Oliver Dovey – Diary of Final 2017 at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Oliver Dovey

2017 Final Diary at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Day 1

Today was a challenging day as it was the first day at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms. I had to learn the layout of the kitchen, the people and all of the menu, off by heart, as fast as possible. I worked in the preparation kitchen for most of the day but my highlight was moving over to work in the Nucleus restaurant. There was just Leon (Jr Sous Chef) and myself cooking and plating the dishes for the customers. It was a very interactive restaurant because as we were cooking the customers were asking us questions about the dishes and our experience too. I could see how the customers reacted to each dish and hear the excitement in their voices while they spoke about them. It was the best place for me to start as it gave me time to learn the whole menu in depth, from the preparation to cooking and then plating.

Day 2

Today was amazing, I spent most of the time in the hot kitchen doing preparation in the morning and in the evening I was working with the larder, plating all of their dishes, mainly the Chicken Meusli, Potatoes roasted in the wood fire oven and the Veal Sweetbreads. My favourite dish was definitely the Chicken Meusli as it was an amazing balance between sweet, sour, hot and warm.

Wood Fired Oven

Wood Fired Oven

Day 3

Today I spent the morning in Pastry, I made the milk Crisp for their Milk dessert. I also made their Chocolate Marquis dessert, from start to finish. They had a lot of trust in me and let me do a great deal during preparation. They gave me everything to taste but their truly exceptional dish was their conclusion of Green Thai Curry and Candy floss. It was absolute perfection in the balance of all 5 tastes. In the evening I was in the hot kitchen as it was very busy. I was plating their Beef Tartar dish as well as the others from yesterday. They also had a new dish for their chefs table, which is amazing watching how new dishes come about in Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms.

Day 4

Today was by far the best day! I spent all day moving between each section doing jobs that I picked up during the week but with more speed and skill. When it came to the cook off, I was not sure of the result, it was very nerve wracking to show Sat and John your own style of cooking, there was a lot more pressure than I thought I was going to feel but overall I am happy with my final dish.

Olivers Final presentation of his original entry dish

Olivers Final presentation of his original entry dish

John said the dish was lovely and the Duck was cooked on point which I was very relieved at as I thought it was slightly over cooked 🙂

In the evening I was helping pastry at the beginning. I was helping plate Sat Bains well known Duck Egg dish. It was incredible to see the effort.

Then after I moved over to work in the Nucleus again as they had a very busy service in there. the customers were very friendly and chatty towards myself and Leon (Sous Chef). They were absolutely blown away by the conclusion that I ate yesterday. It was a great pleasure to watch the customers fall in love with the food and knowing the hours and hard work it was really worth it!!!! It was a slightly sad ending as I really did not want to leave. They welcomed me as a family member and it truly touched my heart how nice everyone was towards me. I want to thank the whole team for the experience they have given me this week.

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Harvey Perttola – Diary of 2017 Final at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Harvey Perttola

Diary of the 2017 Final experience at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Day 1

Arrived at 8:30 and was greeted warmly by Head Chef John Freeman. He took me into the kitchen and introduced me to everyone and I was shown around by one of the brigade. I also met Sat Bains which I was really a highlight. I was made to feel at ease.

I was put on the garnish section for the day with a chef called Phil from Dublin. I did jobs for him throughout the day these were cauliflower florets, picked melon, kale crisps, kale puree, smoked squash puree, and other bits and bobs like vac packing etc… I felt like i performed well and did everything that was asked of me.

During service I was helping send starters from larder 1 and larder 2 sections. I was helping plate up the dishes like the Chicken Liver Nitro Meusli and roasted Potato dish. I was amazed by how flavour driven the dishes were, yes they looked good but without the foundations of good produce and maximum flavour there would be no soul.

Plating up

Finishing touches – Head Chef John Freeman

During service chef Sat Bains asked me about Hampton manor, the food style and the ethos etc… i was happy he was interested and it got me thinking about the things i could take from here and implement back at the Manor for example the garden is rife with fresh herbs from the glasshouse, literally from garden to plate, snipped to order. Fresh as! I tried a few things to, i had some coal mayonnaise which just blew my mind and just had to get the recipe, it was epic.. Ill definitely be using that sometime. I really enjoyed my first day.

Day 2

My second day was as enjoyable and more immersive as the first day. I was in the prep kitchen with chef Paulo formally of the Waterside Inn, Bray. It was good to see the backbone to what gets served up i.e seeing the sauces being made with such care and attention. The way the Pigeon was handled was first class, just pure respect for the produce.

I did jobs throughout the day these where cracking grouse bones for sauce, flaking down confit pigeon legs, dicing beef for tartare, flaking down confit hare legs, separating the thigh meat from the bone of grouse legs, and other elements.

During service I was in the Pastry section and it was awesome. I got to try loads of elements and even whole dishes. I was blown away yet again this time by the Milk dessert. It was stunning, packed a punch but as you ate it, you finished off with a clean palate from the milk ice cream. Superbly balanced. Also the chocolate just blew my taste buds out of the water. It had a 12 year aged balsamic vinegar that was so intense and so aged it almost had a brandy taste to it, deep and delicious. I helped out plating up throughout the night and felt like i was part of the team. Roll on tomorrow!

Day 3

Today i helped Phil on the Garnish. I made kale puree, kale crisps and shelled broad beans. Also i made carrot puree. In the evening i was in the development kitchen known as Nucleus. This is where they do a menu with things that are being experimented with. It was epic; we did a table of four and we served and cooked the food. It is a real immersive experience and you get to have a lot of conversation with the guests who were amazed and wanted to know more about the product and the whole process. It was really nice to see that kind of interaction. It was also great to see all the different experiments that were going on with the flavour combinations. Even though it is a development kitchen where the dishes are tested and trialled, it still managed to have that focus and edge, the same as you’d have if you where dining in the restaurant. Brilliant.

Day 4

I helped out in the main kitchen and cooked my dish. I was pleased with my dish, everything was tasty and the feedback was positive. My fingers are crossed to see what happens, hopefully I’ve done enough, not just with the dish, but overall throughout the week. I have gained a lot of new techniques and methods and it was amazing to see such a high standard. These memories will be with me for the rest of my career and will help me develop into the best chef I can be.

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Final Day – Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Its all over! Harvey and Oliver have cooked their respective dishes and it seems they were both well satisfied with the results. Lots of positive feedback from 2 Michelin star holder Sat Bains, Head Chef John Freeman and the team at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms. ‘It’ll probably go down as one of the most nerve-wracking moments in my career’ they both agreed, but they stepped up, fought the pressure and completed their dishes with perfection and professionalism. There is very little to tell the guys apart, but now we await the final judgement from Sat Bains and John Freeman to see which one of them is off on the culinary adventure of a lifetime to Les Sources de Caudalie in France [2 Michelin also] and Six Senses Zil Pasyon in the Seychelles!

Oliver was working across all the section on the final day, but finished up in the Nucleus, with Sous Chef Leon, where he was able to get the customers feedback on the dish they had been working on. This was hugely satisfying to see the results of all of that hard work and effort the previous day. In his opinion he was able to work with more speed and skill having learnt the different elements throughout the week, so both Finalists felt they were able to genuinely support the team for this incredibly busy Saturday service.

Harvey was back in the main kitchen and continued to soak up everything he saw, heard and learnt. Harvey said he will  cherish these memories for the rest of his career and he hopes he can utilise some of the techniques and methods hes picked up when he gets back to Hampton Manor next week.

Please give us a few days to go through the results with the team at Restaurant Sat Bains, then we will announce the overall Winner!

At this point all of us at Chef Stagiaire would like to give an absolutely massive thanks to every single person who supported Chef Stagiaire 2017; all the entrants, all the Chef Patrons, Chef Proprietors, Head Chefs, Sous Chefs, CDP’s, Demi’s, Conmmis’, KP’s and all of the Front of House staff that welcomed our Finalists at every stage of the competition. Without all of you supporting and giving your time and opinion this simply would not be possible. THANK YOU!

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Day 3 – Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Penultimate day at Restaurant Sat Bains with rooms, and the Finalists are really feeling like part of the team now! The guys have been plating up Beef Tartar, producing the Milk Crisps for the dessert and of course the nitty gritty of shelling Broad Beans and making the Carrot and also Kale Purees!

cooling down at RSB with Rooms

cooling down at RSB with Rooms

Oliver spent the morning in the Pastry kitchen, and was entrusted to prepare the entire Chocolate dessert from start to finish, which was a great honour for him. His stand out moment today was the Thai Green Curry with Candy Floss, which he concluded is ‘an exceptional dish which balanced all 5 flavours to perfection’. He assisted with a brand new dish today, which was very exciting to be a part of, but he was awed by the skill and focus that goes into each of these new creations.

Harvey was seconded into the Nucleus Restaurant, where guests are encouraged to give their feedback

Chef John Freeman

Chef John Freeman

on Chefs new dishes. Harvey said ‘It was epic; we did a table of four and it is a really immersive experience, you get to have a lot of interaction with the guests and they were amazed and interested about the whole process’.

Good luck with your Final pieces gents; Saturday is going be a lot of pressure for you both but hopefully a day where you can really shine and show Sat Bains and John Freeman your own creative style and passion.

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