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medium-high heat and stirring occasionally, bring to a simmer. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar. Spread the duxelles on a sheet


pan and chill completely in the fridge until ready to serve. You can make the duxelles up to a day ahead. You’ll use three table- spoons for the Wellington assem- bly and serve the rest as a side. To make the Wellingtons, place


a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil and heat until it is just beginning to smoke, then add the fillets and sear for three minutes on each side, or until both sides are deeply browned. Remove the fillets from the pan, rub them with the mustard, and cool completely. Place the fillets on a cutting


board and top them with the creamed spinach and then the mushroom duxelles. You should now have a fillet on the bottom, creamed spinach in the middle, and mushroom duxelles on top. For each Wellington, place the


topped fillets in the centre of the 10cm puff pastry circle. Gently drape the 17cm puff pastry cir- cle over the fillet, pressing the top layer of pastry into the smaller base to seal along the edges of the fillet. Trim any excess puff pastry and discard. Using a pastry brush, gently


brush the egg wash all over the outside of the puff pastry. Do not wash the bottom. Transfer the assembled beef


additional moisture from the reserved spinach. Mix the spinach with half of


the sauce to start, adding more, if needed, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. You can make the spinach up to a day ahead. You’ll use three tablespoons for the Wel- lington assembly and serve the rest as a side. To make the mushroom dux-


elles, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the mush- rooms and sear for three to five minutes (do not touch during this time). Stir in the onion, gar- lic, and thyme and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about five minutes. Add the white wine and cook, stirring occasion- ally, until reduced by half, five to seven minutes. Add the cream, salt, and pepper, and still over


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Wellingtons onto a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and store in the fridge until ready to serve, up to three hours ahead, or pro- ceed to cooking. To cook, preheat the oven to


220°C. Bake the beef Welling- ton for 25 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and the beef is warmed all the way through. Insert an instant-read thermometer and check for desired doneness (55°C to 60°C for medium-rare to medium, respectively), accounting for 3°C temperature variance, because the Wellington needs to rest and will continue to cook outside the oven. Allow the Wellingtons to rest for 10 minutes before serving. While the Wellingtons rest, warm the remaining creamed spinach and mushrooms, taste, and sea- son with salt if needed. Serve the Wellingtons with


the creamed spinach and mush- rooms on the side.


What was your best subject at school? PE. I didn’t like having my head stuck in academic books


What was your first job? Helping with paper rounds, starting at 5am before school every day


What was your first job in catering? A restaurant called Mezzo in London, three days a week as part of level 1 and 2 food apprenticeship. Eight hundred covers was pretty standard


What do you normally have for breakfast? I’m more of a brunch person – a bagel, poached eggs and crispy bacon


What do you do to relax? Eating out at other restaurants is important to me, not least because the industry is struggling after Covid. Does spending time with my children also count as relaxation?


What’s your favourite hotel? Atlantis in Dubai. You can eat round the clock and there is a water park next door


What is your favourite drink? In the summer I struggle to beat a mojito in the sun, or a freezing cold craft beer


What is your favourite food/cuisine? My favourite food is bellota, it’s pork where the pig is only fed on acorns – it’s amazing. My favourite cuisine has to be the good old English classics


What flavour combinations do you detest? Mixing cuisines can go horribly wrong. Noodles and meatballs, for example – when was that ever a good idea?


Which person in catering have you most admired? I learned a lot from Sydney Aldridge. Calm, not erratic, doesn’t shout – this is how you should manage situations. Daniel Clifford was also an eye opener on how to cater for large events


Which person gave you the greatest inspiration? My nan. We are a big family and she would make huge batches of food – dozens of beef pies and lemon tarts. She was my inspiration. Mum, unfortunately, boiled broccoli to death


If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now? My childhood dream was to be a footballer. I played football for Charlton Athletic when I was growing up, but the fun was taken out of it because the training was so intense


10 November 2023 | The Caterer | 37 Revelations


Chris Hawkins, culinary director, Camm & Hooper


IMAGES: MICHELAUBRYPHOTO, VICTOR SERNA, IR STONE, ALL SHUTTERSTOCK


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