Horrendous Hake or Chocolate Heaven?
Hake swimming in chocolate sauce? Has the chef lost his marbles? Is this another bizarre dish dreamed up by Heston Blumenthal?
No. This unlikely combination comes courtesy of a collaboration between the great little chocolate company Montezuma’s and MasterChef the Professionals champion Sven-Hanson Britt.
The bearded Britt admits when he first received the brief to pair chocolate with a five course tasting menu of goose liver, roasted venison and steamed fish it seemed a challenge too far. ‘The hake sounded horrendous,’ he told me as he whisked a Thai basil white chocolate velouté to within an inch of its creamy life.
It wasn’t. It was heavenly. Instead of adding the usual butter to the foaming sauce he chose white chocolate. The result was subtle and as light as gossamer.
Cauliflower, lemon grass and curry oil completed the dish.
On his inventive taster menu the talented Sven-Hanson, 31, served up a surprising mix of goose liver with 54% cocoa chocolate, pistachio cake with sour cherry gel to cut through the richness.
Darker than dark 100 % Absolute Black chocolate invested the roasted venison fillet with delicious depth. Juniper, thyme, sauce poivrade, baked beetroot and elderberry racked up even more flavours.
‘One dessert is never enough,’ reckons Sven-Hanson – a man after my own sweet heart. To that end he produced a caramelised white chocolate ice cream glazed in raspberries as a nod to our five-a-day.
A 74% cocoa tart with salted hazelnut liqueur, date puree and frangelico was the final flourish of his death by chocolate menu that balanced sweetness, acidity, freshness and fruitiness. Mmmm…
His passion for cooking started at 14 when he washed pots and plates at a restaurant every night after school _ ‘much to my mum’s annoyance as she wanted me to get my A Levels. I earned about £3 an hour. I worked incredibly hard for it and cherished every penny.’
He graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, spent 10 years at the Ritz and worked in France.
Next stop is his new restaurant Oxeye due to open in London any time soon once premises have been sorted. And then another one in South Derbyshire showcasing his farm-to-fork cooking hand-reared animals, farm-fresh veg… and hopefully Montezuma’s chocolate.
‘Chocolate adds a richness and depth to any course so when the Montezuma’s team asked me to create a menu featuring their chocolate I saw this as a challenge to show how chocolate can elevate food to another level.’ he says.
His favourite is Montezuma’s 74% couverture – ‘the perfect balance of sweetness, bitterness and dark chocolate, red fruits flavour. So delicious.’
The 20 year old chocolate company has shops in Spitalfields in London, Brighton, Kingston on Thames, Chichester, Winchester and, just opened, Norwich.
- Couverture available from www.montezumas.co.uk RRP £29.99 for 2kg. Bag. Chocolate products also available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, John Lewis, Selfridges and Wholefoods.
