However, in my spare time I enjoy researching  variations of great wine produced “off the beaten track” in order to provide our guests an eclectic mix of wines which they can take advantage of by choosing to indulge in our accompanying wine flight, or should I say journey?  I discovered a family who are “indigenous“ to Galicia but are growing Albariño in Montevideo, the Capital of Uruguay. This makes them unique because they are currently the only winery to grow and produce Albariño in Uruguay, which in my opinion is exceptional wine!

This winery is best known as Boutique Bodegas Bouza which was established by Elize and Juan Bouza when they bought, in 2002, an abandoned winery that was built in 1942.  Working on a smaller scale produces better wines is their ethos and is embraced by their winemaker, Dr. Eduardo Boida.

550 cases of Albariño wine are produced annually from 1.8 hectares of vines. All the grapes are handpicked in early February.  Fermentation is divided between 70% stainless steel and 30% barrel, with a period of 3 months lees contact.

Nathan has made great use of the tasty Port Isaac Crab, which is actually only one element on his dish and is served as a generous quenelle.  This is accompanied with apple, fennel and Porthilly sauce.  Whilst eating this dish, our guests can gaze out the window to view Porthilly Farm that provides Nathan with either Velvet or Shore Crabs which make the base of the delectable Porthilly sauce.  The small crustacean is roasted to extract the immense crab flavour which is then combined with roasted tomatoes laced with tarragon.  These elements reduced together create what is simply known as Porthilly sauce.

The Albariño from Botique Bodegas Bouza excites the palate with the initial flavours, a combination of mandarin, grapefruit and orange peels which have been caramelized.  This then develops into ripe stone fruit with a refreshing orange blossom finish!  The floral flavours compliment the apple, fennel and quenelle of white crab meat.   The citrus and stone fruit base is adequately aromatic to stand up to the Porthilly sauce without overpowering any of the lighter elements on the plate.

A couple of weeks ago when travelling there, it was a little more lively than usual as I was accompanied by my good friend, Mitch Tonks.   We were off to the Groucho Club in Soho, not for a jolly (honestly!) but for the official launch of our new books.   The people at the Groucho Club made us very welcome and we had an interesting evening chatting to those who had come to see what we had managed to produce…and eat some examples cooked by us to prove that the recipes really do work!

I am pleased to say that those who have had early copies of my book ‘Nathan Outlaw’s British Seafood’ seem to think it I’ve done a half decent job.  I’ve already had some feedback from people who have cooked something using one of the recipes and had good results so I hope that once its published more people will have a go at fish cookery and it becomes the book I want it to be – one that is used and not just left on a coffee table for show.  Fish is a great ingredient and we don’t use enough varieties of it in this country.

Something that I’m sorry I missed happened in the kitchen on Tuesday when we took delivery of two huge cod.  Apparently, they were so big that there was a constant stream of staff coming to look at them and Danny (of course) proudly showed them off before he deftly gutted and portioned them to go on the menu that evening.  I’m told that they were so heavy that Danny had trouble lifting them…perhaps a little storytelling coming into play there?  Now, I can hear you tutting about the use of cod but the fact is that in some waters around our coastline they are sustainable, as they are off the Cornish coast and be assured that they were caught according to the Responsible Fishing Scheme, as is all the seafood we use in the restaurants.

Someone we are missing this week is one of our young chefs, Georgie.  She is the only female chef we have at present and is proving to be very talented.  She is off in France on a gastronomic tour with Cornwall College as part of her course and from the tweets she’s been sending, is having a fantastic time and is particularly taken with the patisserie she’s seen.  No doubt she’ll be back next week with lots of ideas to try out on us.  Can’t wait!

Finally, I was in again on Monday, but I can’t tell you why at present…you’ll just have to read my blog next week!

Nathan and Paul cooked a six course fine dining meal, after demonstrating two dishes featuring on the menu for the night. Each course was matched with a superb wine by Damon Little.

This industry has no qualms about taking over your life, quite happily luring you into a world of hosting, serving, constant tweaking, tasting and generally making you fall in love with all that hospitality encompasses. Personally, I am perfectly delighted to be enticed; I was addicted from an early age and after dabbling in other fields, this was always the one niggling at my heart and so in due course, I merrily gave in and embraced it!

Unlike some other countries, where hospitality is a rightly viewed as a revered career, it is not always seen as such here which I personally feel is a great shame. It is a unique and rewarding trade where passion features foremost, driving us to constantly want to learn more, experience more and to make guests exultantly happy every day. It is a field where each day is different and while most service elements are intangible and therefore rely on human instinct. To me, that just means welcoming all the wonderful qualities it adds to life; meeting new guests and receiving regulars again, being involved in a fast-paced communicative industry and living around the seasons with fantastic ingredients. I love the great sense of community not only in the restaurant, but also the surrounding area, maintaining great connections with local farmers and fishermen as they work relentlessly to provide us with stunning sustainable produce.

At Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, besides the sheer joy of working in such an environment, a tremendous perk of being here is being able to taste the dishes and wines – an important activity in order to experience what our guests can expect, to deepen our menu knowledge and to see how the matching wines work with them.

With our team last week I have been benefiting from Damon’s immense knowledge while re-tasting some lovely wines. We find it is always important to try our exciting wines together as it is fascinating to see what elements each of us pick up on and how our tastes and preferences vary. Stephi, with the scent capabilities of a young Beagle is a great inspiration during these sessions, unearthing the tiniest nuances and elements of the terroir; I find it amazing how many characteristics influence, and are therefore detectable in a wine.

As we try any new dishes are introduced to the menu, so too must we sample the accompanying wine. On Tuesday, as sad as we were to say goodbye to our lovely Soused Mackerel dish, we were equally elated to welcome an alternative beauty: Salmon, cured in Cider with Sea Lettuce and Horseradish. When sampling the kitchen team’s latest creation it was marvellous to try Damon’s latest accompanying wine – the Sekthaus Solter’s NV Brut from the Rheingau in Germany – a beautiful sparkling Riesling which made my tongue tingle with delight, showing subtle vanilla, honey and white peach notes, with a refreshing acidity following to cut through the smooth texture of the salmon.

And of course, while we do taste all of our offerings to be beneficial for our guest experience, we are always thrilled to be official “testers” for the latest dishes, surrendering to the wonderful produce and cooking without any resistance!

Even with these advantages, I am not denying that this industry demands commitment and strength. However, when a kitchen and restaurant make you happy just by walking into it every day, producing a buzz that is not always rational and cannot be entirely explained, you know you are in hospitality heaven.

Really, doing this demonstration wasn’t what I’d call ‘work’ as I was there with my good friends, Micheal Caines, the driving force behind the festival and Mitch Tonks from the Seahorse in Dartmouth, who had agreed to  go ‘head to head’ with me cooking two dishes using the same basic ingredients, squid and lemon sole.  My offerings were Squid and Asparagus Salad with Ink Vinagarette and Lemon Sole with Oyster Sauce, Cucumber and Horseradish whilst Mitch cooked Squid in Squid Ink with Spaghetti and Whole Lemon Sole with Balsamic and Capers.   We were fortunate to draw a fantastic crowd who seemed to enjoy not only the cooking demonstration but also the banter between us, particularly when I was off guard and stupidly agreed to smell Mitch’s hot vinegar which made my eyes water for ages afterwards. Why did I do that?  Every student chef gets caught by that trick so I really should have known better!  However, I did get my own back at the end as the crowd voted for my dishes, in albeit a very light-hearted competition.

I was amazed at the variety of stalls on display at the festival; a reminder of the wonderful array of produce the South West has to offer.  This was a really serious ‘foodie’ event with lots of delicious and interesting food items to enjoy but I was also really pleased to see stalls featuring information about various aspects of food too.  Even kids were catered for with a whole area dedicated to them and run by the people from Crealy, making it a truly family event.  My two had a great time in the food and drink pavilions, tasting all sorts of things from hot fudge sauce, granola and jams to cheeses, chutneys and mustards.  We also found one where they had sea buckthorn ice-cream on offer!   It was really good to see stall holders who were happy to let children taste and take time to talk to them about their products, what goes into them and how they are made thus encouraging the next generation of ‘foodies’.

Another thing that fascinated all of us was the stall run by the Severn and Wye Valley Smokery who had two tanks of elvers (tiny eels) swimming about.   The guy looking after them was really knowledgeable and chatted away to us about their project and the eels.  Apparently, they are placing these tanks in local schools for the students to look after until the eels are big enough to release them back into local streams.  What a fantastic way of getting children in involved in the issues surrounding sustainability!

I like doing festivals but, of course, I do have to limit how many I can do each year or I would be out every Sunday, not something that would go down well at home!  This year I will be appearing at several across the summer months, Port Eliot Festival, The Crab Festival in Dartmouth, Cornwall Food and Drink Festival in Truro and Boscastle Festival.  I’ll give you more details nearer the dates.  Hopefully, the sun will shine on them all and I’ll see you there!

To understand silberbichl, the name needs breaking up…Silber meaning silver and bichl meaning hill referring to the “Riesling-perfect” soil which the 30 year old vines are planted on.  It is a broad terraced vineyard situated above the picturesque Danube River comprising “old Danube” Gravel and glistening Mica Schist.  This wine has inherited a distinct mineral edge from this soil which creates the perfect balance for the fruit driven Riesling.

Pear, ripe peaches and apricot with a hint of marzipan flavours balanced by good minerality and acidity compliment Nathans latest dish of Monkfish wrapped in Bacon, served with a spear of St. Enodoc Asparagus  and dressed with Wild Garlic and Pumpkin Seed Pesto. The first sip of this Riesling is not dissimilar to the initial crisp crunch of asparagus; however the medium bodied texture follows shortly after, which stands up to the density of monkfish, allowing the acidity to cut through the quenelle of asparagus “mousse” made with copious amounts of asparagus cooked with roasted cod stock and a dash of cream.

I must say that I am absolutely delighted with the finished product and have to thank my publisher, Quadrille, and everyone else involved for their help in getting it to this point. There’s something very surreal about seeing yourself in print. I can’t say that I’m a natural writer or that it wasn’t a really difficult task (I’d much rather be cooking than sitting at a desk) but I hope that people enjoy using the book as much as I enjoyed putting it together. I wrote it to be used, not to merely decorate a coffee table. In fact, in the future, if I ever see a copy well-thumbed and stuck together with bits of fish gut I will be a truly happy man!

During the last couple of weeks I’ve also spent some time at the Camborne and Saltash campuses of Cornwall College. As a supporter of high quality vocational training for young chefs I was honoured to be asked to go to the campuses to demonstrate a couple of dishes and chat to the students there. I was pleasantly surprised to find groups of young chefs who were knowledgeable and really eager to learn. Without the work that the college is doing, the next generation of chefs would be ill-equipped and I was glad to see that they are being taught the classical basics before being encouraged to attempt more complicated methods and dishes. Whilst increasing the interest of the general public in food, the rise of TV cookery programmes seems to have made everything look easy when the reality of working in a professional kitchen is anything but, just ask my apprentices! I was glad to see that these young chefs were receiving a thorough grounding which will serve them, and their potential guests, well in the future.

And so to the Easter weekend; traditionally the beginning of ‘the season’ in Cornwall. We were, thankfully, very busy, even though the weather wasn’t brilliant. My head chef, Pete Biggs and Ian Dodgson, the operations manager have been working really hard to get all our new staff up to standard so that they fit in seamlessly with those who have stayed from last year. It was the first real test of this and, I’m pleased to say, went really well.

Now I’m eager to put some new dishes on the menu; things that we have been working on over the winter in readiness for the new season. I think we’ve seen the last of the good quality cod and lemon sole for a while as they need to be left so that their breeding season progresses and fish stocks of these varieties are replenished, such a vital event. I’m looking forward to serving john dory and red mullet – both in season now and in the last few days I’ve been very excited to see the fishermen out on the little boats and that means only one thing – mackerel are about!

Finally, there are a couple of things you might like to keep an eye out for. Firstly, I will be up against Mitch Tonks doing a ‘cook off’ at Exeter Food Festival on Sunday 15th April; secondly, the new series of ‘Great British Menu’ has started and I will be competing within the South West in a few weeks’ time and lastly we have finalised details of our Masterclass season for 2012 so I will be welcoming some good friends to cook with me later in the year. Details of the Master Classes will be on this website. I hope to see you at one of them!

Originally beginning as a small pottery company by François Boch and his three sons in 1748 in France, it went on to relocate to Luxembourg and then Germany, merging with Nicholas Villeroy to create what we have come to think of as Kings of the crockery world. Being enormously successsful worldwide, now represented in 125 countries. We personally champion their delicate minimalism and high class finish, polishing them with love!

To visit Villeroy & Boch click here

We were met by the lovely Caitie, who takes care of keeping us up to date with new products, in the loop with any process developments and generally spreading the love from the team on their fantastic drinks. Andy, the man in the know, gave his time to take us around the site and was everything a great company owner should be; passionate, knowledgeable and a generous host.

Andy began 20 years ago, taking the site on and starting out as a dairy farmer, with the large airy buildings and fields alive with cattle and sheep. However, with the market set to change eleven years ago, he made a wise decision to change the business to make use of the indigenous apple trees and land at the Orchards. Beginning with a production of just 700 bottles of apple juice in the first year it has gone from strength to strength, expanding to create different lines of fresh juices and pressés in addition to eight different ciders by the bottle and four ciders for draught.

Andy’s passion for innovation and teamwork was striking; there was a great buzz around the Orchards from the constant development with new ideas welcomed from everyone. One particular success was their unique apple-transport system used during the autumn. We saw that after the apples are either harvested from their land, or arrive from small farms in Cornwall, their method involves pouring them into an oversized water bath to clean them and uses the water to transport them to the pulping stage in the adjoining building. This ‘green’ approach eliminates the need for fork lift trucks and also protects them from bruising, therefore preserving the quality of the apples. The processes that follow are labour intensive, with the team closely monitoring each part for quality and safety – no small task! The team take care of it all with a natural ease; I suspect in harvest time it is all hands on deck as they take care of everything from the pickings and arrival to pressing and making or fermenting for cider, testing, labelling and marketing.

The team at the Orchards have a fantastic philosophy, as while taking advantage of the great growing conditions here in Cornwall, they also follow great eco-friendly mantra to minimise their carbon footprint and work sustainably. As well as the usual recycling and support for local growers, they stay green through using low amounts of packaging and reusing cartons for their business clients, installing sensor lighting saving power and lowering the amounts of machinery used through their apple ‘river’ transport system. In this day where every form of non-biodegradable packaging and limitless electricity are so readily available, I think it is still impressive for a business to be consciously lowering and eliminating the use of these every day.

Overall through our visit, the sheer passion of all of the team was what really shone through – there is real dedication and attention to detail.  Andy and Caitie led us in tasting the entire range and it was fascinating to pick up the subtle differences, learn about the processes involved and how they affect the end result. The Heritage Cider that we offer in Restaurant Nathan Outlaw had great depth in flavour over the more refreshing Farmhouse Cider; as a result of being matured over the winter months and was therefore utterly delicious. A new favourite we tried was the Wassail Cider – a brew of cider and apple juices with warming flavours from the hand-blended spices and orange – dangerous in the best possible way! A definite possibility for later in the year when sat by the roaring fire.

For us at the Restaurant it is always important to maintain a great relationship with our suppliers. This jaunt was a great way to learn more from the Orchards, understand their philosophy and generally unite in our love for a fresh and brilliant Cornish product.

We covered 4500kms of south East Australia in 5 weeks focusing on Victoria and New South Wales.  Naturally we visited as many wineries and tasted as much wine as possible.  We avoided the commercial wineries where possible and discovered some real gems in areas unfamiliar to most. Beechworth and King Valley are two examples of ‘off the beaten track’ wine regions producing exceptional wines.

I have to say that Beechworth has to be my personal favourite for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay.  Three varietals which compliment Nathan’s style of seafood, all from one little area.  Giaconda and Sorrenberg are both outstanding; neither of them opens to the general public and has somewhat of a cult-like following!  Meeting the wine makers; Rick Kinzbrunner from Giaconda and both Barry & Jan Morey from Sorrenberg was definitely a highlight!  There is something special and addictive about tasting wine with the person who made it whilst absorbing their contagious passion for what is in the glass.

Unfortunately I was the designated driver so I grudgingly had to use the spittoon.  So far I have managed to source the Chardonnay and Gamay from Sorrenberg which was quite an accomplishment as they prefer not to export.  The truth is they do not need to as every vintage sells out locally. Barry and Jan have kindly agreed to allow a total of ten cases to reach the shores of the UK.  I am waiting for the Chardonnay, but am proud to have the Gamay 2010 resting patiently for someone to buy or when the right dish appears for me to place it on the accompanying wine flight.  For a Gamay the wine is incredibly sophisticated, perhaps due to the wise addition of 10% Pinot Noir which gives it a whole new dimension and depth of flavour.

Another discovery of ours was the hand-picked Gewürztraminer from Skillogalle.  Although on this occasion we did not make it to the winery itself, we were introduced to it by James Halliday’s Cousin who is the head Sommelier at Tetsya’s restaurant in Sydney.  When Nathan talked about using delicate Lemon Sole with a sophisticated Curry Sauce, I knew exactly that the Aussie Gewürztraminer would be a perfect compliment to the dish, but of course had to try the combination just to make sure…fortunately for me it was a sensational experience for all!!  It’s a crisp, dry wine, but aromatic enough to compliment and stand up to the curry flavour however due to it being light bodied with relatively delicate Gewürztraminer characteristics of perfumed floral notes and spice, the wine has an elegant subtlety which enhances the lemon sole wrapped in bacon.