SF Raemoir

Passing the invention testMaking it to the quarter-finals of TV series Masterchef has helped Raemoir House’s

Alexandria Hay to become more spontaneous when it comes to creating disheswords PETER RANSCOMBE images ANguS BlACkBuRN

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PASSING THE INVENTION TEST

‘You’ve got to have a hunger for it. You only get out of it what you put in to it’

A lexandria Hay has already packed a lot into her career. Despite only turning 28 in June, she has been crowned 2011

Grampian Chef of the Year, made it through to the quarter-finals of the television series Masterchef – The Professionals, and then took over as executive chef at Banchory’s Raemoir House in September. Not bad for someone who never set out to become a chef.

‘I fell into cooking,’ says Hay, from Fetter-cairn. ‘It was never part of a long-term plan. I liked food so thought I would give it a shot.’

She trained at Angus College in Arbroath and took part in the ScotHot competition, which gave her a taste for the extra-curricular activities that were on offer.

‘I thought it was amazing and decided it was what I wanted to do,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to have a hunger for it. You only get out of it what you put in to it.’

Having worked at Edzell golf club while training in Arbroath, Hay began working under David Littlewood at the Milton Restaurant in Banchory after college. When the Milton’s then owners, Neil and Julie Rae, took over the Raemoir Country House Hotel on Royal Deeside in 2010, Littlewood and Hay joined them in the kitchen. It was Littlewood who encouraged her to enter Masterchef.

‘It started as a joke with David,’ Hay laughs. ‘At the start, we didn’t realise how much work was going to be involved. I didn’t think I would get as far as I did because thousands and thou-sands of people entered. So I applied on a whim, thinking I had nothing to lose and it could only make me a stronger person. I told myself that, as long as I didn’t get knocked out in the first round, anything else was a bonus.’

The invention tests on the programme – in which contestants are given a set of ingredi-ents and told to create a dish – had the biggest impact on Hay and her cooking, especially after she took over from Littlewood as the Raemoir’s executive chef in September.

‘We didn’t know what we would be cooking until we got there,’ explains Hay. ‘We would get to the kitchen and the first we knew about it was when Gregg Wallace and Monica Galetti told us. We were being filmed all the time so it was 100 per cent real, there was no acting.

‘The invention tests were quite intense. We only had two minutes to look at the ingredi-ents. It’s all right when you’re in your own kitchen because you have time to think about these things. It has made me more spontane-ous. Sometimes you get stuck in a rut and put the same thing on the menu again and again. It opened my mind to think outside the box.

‘There was one task that involved goat – something I had never cooked before. Things like that make you think: why don’t I put that on the menu, or why don’t I cook something in the water-bath rather than in the pan? There’s more out there than just your salmon or your chicken or your venison.’

Above: Alexandria Hay, executive chef at the Raemoir Country House Hotel, was a finalist in the BBC’s Masterchef professional competition.

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‘I didn’t think I would get as far as I did because thousands of people entered the competition’

Cauliflower tempura, with cauliflower purée and pickled cauliflower

1 large cauliflower, plus oil for deep fryingTempura batter 100g cornflour100g plain flour (extra for dusting)½ tsp bicarbonate of soda750ml sparkling waterMethod: Sieve the cornflour, plain flour and bicarbonate, plus a pinch of salt, into a bowl and mix well with the sparkling water until a thin batter consistency is achieved.

Take one large cauliflower and cut into florets. Blanch in boiling salted water for about seven to ten minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water once cooked. Drain then dust in the extra plain flour, dip in the batter and deep fry until crispy.

Cauliflower purée1 large cooked cauliflower, broken into florets50g butter100ml double creamMethod: Cook the cauliflower florets until tender. Drain and place in a blender with the cream and the butter. Process to a smooth consistency. Season to taste.

Pickled cauliflower100ml white wine vinegar50ml water 60g caster sugar 1 tsp turmeric2 bay leaves6 peppercorns2 juniper berries½ cauliflower – cut into small florets and washedMethod: Mix together all the ingredients (bar the cauliflower) in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer.

food & drink

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Left: Michel Roux Jr would be proud of the touch of elegance Hay brings to her cauliflower ensemble. Below: A mouth-watering loin of venison, served with red kale and pine nuts.


Strain over the top of the raw cauliflower then set aside to cool. Assemble the tempura, purée and pickle as in the photograph, left.

Loin of venison, dauphinoise potatoes, red kale and pine nutsServes 4

Loin of venison800g loin of venisonMethod: Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Remove any sinew (your butcher can do this for you). Season the loin and seal in a hot pan, caramelising the outside. Transfer to the oven and cook for eight minutes (medium-rare). Take out and allow to rest for five minutes before serving.

Dauphinoise potatoes 750ml double cream4 garlic cloves, crushed½ tsp ground nutmeg2 sprigs thyme1 sprig rosemary8 Rooster potatoesSalt and pepperMethod: Put the cream, garlic, herbs and spices into a pan and cook until simmering, then set to one side. Thinly slice the potatoes and layer into a buttered ovenproof dish. Overlap the slices as you go, seasoning every second layer, and pouring the cream mix on every third layer. Cook in an oven set at 155˚C for about 40 minutes till tender.

Red kale800g diced pancetta20g butter10ml rapeseed oil½ small carrot, diced¼ small turnip, diced

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food & drink


‘There’s more out there than just salmon or chicken or venison’

50g pinenuts20ml chicken stock 100g cream200g picked red kale (blanched)Method: Sauté the pancetta in the butter and rapeseed oil, then add the carrots, turnip and pinenuts. Add the chicken stock and cream and cook until reduced by a half. Add the blanched kale and cook for about six minutes.

Chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet

Tart500g plain flour115g butter

60g icing sugar2 eggs10in flan tinMethod: Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Mix the flour, sugar and butter together until it resembles the consistency of breadcrumbs then add the beaten eggs. Mix until dough is made, then chill. Roll out the pastry quite thinly and place in the flan tin. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Leave the oven on until the filling is ready.

Filling 500g chocolate (53 per cent cocoa solids)200ml milk350ml double cream3 medium eggsMethod: Melt the chocolate. Heat the milk and

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Left: An elegant chocolate tart, served with a vibrant raspberry sorbet.

‘I told myself that, as long as I didn’t get knocked out in the fi rst round, anything else was a bonus’

FIELDFACTSRaemoir House Hotel, Banchory, Aberdeenshire AB31 4EDTel: 01330 824884www.raemoir.com


Wine expert David Austin of Reuben’s Wine Store in Dunfermline picks drinks to accompany Alexandria Hay’s three dishes.

FELIX SAINT-BRIS SAUVIGNON BLANC, 2012, £11.99Sauvignon blanc, but not as you know it. This incongruous varietal from Burgundy, just on the outskirts of Chablis, is a one of a kind. It has none of the grapefruity punch of its Kiwi cousin, but is a supple and mellow wine, more comparable to a semillon or unoaked chardonnay. The initial zing of the sauvignon complements the pickle and pepper of this recipe, and some hints of lemon, tropical fruit and green nettle balance the batter of the tempura and enhance the vegetal freshness of the caulifl ower, resulting in a complex fi nish.

LES COTEAUX, COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES, 2011, £9.99A rich and smooth wine, this blend of grenache and syrah is from 17 classifi ed villages from Southern Rhône. Les Coteaux has suffi cient body to stand up to the opulence of venison and creamy potatoes without becoming overbearing. Dense and complex, its warm fl avours and subtle oak make it a great food wine, ideal with meats and cheeses. The ripeness of the vintage means that it’s still fresh and is packed with cedar, cherries and soft textures, supple enough to bring out the fl avours of the crisp kale and buttery crunch of the pinenuts.

RECIOTO DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO, 2008, £27.99A rich, ruby dessert wine produced from the same grapes as Amarone. The grapes are left to dry for four months in an aerated loft before ageing in Slavonian oak to be transformed into a delicious sweet tipple. The dark fruit fl avours of plum pudding and cherries, along with fl oral notes of violets and rose petals, perfectly accompany the summer vibrancy of raspberry sorbet. Smooth bitter chocolate and vanilla spice matches the intense cocoa of the tart, with enough retained acidity to refresh the palate.

Wine to dine

Reuben’s Wine Store, 14 New Row, Dunfermline, 01383 731475, www.reubenswinestore.com

cream together (do not boil). Whisk the eggs into the milk and cream mix, then strain this over the chocolate and stir. Pour over the blind-baked tart case. Place the tart in oven and switch off the heat – the tart will cook with the oven’s residual warmth. Leave in there for 40 to 45 minutes.

Raspberry sorbet500g raspberry purée40g glucose350g stock syrup (175g sugar/175g water mixed together and heated until the sugar dissolves)90g ice-cream stabiliser (hot) (optional)Method: Mix the raspberry purée, glucose and syrup and heat to a simmer. Remove from the heat then strain into an ice-cream machine and freeze as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Sauvignon blanc, but not as you know

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