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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Semi Final 2017 – results, comments and distinctions

Some of the results and comments from the 2017 Semi Final stages, in no particular order:

  • Raymond Armstrong from Lough Erne Hotel & Golf Resort, Northern Ireland spent a week at Simpsons Restaurant, Birmingham with Head Chef Luke Tipping
  • Konrad Kamprad from Park Regis, Birmingham spent a week at Hampton Manor, Solihull with Head Chef Rob Palmer
  • Harvey Perttola from Hampton Manor, Solihull spent a week at Casamia, Bristol with Chef Proprietor Peter Sanchez-Inglesas
  • Martin McParland from Lough Erne Hotel & Golf Resort, Northern Ireland spent a week at  Restaurant Fraiche, Wirrall with Chef Patron Marc Wilkinson
  • Matteo Corridori from Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire spent a week at Johns House, Leicestershire with Chef Proprietor John Duffin – “Nice dish, with a few tweaks, as discussed with Matteo, it could be great. Very pleased with his attitude and work throughout the week”
  • Jack Simmonds from Lucknam Park, Chippenham spent a week at Fischer’s Baslow Hall, Derbyshire with Head Chef Rupert Rowley
  • Kate Elliott of Baxter Storey at UBS, London spent a week at Alyn Williams at the Westbury, London with Chef Alyn Williams – Katie made a good job of her dish. The duck was cooked well and the flavours balanced. It was a very tasty dish with plenty of complementary textures. This was a very pleasant dish to eat.”
  • Emily Orton from Lexington at the London Business School spent a week at Fera, London with Head Chef Matt Starling
  • Erin Jackson Yates from Wiltons, London spent a week at Petrus, London with Head Chef Larry Jayasekara – “Erin really has a great passion for cooking, good understanding of basic foundation and I can see her growing very quickly with the correct leader. We love her attitude, we would employ Erin in the future if she would be interested in Petrus. Really looking forward to see her growth as a chef.”
  • Oliver Dovey from Baxter Storey at UBS, London spent a week at Outlaws at the Capital, London with Executive Chef Nathan Outlaw and Head Chef Tom Brown.

A huge thanks to all the Head Chefs, Brigades and all the Front of House teams that supported our Stagiaires this year, 2017.

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Day 2 – Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms

Harvey and Oliver are really getting into the flow now, with both of them fully involved in the days service and they are both loving every single minute of it!

Oliver spent the day in the hot kitchen today, where he took great pleasure in using the wood fired oven to roast fresh potatoes, as well as getting his turn with the Chicken Liver Meusli and Veal Sweetbreads, a personal favourite for Oliver.

Harvey learnt how much love and attention goes into the final dishes; prepping Grouse bones for

Dessert - Final 2017

Dessert – Final 2017

the stocks, prepping the Pigeon and flaking down confit Hare legs among other exciting elements. The Milk Dessert was ‘stunning’ and a real highlight of the day for Harvey.

Both the Finalists have been actively encouraged to try all of the food they are producing, to analyse and give their feedback on the incredible 2 Michelin Star dishes, and this has been an absolute treat for them both. The guys are just soaking up everything they see and learn and they’ll certainly remember these lessons for the rest of their respective careers.

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