A royal feast
Published:Monday | June 15, 2015 | 11:05 AM
If you missed the royal birthday celebration for Queen Elizabeth II last Friday at Trafalgar House, you missed out on a taste of England.
We are not talking about just fish and chips. Specially invited guests were greeted with Pimm's cocktails, before being treated to appetisers by British chef Adam Handling.
Handling and his assistant, chef Nathan Garrett of Royal Navy ship Hms Severn, were flown in by British Airways just for the celebration. Handling was Scotland's Young Chef of the Year in 2011, the British Culinary Federation's Chef of the Year in 2014, and Scotland's Chef of the Year in 2015. In 2014, he opened Adam Handling at Caxton on Caxton Street, London, which has already copped three coveted awards. Paying meticulous attention to details, Adam works with the finest ingredients, offering all who sample his creations a wonderful complexity of flavours and texture.
The young chef told Food that he is inspired by eating and he eats a lot, "I eat like a cow," Handling confessed. "The best thing about British Airways is that I get to see different food from different Caribbean countries," he added.
He revealed that his first cookbook, Smile Or Get Out of the Kitchen, contains 87 recipes that reflect Handling's ethos of exploring and combining taste profiles and flavours, to create balanced harmonious dishes.
The Feast
Guests were served beetroot and yuzu macaroons covered in sesame seeds, chicken sandwich (British-style), Hamachi with yuzu cucumber and caviar, by men in uniforms - from the Royal Navy ship HMS Severn - all created by Handling and Kerr.
There was also a combination of British tantalising dishes created with Jamaican ingredients and fruits that decorated the four buffet stations provided by The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.
On the menu was free-range chicken tikka masala - a typical British dish which has Indian influences; bangers and mash served with English sausages that were handmade by the Pegasus team. There was also the traditional English fish and chips served in cone with salt and mild vinegar, among other dishes.
And for those with a sweet craving, the traditional spotted dick - cream cake with raisins and cherry truffle topped with whipped cream and cherry sauce. There were also a variety of cupcakes arranged in the shape and colours of the British flag.
There was also a special mini food station for the pork lovers.