The launch of the Autumn/Winter 2015 edition of the ‘White Collection’ book took place on 16 December in Central London. This series of books and events present a range of five-star seasonal food ideas for clients’ menus, and was created and developed by Stephanie Hamilton and Lloyd Mann – Managing Director and Food Services Director, ISS Food & Hospitality respectively – to showcase seasonal high-end menus. The dishes, created by chefs at ISS, are presented at the tasting events and then photographs of the plates are collated in an exclusive book for discerning clients and partners.
The creation and production of the White Collection is a team effort, with development by Simon Price and styling by Steve Read – both Development Chefs, ISS Food & Hospitality.
Showcasing the chefs is key
Stephanie Hamilton comments, “The purpose of the White Collection book is to showcase the Chefs and the White Collection title can mean Chef’s Whites or the white linen seen in many hospitality dining rooms, or the white plates. It never means the food, as the food is where the colour and flavour lies!”
Stephanie continues, “Showcasing the chefs is key. The White Collection isn’t simply a corporate collection of recipes, it is totally Chef-led and supported by our Food Service Cateys award-winning Food Development Team. Lloyd Mann gives ingredients to the chefs; Simon Price encourages people with their dishes; whilst Steve Read takes the photos and advises on food style and presentation. The White Collection is not only a celebration of the wonderful British seasons and the food available, it is also an experience for our Chefs and to show how much we love them!”
Fresh, inspirational ideas
Lloyd Mann adds, “Our White Collection is a truly inclusive way to keep fresh, inspirational ideas flowing for all of our people from our chefs and suppliers. We invite chefs from around the ISS business who would like to be part of the White Collection to come forward and participate. We’ve had people from all levels from chef managers, sous chefs and Chef de parties and they all really excel themselves in order to take part.”
Lloyd concludes, “We’re especially proud that we can ensure our future chefs coming through from the ISS Academy of Excellence gain exposure to the development of great food. This way, our current and future clients reap the rewards of the drive to provide excellent food experiences.”
ISS White Collection 2015: Duo of Longhorn Beef
The Autumn/Winter 2015 White Collection contains samples from many new creations, and here we present Head Chef Peter Lambie’s recipe for Duo of Longhorn Beef (pictured at top of article).
Ingredients
Main (serves 2)
- 1x beef cheek
- 500g sirloin of beef
- 2x carrots
- 2x onions
- 500ml double cream
- 200g kale
- 1ltr White Chicken Stock
- 500g Jerusalem artichoke
- 500g Crones
- 200g spelt
- 2x sheets Bric pastry
- 1x block butter
Method
- In a hot pan colour the cheek, add one of the carrots and an onion chopped. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock. Cover and braise for four hours at 140c. Remove the cheek from the cooking liquid and put to one side. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and reduce by half.
- Pick down the beef into small chunks. Add the liquor to the picked meat. Roll the mix tightly in cling film to form a small cylinder and set in the fridge. Brush the sheets of pastry with melted butter. Remove cling film from the cheek and roll in the pastry.
- Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and sauté in melted butter. Cook over a high heat until the artichokes are browned, add milk to cover and 100ml of cream. Simmer until they have no bite then blend until smooth.
- Sauté the remaining carrot and onion until coloured add the spelt and cook for two minutes. Add 50g of butter and cover with chicken stock, tin foil and then braise at 140c until tender. Clean the crones then blanch in seasoned water.
- To finish the dish, colour the sirloin in a hot pan, transfer to an oven tray and cook for six minutes at 180c turning every two minutes. Leave to rest in a warm place. Deep fry the ox cheek croquette to a golden colour, trim the edges. Blanch the kale, sauté the crones and heat the artichoke puree and the spelt.