Select a region
Guest chefs from some of the UK’s most prestigious Relais Châteaux restaurants are to cook at Longueville manor this year creating a taste collaboration of Jersey and British produce.
The series began this week with a visit from George Blogg, Head Chef, Gravetye Manor, Sussex, followed next month by Michael Caines, MBE, from Lympstone Manor, Devon.
The Michelin-starred chefs are working alongside Longueville Manor’s Executive Head Chef, Andrew Baird, to create tasting menus celebrating the best produce from Jersey and its partner chef region.
For the February event, George and Andrew collaborated on a menu featuring Jersey ingredients such as line-caught turbot, Jersey crab, and north coast scallops, and Sussex ingredients such as Gravetye apples, Sussex venison, and celeriac.
George said: “It’s lovely to come back to Jersey and a real pleasure to be able to take part in this Series and cook with Andrew. We’ve brought over some great ingredients from Sussex and have been out foraging in the woods around Longueville for herbs, while Andrew has some brilliant local fish and seafood.
“Cooking in a different kitchen is always a challenge and working with a different chef, and his team, a great way of seeing how other people do things. Andrew has a massive amount of experience and this is a great way of building up our relationship so we can help each other in the future.”
Video: George Blogg talks about his menu choices.
George, 36, began his career as a chef at the age of 15 – washing up at a local restaurant. He progressed to mise-en-place and prep work, working at weekends and holidays as he completed his education. While studying Geology at Manchester University, George developed his culinary skills, and after finishing his Masters, decided he preferred the kitchen to the petrochemical industry.
He said: “I went down the path of following the GCSE’s I enjoyed most, then the A-levels, and found Geology fascinating. However, when working as a geologist you end up becoming more and more specialised and the more you know, the less variety there is. As a chef, it’s the opposite – the more you know, the more challenges you can encounter. Working at Gravetye I experience so many different aspects of business – it’s as much about managing teams, meeting customers and understanding how produce is grown as it is about cooking.”
Pictured (right): Longueville Manor owner, Malcom Lewis, discussing the menu with the two top chefs.
George and Andrew’s six-course dinner featured three dishes from George and three from Andrew, paired with a global selection of wines chosen by Longueville Managing Director Pedro Bento.
The dinner gave guests a chance to preview Longueville’s new Wine Cellar and tasting room. Part of a £750,000 improvement programme at Longueville, the Wine Cellar contains over 4,000 bottles of wine, some worth up to £20,000.
Malcolm Lewis, Owner, Longueville Manor, said: “At Longueville we are passionate about food, sustainability and sharing ideas and we are therefore delighted to welcome these amazing chefs. As well as delicious dishes, our series will demonstrate Relais & Châteaux’s commitment to local cuisine. The two events also give us the opportunity to show off our new state of the art wine cellar and tasting room – the only one of its type in Jersey.”
Express Review, by Julia Hunt.
"Two chefs, six courses, and 40 guests to impress. Sounds easy … until you look at the menu, and realise you're going to have to cook it all from scratch, in a kitchen you don't know.
Thankfully, George Blogg quickly settled into the Longueville kitchen, and with resident chef Andrew Baird was able to put together a selection of dishes worth visiting Jersey for.
If the dishes were armed forces, Andrew's would be in the navy, while George's troops were firmly land army.
Andrew began the dinner with a delicate presentation of crab beignet, avocado, and pink grapefruit. Fresh and full of flavours of sea and fruit, the dish worked well with the Austrian Gruner Veltiner.
Despite the generous serving of truffle – shaved as neatly as a porn star's pudendum – George's celeriac starter was over powered by the horse-radish like tanginess of the cow's curd. Interesting combo, or trying too hard? The plate was so pretty I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
They say it might snow next week, and the pale tones of Andrew's main course – turbot and scallops - made me think of that moment in a snow storm when everything goes eerily calm. Perfectly cooked, the fish swam well with Pedro's choice Albarino, although the cauliflower and tabbouleh, studded with pomegranate seeds was less exciting.
After three delicious glasses of very different white wines (tasting measures thankfully!), I was ready for red. The Patagonian Pinot Noir was punchier than Burgundy, with that spiciness that comes from extra sunshine, and enough body to march with George's Sussex venison – a dish so dark and rich each mouthful took you deeper into the earth's boudoir.
Andrew's cheese course – goat's cheese with blood orange sorbet – was a surprise winner of the night. Who would've thought sorbet would go so well with cheese? Well, Andrew did, reversing the usual expectations that cheese might be the more savoury element, and sorbet the sweeter partner, by choosing a cheese creamier than some ice creams, and making a sorbet with the sharpness to cleanse the palate and actually make you feel like dessert.
Every autumn, George selects the best Gravetye apples, wraps them carefully in newspaper and packs them away in a crate in his garage. He kindly brought a few of these prized fruits over to Jersey for pudding. White chocolate can be a bit bland for a cocoa addict (admission) but George solved the issue by caramelising the chocolate, mixing in a sabayon, deglazing, and folding in more cream to create an unctuous cheesecake-mousse concoction that was utterly delicious. “Is is calorie free?” one of the female guests asked George later. He just raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
Overall the dinner showcased exceptional dishes, created by two very talented chefs who clearly love the food they are preparing. While we're used to seeing chefs complete against each other, it's refreshing to see chefs from different restaurants collaborate to create food that is not really one restaurant, or the other, but an expression of two world's of cooking, in the same place at the same time. Well done chaps!"
The Menu:
Deep water Jersey crab (Andrew)
Warm claw, sweet pink grapefruit, mint salad
Grüner Veltiner, Markus Hüber, D.A.C., Traisental, 2015, Austria
***
Celeriac, black truffle (George)
Jersey cow’s curd and hazelnut
Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Chenin Blanc, The Wolf Trap, Western Cape, 2016, South Africa
***
Line caught turbot (Andrew)
Hand dived north coast scallop, tabbouleh, cauliflower
Albariño, Martin Codax, Rias Baixas, 2016, Spain
***
Sussex roe venison (George)
Seared mushroom, preserved wild garlic seeds and foraged Longueville herbs
Saurus, Pinot Noir, Select, Patagonia 2015, Argentina
***
Warm fondant (Andrew)
Golden Cross, beetroot and blood orange sorbet
***
Caramelized white chocolate (George)
Gravetye apple and treacle
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Domaine de Coyeux, Vallée du Rhône, 2007, France
***
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.