Today's Fresh Bread! www.chefbensonsmith.co.uk

CHEF BENSON-SMITH (BENSON-SMITH LIMITED)

www.chefbensonsmith.co.uk

We have just launched chef Benson-Smith our new business with cookery courses in the home, advise and consultancy for all Food Businesses. Advice on Food teaching in schools and Chef training and apprenticships with further education providers.

There are some really exciting things happening in the food world at the moment. We want to make a difference.

www.chefbensonsmith.co.uk

My favorite Mincemeat

My Favorite Mincemeat

 

150g currants

150g raisins

150g sultanas

150g bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped

150g shredded vegetable suet

50g Chopped Almonds

100g soft brown sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground mixed spice

1/2 large lemon zest and juice

65g whole mixed peel

40ml dark rum

40ml port

80ml brandy

 

 

Place all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix together, leave to stand for 24hours before using.

My Favourite Cranberry sauce

My Favourite Cranberry sauce

 

 

Zest and juice of 1 Blood Orange

220g fresh cranberries

100g Demerara

4 tablespoons port

1/2 cinnamon stick

 

1 clementine – peeled and segmented

1. Place the zest and juice ,Cinnamon, the cranberries, sugar and port in a medium saucepan and cook over a gentle heat for 15-20 minutes.

 

2.  Once the cranberries are beginning to burst, add the segmented clementine and cook for a further minute.

 

3.  Cool and refrigerate in a storage jar or sealed container. 

 

 

Matthew Benson-Smith 2014

2014 is going to be a great year with many exciting developments and changes not only for myself but for the future of Hospitality.

please be assured to follow me on my twitter account @chefbensonsmith and linkedin http://uk.linkedin.com/in/chefmatthewbensonsmith/  to hear of these developments.

Happy Christmas to all and a prosperous New Year!

Matthew Benson-Smith-Winner- Yorkshire Life Education Award 2013

Matthew Benson-Smith has won the much-coveted Education Award at the Yorkshire Life Food & Drink Awards 2013.

Matthew has been recognised for his outstanding talent in teaching the world to cook! Not only has he been a fantastic course leader for our leisure courses over the years, he has now set up our innovative apprenticeship programme to help young people in Yorkshire start out on a career as a chef and is involved in many initiatives with local schools.

Annie Stirk, the chair of judges, said, "His passion for back-to-basics skills and local seasonal produce knows no bounds. As well as being committed to promoting and facilitating healthy eating in schools, he has set up and run a ground-breaking apprenticeship scheme for 16-24 year olds. His tireless work has enabled hundreds to forge a bright future in the restaurant industry." 

Matthew had no idea he had been nominated for this award, so was blown away when it was announced amid a glittering ceremony that celebrated the creme de la creme of Yorkshire's food, drink and hospitality industry. He says, "I am so honoured to receive this award and it just makes me even more thankful that I have the opportunity to give young chefs a chance on our apprenticeship programme. It's an exciting time here at The Cooking School with lots going on to support young people in Calderdale, so watch this space!"

Winner Best Cookery School 2013

This annual event celebrates the crème de la crème of cookery schools in the UK as selected by industry expert judges including Nigel Barden from BBC Radio 2, Xanthe Clay from The Daily Telegraph and Anthony Warner from Premier Foods.

The glittering awards ceremony took place in London on Monday 11 November at Vintners Hall, a venue steeped in history and inextricably linked with fine food and wine. The Best Small Cookery Award was one of the most sought after awards of the night, with a huge number of entrants, whittled down to a shortlist of seven.

On presenting the award, host Nigel Barden said that The Cooking School at Dean Clough had inspired the judges with its unique and innovative apprenticeship programme and the obvious buzz and passion shown by the young chef apprentices.

Matthew Benson-Smith, Chef Director of The Cooking School at Dean Clough was there to collect the award along with the team. He said, "We are delighted to win such a prestigious award in the cookery school world. We're so passionate about sharing our love of cooking with our customers, young people on our chef apprenticeship programme and the wider community - and this award is testament to that."

We all had a fantastic night and got the chance to meet and learn from many other cookery schools from up and down the country. Now we're looking forward to a year of being the best small cookery school in the UK and launching more exciting ways to help our community get cooking.