poaching liquor
- 2L water
- 1kg sugar
- 1 bottle white wine
- 1 bottle mead
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 5 star anise
- 15 bay leaves
- 4 vanilla pods
- zest and juice of 2 lemons, 2 oranges, and 2 limes
- Beurre Hardy pears
Mead poached pear and vanilla syllabub
Charlie Crote
1st September 2026
Mead poached pear and vanilla syllabub
60 min
Charlie Crote, head chef at Constance in Fulham Pier, brings a taste of nostalgic British cooking to the autumn menu with pears gently poached in an aromatic mead liquor, spiced with star anise, fennel and coriander seeds.
Served alongside a silky vanilla syllabub and finished with a drizzle of good olive oil, it's a dessert that leans into historic regional flavours while feeling entirely at home on a modern menu.
Ingredients
syllabub
- 200g double cream
- 100g crème fraîche
- 1 vanilla pod (scraped)
- 30g sugar
finish
- quality olive oil
Method
poaching liquor
Combine the water, sugar, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, star anise, bay leaves, vanilla pods, and the citrus zest and juice in a large pan.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Stir in the mead and white wine, then set aside to infuse overnight. Pass the liquor through a fine sieve.
pears
Peel the Beurre Hardy pears.
Submerge the pears into the strained poaching liquor and gently poach for 30 minutes.
Once tender, transfer the pears and liquor to the fridge to chill thoroughly.
syllabub
Add the double cream, crème fraîche, scraped vanilla seeds, and sugar to a chilled bowl.
Whip together until smoothly combined and holding soft peaks.
serving
Slice the fridge-cold pears in half and remove the cores.
Place a halved pear into a serving bowl and spoon over a portion of the chilled poaching liquor.
Gently split the liquor with a drizzle of olive oil, and finish with a generous spoonful of the vanilla syllabub alongside.
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