CHEF John Burton Race is a man who seems permanently set on simmer.
You can practically feel the steam rising from him as he vents his feelings on the decline of the British farming industry and the lack of home- produced, local food featuring in supermarkets.
There’s any number of other dislikes, such as "farmed salmon . . . yuk, full of disease. Frankly, I’d rather eat a rat." He rattles off his forthright views at breakneck speed and with considerable force, but is unapologetic because, he says: "I’m passionate about food. It’s a subject you never stop learning about and I just want people to realise that 50% of good food is about the raw ingredients. The rest is down to the recipe and the skill of the person cooking."
He appears close to boiling point as he emphasises: "We are so apathetic about our food in the UK.
"We just seem to accept what we are given, but that’s so wrong. It’s so important that we source and buy locally and seasonally, because that’s how we get the great taste and flavours and yet what’s happening? Our farming industry is in decline, and there won’t be one at all in five years unless it’s given support."
Burton Race, 50, is not content to simply sound off, but has produced a new cook book, Flavour First – a practical guide to seasonal ingredients, that gives imaginative ways to cook them.
He’s chatting about the book as well as the controversial ups and downs of his life in a rare break from his filming schedule for a new ITV series, Britain’s Best Dish, which is due to start in August.
Television brought him to prominence as a devoted family man and respected chef in the TV series French Leave and the sequel Return Of The Chef, which also featured his wife Kim and six of the eight children they had between them.
But that high profile also ensured him the full glare of the spotlight when last year he controversially left Kim for his lover, Suzi Ward, by whom it was revealed he had a three-year-old son, unbeknown to his wife.
A costly divorce followed. After a battle - his ex-wife shut the restaurant they were running while he was in the Australian jungle competing in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here - he’s once again running the business he loves, The New Angel restaurant in Dartmouth, Devon.
His temperature cools as he reflects on the past tempestuous year and he says slowly: "I am more or less out of that mess. I have a lot of rebuilding to do - both emotionally and financially.
"The restaurant’s opened again and is going well despite the recession and I know I’ve been lucky to get back into that position. I’m probably working too hard at the moment - which means I can’t see my children as much as I’d like - but I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of money to recoup."
He hopes his book will arm people with the skills and knowledge to know what seasonal foods to look for and encourage them to fight back.
It gives a variety of recipes from basic to a more demanding level, as well as practical, step-by-step techniques for preparing dishes such as fresh crab, best end of lamb and filleting fish.
He describes the book as "a compilation of around 100 of my favourite ingredients and my contribution to encouraging people to buy seasonally and preferably regionally and locally, too. The basis of seasonal food is that it’s readily available, cheaper and full of natural flavour. It’s win-win."
The recipes include imaginative delights such as Beetroot and Potato Salad with Smoked Mackerel, Fillet Steaks with Anchoide, Capers And Mustard, Guinness-Glazed Ham With Broad Beans and Parsley Sauce as well as desserts such as Tarte Normande and Raspberry Souffle.
One of his favourite dishes is Steamed Sea Bass Fillets with Warm Basil Butter Sauce. He enthuses: "A vibrant spinach and basil butter sauce is the perfect foil for beautiful sea bass fillets and I like to serve it on a bed of cannellini beans, flavoured with diced peppers and courgettes."
STEAMED SEA BASS FILLETS WITH BASIL BUTTER SAUCE
(Serves four)
600g sea bass fillet
Salt & pepper
240ml fish stock (see below)
1 slice of garlic
1 tarragon sprig, blanched
Basil butter:
1 bunch of basil, trimmed
100g leaf spinach, cleaned
120g unsalted butter, soft
Garnish: Deep-fried or fresh basil
1. First prepare the basil butter. Blanch the basil and spinach leaves briefly by immersing them in boiling water for a few seconds, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Tip the leaves into a blender and whiz to chop finely, then add the butter and blend until completely smooth and velvety.
2. The butter will turn bright green. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until later.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Cut the sea bass into four equal portions, check for pin bones and season with salt and pepper. Pour two-thirds of the stock into a shallow ovenproof saute pan, add the garlic and tarragon and bring to the boil.
4. Lay the fish fillets in the pan and lower the heat. Place a piece of buttered greaseproof paper over the fish and cover the pan.
5. Transfer the pan to the oven to steam the fish for five to seven minutes until just cooked.
6. Lift the fish fillets onto a warmed plate and keep warm. Return the saute pan to the hob over a medium heat and reduce the stock by half, then lower the heat. Slowly add the basil butter, a piece at a time, whisking constantly – the sauce will thicken as you do so.
7. Don’t let it boil, or the sauce will split. Once all the butter is incorporated, strain the sauce through a sieve into a warm jug and season with salt and pepper.
8. Ideally, serve each portion of sea bass, skin side up, on a bed of cannellini beans with peppers and courgettes. Pour the basil butter sauce around and garnish with deep-fried (or fresh) basil leaves. Serve immediately.
