The Aiden Byrne Blog

As you may be aware, in July of last year we opened the British Grill in the Macdonald Craxton Wood hotel in Ledsham, Chester. This concept has been a great success there and the restaurant even achieved 2 AA rosettes within 8 weeks of opening.

Over the three years we have been at The Church Green we have listened to your feedback and this has helped us evolve. With this in mind, and taking into consideration the success of the new British Grill menu we have taken the decision to incorporate the grill and menu into The Church Green.

The new menu changes will come in to effect from February 23rd 2012.

We will be closing on Monday 20th for three days, and having a bit of a makeover in the restaurant as well as investing in a wonderful new Inka grill for the kitchen too!!

As well as having the British Grill menu we will also be keeping our very popular Lunch menu and 5 course tasting menus. Our famous wine matching evenings will continue and we will hold regular gourmet events too.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to you for your continued support and custom and we look forward to welcoming you back at The Church Green soon.

At the end of November, Aiden, along with his moustache that he grew for 'Movember', gave his time to support a fundraising event in aid of The Prince's Trust. The event was organised by both Event organiser Alison Malone of Wilmslow based Events With Appeal and Heating equipment manufacturer Flamco UK, and was held at Flamco’s UK premises in St Helens.

The event was a 'celebration of music' and revellers enjoyed performances by artists including Blackpool based Karima Francis, Alderley Edge based Jack Tinner, The Affinity show choir from Cheadle Hulme and The Carlton Jug band all the way from Glasgow.

 Pictured: Karima Francis 

After an inspirational presentation and performance, along with Naomi Franklin, by Prince's Ambassador Curtis Blanc, Aiden had the unenviable task of preparing 220 main courses of Pork Belly and desserts of Baked Alaska. The food, which all needed to be served in a one hour window, was delivered to the tables by St Helens based outside caterers Scoffs Outside and an army of Prince's Trust ambassadors and volunteers.

Aiden, along with Scoffs, Flamco UK and Alison Malone, have supported The Prince's Trust over the past two years and have run several events which have raised several thousand pounds in total. This event generated a whopping £10,000 for The Prince's Trust and also gave guests both a great night of entertainment and an opportunity to sample some of Aiden’s classic British food. A great night was had by all!

Our Head Chef Jim Key, has stepped up to the mark to go head to head with top Michelin starred and highly rated Good Food Guide chefs in this year’s Britain’s Best Dish.

The ITV show has returned with presenter Mary Nightingale and judges that include accomplished chef John Burton Race, food and wine expert Jilly Goolden and chef and restaurateur Ed Baines. The judges will taste main courses and desserts served from every region across the country in order to award one professional chef with the prestigious accolade of having their dish named the best dish in Britain.

When asked about the show, Jim comments, “I was pretty nervous about being filmed for a TV series – I really felt like I was stepping out of my comfort zone, but when your passion takes over you soon forget about the cameras and completely immerse yourself into your dish. The standard is really high but I feel I gave it my all, I hope I’ve made the North West proud.”

Aiden comments, “Jim is a fantastic chef and I’m really pleased to have him at The Church Green - I truly believe that Jim will go far in this process and we’re all behind him 100%. To bring this title back to the North West would be amazing and would only add to the buzz in the industry in this region.”

As well as the TV show, ITV have also published a cookery book including all the dishes that are featured in this series. Jim’s dessert recipe can be found on pages 222 and 223. Books are available to purchase from The Church Green in the coming weeks at a reduced price of £17. 

Viewers can catch Britain’s Best Dish on ITV1 every weekday at 5pm and see Jim’s debut on the 15th of December.

Cherry Tree Primary School in Lymm have just launched their school cookbook entitled ‘The Big Red Juicy Cookbook’. The book includes almost 130 recipes written and illustrated by the pupils from the school, as well as a foreword written by Aiden.

Mrs Helen Graham, Acting Head Teacher, Cherry Tree Primary School says, “At Cherry Tree School, we are always looking for ways to celebrate the children’s creativity. The Big Red Juicy Cookbook was an ideal opportunity to allow our children to be imaginative, show off their artistic flair and also consider the healthy eating messages that we promote at our school. I am absolutely thrilled with the final result and proud of all the children who contributed.”

The book is priced at £9.50, plus postage of £1.40 if required, and is available by calling the school on T: 01925 755885, or can be purchased from The Church Green, The Terrace and Rushgreen Service Station in Lymm village or from the Cherry Tree School stall at the Dickensian Festival.

Aiden comments, “It’s great to see children getting excited about cooking and not be afraid to experiment with different flavours and textures. I would encourage people to not only buy this book for the great recipes, but to also financially support this great school.”

Front cover picture drawn by Jamie Reid aged 9.

Book name created by Oscar Schache aged 5.

In September 2011, a remarkable team of 8 top chefs commenced on a unique UK road trip spanning 16 months to raise some serious funds for Hospitality Action, the Hospitality Industry Benevolent Organisation.

The fundraiser, which has been organised by VisionaryDining.com’s Managing Director Gordon Cartwright, involves each chef taking it in turn to host a unique dinner in their own restaurant with all of the participating chefs cooking one dish each to form an 8 course meal that will be served to paying guests.

Their combined culinary efforts will provide diners with an extremely unique experience whilst raising some serious funds for the worthy organisation.

Aiden is amongst the key 8 and will be hosting his event on 21st May 2012 in one of his restaurants.

Tickets are priced at £100 each and include 8 courses served with wine.

On Saturday 26th November Aiden will be taking part in a fundraising event organised by Flamco, in support of the Prince's Trust.

The event, which will be held at Flamco UK in St Helens, will be a celebration of music with various acts such as the award winning Affinity Show Choir performing throughout the night. Master of Ceremonies will be comedian Willie Miller from BBC Radio Merseyside.

Aiden, who also took part in last year's event, will be preparing the food which will be served by representatives of The Prince's Trust, as well as donating a 2 night dinner bed and breakfast break at the Macdonald Craxton Wood Hotel for the auction.

Last year Aiden not only prepared the food, but also donated an auction prize of a meal for 8 people, raising £1,900.

To mark the month of November, men around the world have been urged to get behind a moustache growing campaign to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. The aptly named campaign, Movember, is being backed by four of our chefs at The Church Green, who are guaranteeing some serious facial hair styles!

The chefs have registered at www.Movember.com with a clean-shave face and then for the rest of the month, the men, known as Mo Bros, will groom, trim and wax their way into the hall of moustache fame.
The funds raised in the UK support the number one and two male specific cancers - prostate and testicular cancer. They are directed to programmes run directly by Movember and their men’s health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research.

Aiden said, “Last year the UK campaign raised an amazing £11.7 million, so this year we thought we’d take part to help exceed that total. We will be asking diners if they wish to donate £1 to the cause in return to meet the moustaches!”

He continues, “We all like to have a bit of fun and raise money for great causes like this and we hope all our diners get behind us and pledge their support.

Movember, which first began in Melbourne Australia, has grown to become a truly global movement working to change attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, getting them to act on that knowledge thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.

We will be posting photographic evidence of the chefs moustache growth on twitter @aidenbyrne and @thechurchgreen as well as The Church Green facebook page, and people are encouraged to follow their progress and share their Movember stories and pictures with them.

Aiden recently cooked up a bidding frenzy at a local charitable event when he offered up not one, but three auction prizes.

Aiden pledged his support to the East Cheshire Hospice at ‘The Meal of Your Life’ event in association with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, by offering an auction prize to personally cook for 8 people in a private dining experience in the winning bidder's own home.

The bidding exceeded expectations, reaching a £1,300 sum, prompting Aiden to generously treble his prize offering resulting in an amazing £3,900 total for the worthy charity.

On the night Aiden also took his place in the kitchen at the venue, alongside other local chefs, to serve an exquisite feast. Diners were treated to Aiden’s mouth-watering main course of roasted breast of mallard with dried red fruits, ginger bread and cured foie gras with a vegetarian option of a ballotine of leeks and truffle with hazelnut vinaigrette.

When asked about his involvement, Aiden comments, “I am a great believer in supporting causes that are right on your doorstep and East Cheshire Hospice provide such amazing services and support for local people. The concept for the event really enticed me to step up as I am so passionate about my industry.”

He continues, “With the bidding reaching the impressive level that it did coupled with the enthusiasm in the room, I felt it would be of great financial benefit to the charity to extend the prize offering. I’m really pleased that I was able to help the charity and urge others to get involved.”

The event raised over £25,000 in total which will help the Hospice greatly as they have to fundraise nearly £6,000 each and every day in order to continue to provide their essential local services free of charge to the local community.

Toffee apples with marshmallows and pecans

INGREDIENTS
6 dessert apples
6 wooden sticks (like those used for ice lollies)
4 (100g) packets original toffee, such as Walkers
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g marshmallows, chopped
175g chopped pecans, toasted
175g dark chocolate, chopped


METHOD
Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple. Place the apples on a baking sheet covered with lightly greased aluminium foil.

Combine the toffee and water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the toffee melts and is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Dip each apple into the toffee and gently run apples around the insides of saucepan to scrape off some of the toffee. Scrape excess toffee from the apple bottoms using the side of the saucepan.

Combine the chopped marshmallows and pecans on a dinner plate. Roll the apples in the mixture to coat. Place on the aluminium foil and chill.

Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the apples and return them to the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Crostini with pumpkin, pancetta and parmesan shavings

INGREDIENTS

1 small French stick/ baguette

5oz/ 150g deseeded pumpkin finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

3.5oz/ 100g diced pancetta

Freshly shaved Parmesan

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4/ 350oF. Cut the bread into 1cm/ ½ inch thick slices, place on a baking tray and bake for 6–8 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Allow to cool.

Scatter the chopped pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, put the pancetta in a heavy-based frying pan and cook over a medium heat until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

Spoon the pumpkin on to the crostini, sprinkle with the pancetta and arrange some Parmesan shavings on top. 

Serve immediately.