Nestled on the banks of the Thames in a well-heeled part of West London sits the imposing Chelsea Harbour Hotel. Unique in the city for being one of only a handful of boltholes that offers its guests a suites-only service, the food offer throughout its brasserie restaurant and high end banqueting facilities, overseen by Executive Chef, Imi Kader, also has a reputation to dazzle.
The self-taught South African landed on the London scene in 1999 and has been steadily building his craft at some of the capital’s finest outlets ever since. In 2012 he took over at the Chelsea Harbour, bringing with him one of his most trusted suppliers to help further enhance the establishment’s menus – Essential Cuisine.
It’s the continuation of a successful seven year partnership between Imi and the British supplier of quality stocks, gravies, jus, glace and demi-glaces. One that sees him use the versatility of Essential Cuisine’s range to compliment and perfectly finish the wide variety of styles that he and his team of 22 chefs are called upon to cater for at any given time.
His relationship with the Cheshire-based manufacturer is, according to Imi, “a marriage made in heaven,” and he enthuses when describing how Essential Cuisine products allow him to express himself and put his own stamp on dishes.
One of Imi’s signature banqueting recipes is pan fried turbot with lobster claw and a lobster bisque, made using Essential Cuisine’s premium Lobster Glace.
Imi says: “I want to add my name to a dish, so for the lobster bisque, I use the Lobster Glace, then add a bit of cream and some kaffir leaves – I take a base product, give it a twist, and it becomes an Imi product.”
The same logic applies when the chef is creating a sumptuous trio of lamb using Essential Cuisine’s Premier Lamb Jus. “I take the base sauce, add some rosemary and thyme, then a bit of port to play with the sweetness, finishing it off with butter to help achieve that lovely, clear mirror effect you get with Essential Cuisine sauces. After that, you get the flavour, the colour and the aftertaste of ‘wow!’ – knowing that a chef has made your stocks gives you that reaction and the reassurance of quality.”
He continues: “Essential Cuisine is just a brilliant, consistent, high quality product. With a large team of chefs, this gives you the confidence that if you go away, you will always get the same end
result, the same dish every time. That’s so important when you’re catering for larger events and we’ve cooked for parties of one to 1,500.”
When it comes to involving his team in menu planning, Imi reveals that the whole kitchen collaborate on ideas for new dishes. “The more responsibility and input (the team) have in creating a dish the more pride they’ll feel when it goes out. I make sure we all get together to have food tastings and come up with new ideas. They may come up with one idea or they may come up with the whole dish – from juniors to executives, we take ideas from everyone.
“In many ways you’re more family with your chefs than your family at home, so you have to have that bond. I feel the same way about Essential Cuisine. The company and the products – they’ve become a part of my family, an important part of my menu, and I would recommend them to any chef I know.”
For almost 20 years Essential Cuisine has been producing outstanding stock ingredients that help to unleash the creativity of chefs in all sectors, always delivering good taste, with absolutely no quality compromise. Despite the company’s rapid development, the chef led focus remains a comforting constant.
The people at the heart of the business understand the hospitality industry better than most because they have experienced the buzz of professional kitchens first-hand. Who better, then, to trust with the success of your sauces, jus and gravies than The Stock People, Essential Cuisine.
Creating ingredients to inspire.
For more information on the Essential Cuisine range call 01606 541490, email:
[email protected] visit:
www.essentialcuisine.com or find them on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/@essentialcuisin
