Yesterday, we were in Torquay for a special spice masterclass and lunch with Santa Maria at Simon Hulstone’s Michelin starred restaurant, The Elephant.
Chefs participated in two workshops, learning about the provenance and chemistry of herbs and spices like black pepper, cinnamon and oregano. Simon and his team served a delicious five-course meal with matching wines, showcasing Santa Maria products in each dish.
Chefs at the Santa Maria spice masterclass
The chefs
Chefs in attendance were: Tom Williams-Hawkes, chef director, The Salutation Inn; Russell Brown, owner, Creative about Cuisine; Zibi Klapsia, head chef, The Imperial Torquay; Mark Dodson, chef owner, The Masons Arms Devon; Dez Turland, head chef, Saunton Sands; Craig Beacham, head chef, Exeter Rugby; Phil Thomas, head chef, Rosewarne Manor; Mike Barry, chef owner, The Conservatory Restaurant; Jordan Meagher, sous chef, Root; Jordan Hatfield, head chef, Pier Point Torquay; Marc Joseph, Duchy Charcuterie; Ashley Hamilton, executive chef, The Curious Kitchen, Brixham; Dan Gambles, head chef, Lympstone Manor; Fred Orme, senior chef de partie, The Driftwood Hotel; Chris Dewoody, head chef, Hamiltons and David Gillhan, head chef, The Curious Kitchen, Brixham.
The spice masterclasses and demonstration
Chefs started the day with teas and coffees, before sitting down to their first workshop with Katlin Ambos, National Sales Manager UK for Santa Maria. Katlin started with a topic that many people are talking about at the moment: sustainability. She explained how Santa Maria are changing their packaging to reduce their use of plastics and why this is such an important step for the environment. Katlin also talked about where spices like pepper and cinnamon come from and how they are processed before reaching our kitchens. Chefs got to smell and taste different Santa Maria products and learn about where the flavours come from.
Chefs in the Santa Maria Spice Truck
During a short break, chefs enjoyed some biscuits made with Santa Maria cardamom, and received a quick demonstration from Sam Guarino, Herbs & Spices Sales Manager UK for Santa Maria in their unique Spice Truck. Every chef who went in the spice truck got to sign it too, leaving their mark! After the break, Katlin talked about the chemistry of herbs and spices, including one of Santa Maria’s most popular products, Tellicherry black pepper. Then guests enjoyed an Elephant gin with some Santa Maria juniper berries and a snack of salt cod croquettes, before everyone sat down to lunch.
The menu
Simon Hulstone and his team of chefs prepared a five-course meal with matching wines. Each dish featured a Santa Maria spice or herb, which Simon already uses in his kitchen. Dishes included Brixham Crab Crumpet, Tomato Jam (with nutmeg, paprika, parsley) and Fillet of Cod, Hogs Pudding, Salted Toffee Pea cream (with mustard seed and garlic pepper).
The Menu
Elephant Gin & Tonic with apple and Juniper berries
Whipped Ricotta and summer vegetable tarts (tellicherry)
Sour Dough Bread , Salted Butter
Brixham Crab Crumpet, Tomato Jam (nutmeg, paprika, parsley) PICPOUL DE PINET 2016 Domaine Saint-Peyre, Languedoc - France
Fillet of Cod, Hogs Pudding, Salted Toffee Pea cream (mustard seed, Garlic pepper) SAUVIGNON BLANC 2017 Mussel Bay, Marlborough - New Zealand
Strawberry, Tellicherry, Lovage (tellicherry) ELYSIUM 2015 Andrew Quady, California - U.S.A.
Caramel Custard Tart , Cinnamon, Beurre Noisette (vanilla, cinnamon)
What the chefs and Santa Maria had to say about The Staff Canteen Live Networking Lunch at The Elephant
Ashley Hamilton, executive chef of The Curious Kitchen said: “We’ve all said between us that we probably wouldn’t have given an hour of our time to discussing black pepper! However, it turned out to be quite informative to be honest. I learnt quite a lot about the production of herbs and spices, but also how vastly different they can be too.”
He added: “As Katlin was saying, we take that much care with our fish, meat and veg, so we should give the same attention to our herbs and spices as well.”
Roasted Salcombe Scallop, Parsnip Puree, Verjus
Fred Orme, senior chef de partie, The Driftwood Hotel was also in agreement. He said: “Today has given me that next level of understanding when it comes to spices. We were able to see the difference between what our places are using at the moment and what they could be using from Santa Maria. So it’s also allowed me to think about potential menu changes. And the food was obviously delicious!”
Katlin Ambos, National Sales Manager UK for Santa Maria was also pleased with how the event went. She said: “Thanks to the team at The Staff Canteen for getting such a great group of chefs around the table. If they go away having learnt one thing today, then I can tick my box! The food today was brilliant too – he gets most of the produce from his farm and he’s been using our products for ages so it worked well.”
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