innovation is something he has in common with La Mare Wine Estate’s new Head Chef Marcin Ciechomski, who came to the island in 2001 and sees his role as celebrating Jersey’s heritage through twisted traditionals.

Appropriate, then, that the cook – who himself comes from a family line of chefs – now works on the grounds of a historic manor house where wines, chocolates, conserves and liqueurs are made.

Take black butter – a farmhouse delicacy born in the 1600s when orchards dropped apples faster than islanders could eat them.

Marcin throws it in a cheesecake, then adds a “fortification” of chocolate, which diners must break through to release La Mare-made brandy cream.

His ‘bangers and mash’ are similarly finished with the liquorice-flavoured spread and La Mare’s mustard. 

As well as a foodie tourist spot, La Mare is also an event space. A frequent choice for wedding receptions for islanders and UK newlyweds alike, it provides the opportunity to show off Jersey as “one of the best in the British Isles for food” to those who might not otherwise visit, and encourage them to return. 

Pictured: Marcin Ciechomski, La Mare's top flavour-maker.

It’s one of the reasons La Mare recently invested £500,000 in dousing its vineyard-view function room with a Jersey flavour of traditional granite, foliage and wine glass chandeliers.

But Marcin thinks all chefs have a part to play in sharing the best of the Bailiwick: “We could maybe look at training courses or shows in how to use Jersey products. You have to use your imagination. Black butter can be used in savoury or sweet, for example.”

Having previously worked at hotel Chateau Le Chaire, he’s noticed a burgeoning fine dining population among Jersey’s weekend breakers, but ultimately says the weather is so far still winning in determining Jersey’s attractiveness as a destination.

Visit Jersey, however, is working to change these perceptions and show off the island all year round.

Having learned through research that two in five visitors believe food influences where they go on holiday, Visit Jersey this year launched its non-seasonal ‘Serving Up Island Life’ campaign.

Visit Jersey hopes it will convert islanders, chefs, food producers and visitors into ambassadors for Jersey’s cuisine, while building an appetite for food and drink exports too.

Pictured: An artist's impression of the new function room at La Mare (La Mare Wine Estate).

Louise Ashworth, Head of Marketing at Visit Jersey, explains: “Jersey is bursting with flavour, from our laidback beach cafés to our award-winning restaurants. Today’s travellers want an authentic taste of a destination and this campaign will serve up our island food story to prospective visitors. Our new strategy of producing content with greater longevity will help us to build and maintain a healthy appetite for Jersey as a year-round visitor destination.”

The campaign comes at a fitting time…

Elizabeth Harbour will shortly open new eatery ‘The Shipyard’, food vans are flourishing in the town centre, and the island’s two main pub chains have made serious investment in upping their gastronomic game in recent years, with relatively new establishments Air Mex and The Square – both of which bracket the tourist-heavy Liberation Square zone – nearly always fully booked (VisitBritain say that going to pubs was ranked third as one of the things to do in a survey of international passengers).

Foodie “experiences” are also on the rise with chef talks and themed food nights cropping up across island eateries, demonstrated by ‘Champagne and Oyster Tours’ being set to fight Jersey Zoo for the coveted ‘Attraction of the Year’ at the 2019 Jersey Style Awards.

Then there’s the recent buzz from BBC’s the Great British Menu. It recently put the island in the spotlight, with Chef Joe Baker from Number 10 among the competitors, and Samphire’s Lee Smith making the final. 

So “amazing” is Jersey’s offer, that Nicolas Marais – Maître D’ of Tassili at the Grand Jersey Hotel and Spa – says he “can’t believe what you can get here in terms of the value.”

“You go to the mainland, or just across to Saint Malo, you are going to see the difference.” 

However brilliant the cuisine might be, “people come for the food, but you come back for the service,” Nicolas reminds us in a smooth French accent.

Pictured: Nicolas Marais - Maître D’ of Tassili (Grand Jersey Hotel and Spa).

The Loire Valley-born professional is more than qualified to advise on the topic – despite only being in his 20s – Nicolas has spread his finesse across four countries, lectures at a French business school and recently beat hosts from Michelin-starred restaurants to scoop an award at an international fine-dining contest held in Limoges.

But being the ‘host-with-the-most’ goes beyond the primary haute cuisine serving rules.

“Some things they teach you at hospitality school, they are very dated… You serve by the right, we must place the sorbet on the right side of the spoon. As we say in France, all the standards you have in your finger and when you have it in the finger, you can be focused on the details… 

“The main part is reading people – it’s a bit psychologique. We always say when we are not at the table we close our ear, but we always try to take attention when we see that someone is cutting on the plate but not really eating, or if they are going to start to look a bit around, you are then coming to the table and and check before they ask. 

“I am always saying that if they ask for something, we already failed because we have not given what they need.”

Nicolas – who laughs that he can take several orders without taking notes by visualising floating plates above diners’ heads – believes the experience actually starts from the moment of reservation, from which point he begins scanning for clues to help “not to reach their expectation, but to exceed.”

“They might say they like truffle in a conversation. After, you go back to the chef, so he’s going to make a small amuse bouche.” 

Pictured: “I am always saying that if they ask for something, we already failed because we have not given what they need.” (Tassili - Grand Jersey Hotel and Spa).

Emphasising his “relaxed” approach to fine dining, Nicolas said avoiding “snobbery” is key in the role, as well as three other topics: “The first is politics, especially lately, the next is religion, and the last one is football – not only with gents, but also with ladies!”

Then there’s educating “without patronising” about what’s in their glasses and on their plates, meaning intense research on Nicolas’ part.

It’s through this research that Nicolas has come to learn probably more than the average “bean” about local produce – useful, as, curiously, local people are among the biggest consumers of Tassili’s special ‘Jèrriais’ menu. 

Interest from further afield is blossoming too. By way of example, he notes some returning clients: “There’s a couple of farmers in Devon – they are not going on holidays all year, they’re saving and doing a week of fooding in Jersey.” 

The way to ensure quality is recognising that a meal is a “small part of life” – a part he characterises as “a ballet or theatre.”

“At 19:00, you open the curtains – we open the door to the restaurant – and the public is coming. Two, three hours later we close the curtains and they are going to give their feedback after.”

The best sign being that diners might ask for an encore…?

“When they are finished their coffee, digestif, and they are about to leave, they look at their watch and say, ‘Oh, we spent so much time with you’. And they didn’t realise it. That’s a success.”

This article first appeared in the June edition of Connect. Click here to read it in full.