Every day can be a battle for survival for today’s rural pubs and the importance of saving time, while cutting down on energy costs and meeting stringent Health and Safety rules, means a chef’s desire to serve up first class quality food can be compromised, causing more problems for a business in the long term. Mark Fletcher, who left an award-winning hotel to step up the dining experience at a village pub in South Cheshire, is under the same pressures, but downright refuses to compromise, right down to the last ingredient. When it comes to stocks and sauces that tick all the boxes, while allowing him to stand by his principles, Mark swears by Cheshire-based Essential Cuisine.
Phoenix from the ashes
The demise of Britain’s rural pubs has become all too common an occurrence in recent years. Occasionally, however, a phoenix rises from the ashes, as is the case with The Badger Inn in the quaint village of Church Minshull, near Nantwich in South Cheshire.
The quintessentially English watering hole, which closed down in 2006, was rescued, renovated and re-opened by experienced landlord David Hughes in August 2011, a mission fuelled by a determination to restore the oak-beamed, 18th century pub to its former glory.
Two years on and, with the support of the local community, David – whose family has worked in inns and alehouses for five generations – has put the former coaching inn back on the map, offering a warm welcome, five beautifully-furnished bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, an extensive range of traditional beers and a broad selection of wines.
Offering a great dining experience is also now a key driver at The Badger Inn, and, after a year of serving up standard pub grub such as curries and pies, things have been stepped up.
With new head chef Mark Fletcher at the helm, the food offering has undergone a serious overhaul and, while the menu still includes the likes of homemade fish and chips, the fayre has evolved into a fine dining combination of traditional British and classic French cuisine.
Dishes include everything from braised beef Bourguignon to slow-cooked, rolled shoulder of pork wrapped in black pudding, sat on creamed pearl barley with apple sauce and cider jus.
“When I arrived here in November, the quality of the food was good, but I felt a bit confused about what the menu was trying to do,” he said. “I wanted to build on the pub’s reputation for good food and give the menu some focus, using the finest, seasonal ingredients.
“We are now serving around 100 covers a day, 150 at weekends, and do things like make our own pickles for piccalilli, pickled shallots and pickled eggs, which go down brilliantly.”
Bringing with him 18 years experience, most recently as sous chef at Nunsmere Hall, twice voted County Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide, Mark has a strict seasonal ingredients only policy and plans to change the menu every month to reflect this ethos.
Taking stock
Making the move from large country hotel to village pub brought with it specific challenges, said Mark, who now commandeers a brigade of four chefs. These include the Health and Safety Executive restricting pubs from having a stockpot on the go overnight, once a standard practice in preparation for a busy service the day.
“Historically, I have always made my own stocks, but in a pub, you are not allowed to have a stockpot going overnight, without even considering the rising cost of gas,” he said.
Reluctant to give up making his own stocks, Mark turned to Essential Cuisine, the specialists for stocks, sauce bases and gravies made by chefs for chefs, for a solution.
Depending on the dish, he is now able to speed up the stock-making process by adding either the company’s Premier Veal Jus or Premier Chicken Jus to his stocks instead of taking hours to reduce them. “It halves the time it takes to make a classic veal, beef or chicken stock or jus, while giving me just the right depth of flavour I require,” said Mark.
“They have the taste and performance of a finished, kitchen-made jus, with a clean flavour, mirror-like sheen and viscous mouth feel, which is exactly what I want from my sauces.”
As a fan of the jus range, Mark decided to put the versatility of Essential Cuisine’s Stock to the test. Delivering a clean and balanced taste, the powdered stocks offer a superior yield of 50ltrs per 800g tub (around £15), with a low level of fat (c3%) and no MSG or preservatives. They are also gluten-free for the growing propensity of special dietary requirements.
Each flavour – from chicken to light vegetable – has an appropriate level of seasoning without losing any of the naturally rich taste of the stockpot. Based on 50ml as a recipe ingredient, the stock contains just 0.28g of salt, or 5.6g per litre.
With new Halal Society-approved versions recently introduced to the portfolio to cater for the growing number of Muslims in Britain, the range has a 12 month shelf life, there is no need to refrigerate after opening, and each tub is colour coded for easy recognition.
Essential flavour
While Mark does not use the stocks in the traditional way, they have become indispensable in his kitchen. “What I’ve discovered is that, because they are powdered and are easy to add at any stage of the cooking process, they make great flavour enhancers,” he said.
“I sprinkle some of the mushroom stock in my stock when making my mushroom risottos and use the chicken stock to season roast chicken. When I’m doing steamed cous cous, I add some of the vegetable stock, and also use it to season vegetables. It is far more forgiving than salt, while the stocks have a natural flavour.
“It’s the best range of readymade stocks I’ve found, you just need to know how to use them correctly to maximise on their versatility. As a company, I can’t fault Essential, plus, being Cheshire-based, they are local to me and can offer that more personable approach.
“As chefs themselves, they found a gap in the market and delivered a fantastic, consistent product that allows you to use your time on other things, offering an extra level of support.”
Nigel Crane, Dorchester-trained chef and managing director of Essential Cuisine, said stock delivered balance and depth of flavour to a dish, and Essential Cuisine products were building blocks to strike a balance between the lengthy process of scratch-making stocks and going down the mass produced route.
“Also, because our stocks are powders, you can add them straight into a dish at any stage of the cooking process for ultra convenience and control during a busy service,” he said.
“What you have to remember is that the stock component cost of an average dish is under five pence, and it is nothing short of a false economy to buy cheaper products.”
For samples, call 01606 541 490, email advice@essentialcuisine.com or click here. For more on The Badger Inn, click here.