Hi all,
So while I try and pull something out of my tiny brain to write about, I thought I would share some of the food that I have been preparing on the yacht that I am currently working on. So what follows are pictures of that food that I made for my owners and guests during their month long stay onboard. These are not professional pictures, just snaps taken with my iPhone before they are whisked away by the stewardess fairies to be, hopefully, devoured by the hungry guests. If you want any recipes or have any comments then please don’t hesitate to ask.
Fresh goat’s curd, apple & walnut terrine with spring vegetable salad: This was a nightmare to slice, with the soft set goat’s curd and crunchy apples making it impossible to get a clean slice. I thing next time I will set them individually in small moulds to turn out.
Octopus carpaccio with mackerel tartare, edamame, coriander and yuzu pearls:
Hand dived scallops seared with slow cooked crispy pork belly, crackling, apple and cauliflower purees, limon cress:
Aubergine and courgette tarte with babaganoush, carrot puree and pine nuts:
Citrus souffle, hot chocolate ice cream & chocolate sauce:
Chilled pea & sweetcorn soups with crab cocktail:
Amuse bouche of beetroot. Chilled soup, pickled with goat’s cheese mousse and pine nuts, puree with balsamic reduction:
White chocolate mousse, dark chocolate & walnut parfait, milk chocolate ice cream:
Crispy frogs legs, stuffed with foie gras, vegetable galette, cauliflower & truffle puree:
Lobster four ways: triffle, bisque, terrine & sashimi:
Spring vegetable terrine with smoked chicken breast:
Roast quail breasts, confit legs, parsley risotto & ratatouille with pine nuts & quail jus:
Fig, olive and goat’s curd tart with roast onion puree and lemon thyme:
Rhubarb triffle:
Steak tartare ready to be prepared table side:
Preparing Lapsang Souchong and salt crusted seabass for the oven:
Foie gras, ham hock & rabbit ravioli with jerusalem artichoke soup:
Roast wood pigeon, glazed chicory, sprouts, pear puree, pinenuts and bacon:
Coconut panna cotta, passionfruit jelly, pineapple frozen yoghurt & compressed pineapple:
Lobster, crab & avocado cocktail with sweetcorn sorbet:
Seared tuna with yuzu paste, fresh wasabi & sesame crust, fiddle fern & wakame salad:
Tart tatin:
Tomato & mozzarella salad with basil oil and shallots:
Slow cooked pork belly, black pudding bonbons, dauphinoise gratin and heb gnocchi:
Tuna tartare, salmon sashimi, radishes, wakame and salmon roe:
Seared scallops, romanesco broccoli, ham hock frittas and apple puree:
Cream egg cupcakes for Easter:
Sole Veronique (yes I did peel the grapes):
The kids birthday cake (not my forte!):
Rack of venison with poached pear, quince chutney, sweet potato gratin & salsify:
Kids tea: Cottage pie with (as requested) a picture of the yacht on it (anything for the children):
That is all for now.
TTFN
A chef abroad X
Reblogged this on What I've learnt recently… and commented:
What have I learnt from the fabulous chef abroad (one of my favourite blogs): there’s lots of tasty food out there. I may have to become a millionaire though.
Glad to see you’re using yuzu – one of my absolute favourite Japanese flavours – is it readily available outside Japan or do you have to get it shipped in at great expense, I wonder?
Yes I love using yuzu, such a fresh, vibrant flavour. It is fairly common now to find it in Asian food stores but I am lucky enough to have a boss who lived in Japan for 20 years. So often she will have Japanese guests who bring with them all kinds of interesting ingredients including yuzu in several forms. Also mountain royal fern, dashi and every kind of seaweed you can imagine. It’s quite a challenge sometimes.
Looks amazing! thanks for getting over the writers block…. (To fill out your reader stats……Brit, living in California in landlocked Sacramento, dreaming of living on a yacht again – I lived aboard for 2 years, but a small sailing yacht and I’m not a soccer mom)
Happy to see you are back! Love the food pictures, wondering where you are located at the moment? I tried to guess based on what you prepare, but there are things from all corners of the world in there. So the Japanese stuff is brought to you by the owner or guests but how about the rest? Do you use a provisioning service that flies food (including meat and fish) from all over the world?
For your stats, I am French but also a yachtie so location varies… In Antigua at the moment, preparing the boat for a transatlantic crossing. I’m the chef on board, but really that’s a big word – more like a galley slave. Actually, change that to slave, period. It’s only 2 of us on board and the boat is a 67ft sloop, so I do everything the captain doesn’t want to do…
I love your blog btw, I was sad when you stopped writing… Found another great read by a former yacht chef to fill the void: A Mediterranean Summer, by David Shalleck. If you haven’t read it yet, you should definitely check it out.
Keep up with the pictures and the writing!
Thanks Nath I appreciate the feedback. Looks like we have a bit in common as I am rejoining my yacht in a few days. Also in Antigua at the moment in Falmouth harbour and preparing to cross the Atlantic back to Spain soon after I return. I’d be happy to answer your other question in person over a beer if you are still there when I return on 4th May.
Keep reading and I’ll do my best to keep writing.
We are supposed to leave on the 3rd, but you know how it goes with boats… I’ll definitely let you know if we’re still around when you get back – we’re also docked in Falmouth, so we might be neighbors. Actually, I’m pretty sure that I know which boat you’re on, judging by your artwork on the cottage pie 🙂
Hey there, we’re still here, about 2 boats away from yours! Name of the boat is Tilly Mint, small blue sailboat, we shouldn’t be leaving until early tomorrow morning. Feel free to come say hi!
Hi Nath
Unfortunately I won’t be back on Doña Amelia as the owners decided to lay-up the yacht for a couple of years. Most of the crew are being laid off. So I have found another yacht in the Med. I join tomorrow in Genoa. Pretty gutted about the whole thing but these things happen. Now I have something to write about. Have a safe crossing and I’ll keep an eye out for Tilly Mint on my travels.