William Drabble Kitchen Confidential

UK produce shines in June, says Michelin-starred chef William Drabble, who recalls a childhood spent picking fruits and fishing in rock pools

Cooking With

You have a dazzling seasonal array this month – omega-3-rich mackerel, broad beans and peas, earthy beetroot. It’s a fruit festival of perfect raspberries, tangy gooseberries and succulent strawberries too. Herb-wise, lemon verbena is growing like wildfire in my garden in Wandsworth. We use it in a dessert at my restaurant, Seven Park Place, where cream is infused with lemon verbena’s delicate zesty flavour, then combined with yoghurt and served with raspberries (see recipe). I like to use cherries too, maybe in a warm tart where the fruit is pitted and halved, and poached in red wine and port for the filling.

The British seaside is a treasure trove. I remember fishing for crabs in Cromer and shrimping in rock pools as a youngster. This month, I will make a carpaccio of scallops, served simply with cherry tomatoes and basil. We all crave lightness of flavour in summer, and you can’t beat salads with garden peas, broad beans and the last of the asparagus straight from the farm. Simple cooking is best, so you can get outside in the sunshine.

I work closely with suppliers to source the best of British – all traceable and responsibly sourced. I find out what’s at its best on the day. Scallops and langoustines come from Scotland and fish is caught from the south coast in Brixham and Poole. Fish is good now: turbot, sea bass and my favourite, the native lobster. It is fantastic, with firm flesh and sweet meat – and it hails from our shores. I make a warm lobster salad with peas, beans, watercress, mustard leaves and chard and warmed new potatoes. Depending on the weather, the lobster comes from Dorset or Scotland, its tail poached and sliced on top of the salad. Stock from lobster shells, with wine and brandy, makes for a bright red lobster salad dressing.

When I was nine, we moved to Norfolk and a house in the middle of a field. I foraged for wild berries in the hedgerows – picking and eating produce there and then is the best way to enjoy it. When cooking your bounty, it’s about having respect for good ingredients. Cook them well and be creative. Seasonality is so important – food is at its best and the price is too.

Who i'm using

Cornvale for meat from the Lake District, Channel Fisheries, Keltic Seafare for my scallops and lobster, Solstice in London for vegetables, and Paxton & Whitfield, the UK’s oldest cheese shop.

Quote

‘I foraged for wild berries in the hedgerows – eating produce there and then is the best way to enjoy it’

Recipe

To make my white chocolate pots with yoghurt, lemon verbena and raspberries, for 4, first bring 300ml double cream and 1⁄2 bunch lemon verbena to the boil. Cover with cling film and leave to infuse for 1-2 hours. Break 420g white chocolate into a bowl. Bring the cream back to the boil, then sieve it into the bowl with the chocolate, stirring until melted. Leave to cool slightly, then stir in 370ml natural yoghurt. Pour the mixture into 4 martini glasses, or similar, and place in the fridge until set. Make a syrup by whisking 100g sugar with 100ml water in a small pan. Add a handful of lemon verbena and bring to the boil until syrupy. Cool, then remove the lemon verbena. Top each glass with a handful of raspberries and drizzle with some syrup. Enjoy!