Liquid at Jersey food festival
Liquid Chef Director David Colcombe helped to celebrate the food culture of Jersey at the island’s inaugural Zest Festival.
The three-day event, which was based at the Pomme d’Or Hotel, St Helier, was organised by Simon Soar, CEO of the Jersey Hospitality Association, together with Skills Jersey and Highlands College.
Chef Colcombe staged a cookery masterclass using cuts of meat prepared by Simon Taylor, better known as Simon the Butcher. Simon expertly boned and prepared beef (for rump cap) and lamb (for the loin) for Chef Colcombe to use in his dishes, all under the watchful eye of island food-lovers.
The dishes were developed following a previous visit to Jersey in which Chef Colcombe was taken on a culinary tour and learned first-hand about the importance of seasonality food from local producers including Jamie Racjan at Fungi Delecti, which offers full traceability on every product.
Chef Colcombe’s beef dish incorporated local mussels, asparagus, wild garlic and parsley while lamb noisettes were given a Japanese twist with a green miso marinade, toasted panko breadcrumbs and hazelnuts.
Visitors to Zest were given insights into a diverse range of skilled, artisan trades. In addition to cookery and butchery classes, there were sessions on fish preparation, pastry making, cheese and wine pairings, the art of pasta-making, and tastings of island gin.
Chef Colcombe says: “The Zest Festival is a great way of showcasing the amazing food products from the land and the sea around Jersey. There is a thriving catering and hospitality industry on the island, supported by a supply chain of which many mainland UK cities would be envious.
“It must be a dream for chefs to work with the sort of products I have come across and I look forward to finding out more about the food scene in Jersey. Zest Festival has more than whetted my appetite.”