Brian Mellor

Master Chef Brian Mellor was the high-flying executive chef at Granada TV in its heyday and he has cooked for royalty, prime ministers and numerous celebrities. His freelance work has seen him oversee dozens of chefs in busy restaurants whilst being a familiar figure at food festivals and international media events.

Now living and cooking on a 250-acre farm on the Wirral, he describes Grasmere Gingerbread as “inspiring and captivating”.

Brian is passionate about using locally-grown ingredients which fire his culinary imagination. Today, small groups of people can visit his charming kitchen and share the secrets of a Master Chef of Great Britain. “I love visiting Grasmere and Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop; whenever I eat it or use it in recipes the spicy, sugary aroma takes me straight back to the village and former Victorian schoolhouse which is home to the shop.”

Brian has agreed to share one of his sumptuous recipes with us: It combines fresh raspberries grown on his farm with Grasmere Gingerbread crumbs.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread and White Chocolate Sundae with Raspberries

Ingredients

For the pastry cream-white chocolate:

150g White Chocolate 

4 Egg Yolks

75 g Corn Flour 

600 ml Milk 

75 g Castor Sugar 

1 Vanilla Pod 

For the raspberry sundae:

400 Fresh Raspberries 

1 portion of Raspberry Coulis 

50 g Grenadine 

200 g Gingerbread Crumbs 

Method

For the pastry cream-white chocolate:
Whisk yolks and sugar, mix in corn flour. Split vanilla pod and scrape out seeds, add to milk bring to the boil and strain onto egg mixture. Return to a clean pan, heat and beat until thickens making sure you cook out the starch and the mix is smooth. Add the chopped chocolate and stir gently until it melts through.
For the Raspberry Coulis: Wash, hull and drain raspberries. Place in a blender with 4 tablespoons of sugar and blitz. Push through a sieve and adjust consistency with water (or orange juice)

For the sundae:
Make the custard and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming. Reserve some raspberries for decoration. Divide the remainder in half; lightly crush one lot to help release the juice. Combine the crushed fruit with the whole fruit; add the coulis and grenadine and leave to steep in the fridge for an hour. Just before serving place a layer of fruit in a chilled glass or bowl, cover with the custard and then a good layer of the gingerbread. Repeat until finished and dust with a mix of grated white chocolate, gingerbread crumb and the reserved raspberries. 

Find out more about Brian at www.brianmellor.co.uk

 

“I love visiting Grasmere and Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop and lingering over the spicy, sugary aroma.”

Brian Mellor

 

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