In the Kitchen News
Having had one of the longest waits in history for the start of spring, it is finally possible to see the beginnings of what is to come. The first delicate salad leaves are ready to harvest in the greenhouses. The wild garlic, soft herbs and the first cuckoo flowers are ready to add robust flavours and little bursts of flavour to our “garden salads”. The apple blossoms are nearly ready to garnish some desserts with their unique punchy taste and bright colours.
The most exciting event for the kitchen coming up is the Champagne and Caviar Dinner on the 11th May. It’s the first time that we have produced a dinner entirely inspired by these rare and quite delicious little dark eggs. We have a wonderful supplier coming to educate and instruct the guests on the finer points of “caviar etiquette” before a truly sumptuous reception and dinner including many varieties of caviar from around the world. Having been lucky enough to have had a rigorous and very generous tasting of these products I can assure you that this will be a dinner to remember.
I’ve been inspired by rhubarb this month, anyone who has attended a garden event with lunch at Gravetye over the last few weeks will know this! Our Pastry team, headed up by Adam, have been working on a number of new dishes and it would be timely to share a new rhubarb idea with you all.
Rhubarb Bavarois with poached rhubarb and rhubarb granite
Ingredients
500ml semi skimmed milk
70g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
6 long sticks rhubarb
250g granulated sugar
250 ml water
30 ml grenadine
Method
Boil the milk in a pan. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the caster sugar and pour the milk over while continuously mixing. Return to the pan and heat slowly while stirring until the mix thickens (consistency of double cream).
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Roughly dice 4 of the sticks of rhubarb and put into a pan with the granulated sugar and water. Heat on the stove and simmer until the rhubarb is soft. Strain off the liquid into a separate pan. Put the softened rhubarb into a blender and blend until smooth.
Weigh out 320g of the puree. Heat 100g in a small pan and add 3½ leaves of softened gelatine. Combine the two again and fold through the cooled milk/egg mix. Pour into 2 inch pastry rings and allow to set in the fridge.
With the two remaining sticks of rhubarb, peel them and cut them into 2 inch batons. Poach them gently in the reserved poaching liquor and remove and cool in the fridge.
With the poaching liquor, place in the freezer in a shallow tray. Every ½ hour, remove from the freezer and mix vigorously with a fork until fully set and it should resemble a coarse sorbet.
Assembly
Warm the bavarois moulds in your hands to remove them. Place on a cold plate next to a couple of pieces of the poached rhubarb, a line of the leftover puree and a spoonful of the granite. Serve immediately.
Rupert and his team look forward to welcoming you to the restaurant very soon. Why not sample his food at one of our forthcoming events? There are still spaces available at the Champagne and Caviar dinner on the 11th May. To book or for further information please call 01342 810567 or email info@gravetyemanor.co.uk.
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| The meadows at Gravetye have been looking particularly impressive this year, Tom explains why the cold spring hasn’t been all bad… | It’s not too late to plan a trip to the opera this summer with Glyndebourne, plus now the sun is finally shining – why not enjoy a free garden tour with lunch on Bank holiday Monday… | ||
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