Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe
Chris Gillard Kitchen Confidential
Chris Gillard has been the head chef at the renowned, Michelin-starred restaurant St John since 2003. He talks sea trout and strawberries
Cooking With
June is a back to front month for me. Because we normally use so much game, and early summer is off-game season, we need to think harder, and a bit more creatively, than the rest of the year. Our menu will feature rabbit, pigeon, and especially chicken – we don’t use it the rest of the year so that makes it kind of special. Chicken is best roasted; we’ll do it whole then carve it as you would at home, serving with a white wine and chicken stock gravy, and blanched peas and broad beans drizzled with an anchovy, parsley and garlic dressing. Broad beans are still young in June and they are nice served raw – podded, but not shelled – with Berskwell cheese, and dressed in sherry vinegar.
June is the tail of traditional asparagus season, though sadly it seems to be stretched these days to keep up with demand – it takes away from the excitement a bit. I serve mine simply, with hot melted butter – good asparagus doesn’t need anything else.
We’ll be seeing the first of the wild sea trout, whose season runs until September. I prefer to cure it, like gravlax, with sugar and salt, maybe a little dill and some mace. Just leave it for a couple of days in the fridge then it’s ready to be served with a cucumber salad, coated in a dressing of Dijon, double cream and dill.
Most of the year lobster is a luxury ingredient, but around this time it’s a bit more affordable, so it’s on the menu frequently. I serve mine hot, with melted butter, or in a salad with home-made mayonnaise, crunchy raw sliced fennel, rocket, garlic, olive oil and capers.
One real joy of the season is lamb’s sweetbreads – you have to use young lamb because as they get older the sweetbreads aren’t in the same condition. We poach then peel them, removing the fatty membrane. Then we pan fry with bacon and serve with a handful of fresh peas, finishing with fresh mint and a little gem lettuce.
Cherries are coming to the end of their season but I’ll be using them in a nice boozy trifle – one of my favourites. Gooseberries are delicious in a simple fool, or for a savoury version, pickled and served with cold slices of roast pork. As for strawberries, these are best fresh – simply served with meringue and cream.
Who i'm using
Our chickens tend to come from a man named Phil at Elmwood Farm in Suffolk. He lets them grow to a real, proper size. Our blackfaced lamb is from Ben Weatherall in Southern Scotland (blackface.co.uk).