THREE BEEF + LAMB CHEFS IN THE KITCHEN AT AMAYJEN
Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef, Andrew May hosted his Ambassador Series Dinner at his restaurant Amayjen in Palmerston North earlier this month. The five course degustation menu was a collaboration of three chefs spanning almost 27 years of Beef + Lamb’s Ambassador Chef Programme.
Andrew’s guest chefs were Platinum Ambassador Mat McLean from Palate in Hamilton and Young Ambassador Chef, Nic Kearney from Onslow in Auckland. Together they blended tradition and innovation, showcasing the essence of each chef’s culinary journey bringing together an abundance of taste and texture on the plate. The three chefs used their creativity and skill to highlight some of the lesser-known cuts of beef and lamb such as tongues, necks, sweetbreads and cheeks. Eye fillet was the only prime cut to feature on the menu.
Andrew took charge of the snack menu adding a nod to his years of cooking in Scotland by creating bite sized versions of haggis, neeps and tatties. He turned the classic flavours of a Rueben Sandwich into a Rueben Beef Tongue Tartlet and served delicate Sichuan Lamb Tartares in tiny little cones alongside crunchy Beef Cheek Beignets.
Young Ambassador Chef Nic Kearney said when Andrew asked him to create a lamb entree he immediately thought of his Nan’s meatloaf. “We do a venison version at Onslow, so I wanted to create something similar using lamb neck and lamb tongue,” said Nic. Adding macerated cherries and flavours of mustard elevated these humble cuts to something outstanding and the dish was garnished with a freshly foraged salad.
Nic was happy to tap into Andrew’s knowledge of ingredients especially when it came to foraging for local produce along the banks of the Manawatu River. “Andrew knows a lot about the local ingredients he uses and it was quite special to go foraging with him. He pointed out things in the bush that I didn’t know could be used such as making ice cream out of green pine cones. We picked fennel and aster which I was able to use on my lamb dish to give it that local flavour.”
Mat McLean was first named an Ambassador Chef in 2008 and became Platinum in 2011. He has cooked a lot of beef and lamb in his career and says he has seen some great new breeding programmes developed over the years which has elevated the products he uses. “There is more of a connection now between the farmers and the chefs which is great when it comes to telling the paddock to plate story through the food we are cooking.”
When it came to the menu, Mat said he was looking to create a harmonious balance with what the other chefs were doing. Before heading down to the Manawatu, he foraged the foreshores of Raglan to put a surf n’ turf twist on a classic dish of Beef Tartare with Fermented Kohlrabi, Samphire, Fried Yolk and Kina Butter finished with a top quality locally prepared truffle oil.
“I wanted to create a lighter version of a tartare and treated the eye fillet more like tuna to keep the dish really fresh and clean bringing in umami flavours with the ocean vegetables to liven up the dish. I added the confit egg yolk in panko crumb to add texture.”
Mat’s second dish was Coastal Spring Lamb Shoulder Pastilla with Native Spinach, Lamb Sweetbreads, Yoghurt and Kawakawa. He slow cooked the lamb until it was falling apart, then pressed and wrapped it into a filo pastry before frying. He used some Middle Eastern aromatics which goes hand in hand when cooking with lamb and paired it with some sheeps yoghurt that is made just around the corner from Amayjen in Palmerston North. The sweetbreads were diced and panfried to present them in a slighlty different way with a creamy soft texture.
Andrew took charge of the final protein course before his legendary dessert called ‘Cow’ - more about that shortly, but first we had to tackle the most spectacular looking Angus Pure Eye Fillet.
With mostly secondary cuts on the menu so far, Andrew wanted to use a prime cut for this dish and opted for an Angus Pure eye fillet. He paired it with simple ingredients and flavours that you might find in a beef pie, such as onion, oxtail, cheese and carrots. He confited the shallot and stuffed it with braised oxtail and topped with Skirlie. “I wanted to add a crunchy texture so decided to make Skirlie which is a Scottish dish made from beef dripping and day old bread turned into crumbs, then fried in the dripping. I added a Kiwi twist with foraged nasturium and watercress puree - so I felt this dish had a good mix of everything.”
Now let’s talk about ‘Cow’ - a dessert that Andrew described as ‘a bit of fun’. Its true description was Earl Grey Shortbread with a Miso Ice Cream, Roasted Barley Caramel and a White Chocolate Ganache.
The shortbread formed the base with a decadent creamy centre featuring a light white chocolate mousse, Miso icecream and a roasted pearl barley caramel to add a nutty taste. The dish was topped with a thinly rolled pastillage disc decorated with a cow pattern using edible ink. “I loved seeing the guests reaction - it got people thinking, talking and enjoying the dessert - it’s all part of the dining experience,” said Andrew.
Hands down the dessert was epic!
All the chefs relished the opportunity to share the kitchen as well as new ideas, techniques and a sense of pride in cooking with New Zealand’s best beef and lamb. Andrew said it was exciting to have fellow Ambassadors in his kitchen and to be able to bring something a little different to the Manawatu dining scene. “It was great for my customers to be able to try some different dishes and there were a lot of empty plates at the end of service.”
As the new kid on the block, Young Ambassador Chef Nic Kearney said he felt proud to be part of the line up at Amayjen Restaurant. “It was just an amazing opportunity to be cooking with Andrew and Mat and to learn from them and to practice my dish. I even managed to pick up a few classical French techniques that aren’t taught here in New Zealand, which was awesome.”
Mat said they made a great team and worked well together. “It’s easy to get lost in someone else’s kitchen, not knowing where everything is you can feel like a bit of a rookie, but we all worked really well together. It’s really good to work with chefs who are highly skilled, open with their knowledge but also humble.”
Andrew finished off the evening by telling me how much being a Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef has given him a career advantage. “Exchanging information with chefs who are at the top of their game gives an insight into finding the best quality ingredients for my own menu. I have noticed a common passion amongst the Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chefs that just grows when you are part of that community. It has been a great opportunity to pass that on to our customers by hosting an Amassador Series Dinner here in the Manawatu.”
I was delighted to be part of the dinner, savouring each course and listening as each chef took turns to step out of the kitchen to explain the inspiration, ingredients and preparation behind their dishes. This helped to give the restaurant guests a sense of the passion and thought processes behind creating such a menu, and everyone left feeling satisfied and impressed by this team of Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chefs.