Top chef Ben Bayly's mum sent him to her best friend - an expert - for baking lessons.
Top chef Ben Bayly's mum sent him to her best friend - an expert - for baking lessons.
Ben Bayly is a judge on My Kitchen Rules and the award-winning head chef at The Grove and Baduzzi in Auckland.
He was awarded Cuisine Magazine Chef of the Year in 2014 and 2015, and The Grove and Baduzzi have three and two Hats respectively in the Cuisine Good Food Guide (the only restaurant group in NZ that has five Hats).
Ben will do live cooking demonstrations at The Food Show Wellington, on from September 4-6, where he'll be featuring the kind of cooking he is renowned for: modern dishes infused with classic French techniques. Check foodshow.co.nz for tickets to see Ben live at the show.
Who or what inspired you to take up cooking?
Cooking at home when I was 13, I started reading cookbooks. I found baking fascinating, but I was hopeless. My mum got tired of me making a mess of things. So she sent me to a really good friend of hers - Gail Brant - who was a fantastic home baker. Gail taught me the fundamentals, like how and why to cream butter and sugar when making cakes, and lots of other techniques that are essential to be a good home baker.
First, I can't live without salt. Secondly, I need the good fats, like butter, coconut oil or some great NZ olive oil. Third, any sort of green vegetables really float my boat. Fourth: life in my kitchen begins and ends with stocks and sauces, the fundamentals of deep flavour. I can't live without them.
Lastly, I need wine. Food and wine matching are a big part of what we do at The Grove and Baduzzi.
I would give anything a go. But I really love converting people who really hate an ingredient, like, say tripe. I will try hard to cook it in a way that will win them over.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
Modern Kiwi cuisine, with a nod to the classics.
What are you most proud of?
My kids and my chefs.
If you were a super-hero what would your powers be?
Psychic powers. I would love to be able to read people's minds. Especially customers at the restaurant. Sometimes I wish I could fly, so I don't have to sit in Auckland traffic.
What car did you learn to drive in?
My Dad's diesel-powered Japanese import, white Toyota Corolla station wagon.
Place the sugar and water in a pot and bring up to 120C. Strain off the passion fruit to remove the seeds, leaving 500g of pulp. Mix the passio fruit pulp into the water and sugar and bring to a simmer.
Mix the cornflour with the water, and pour into the hot passionfruit to thicken. Leave to cool. This makes 4 batches of 4 or 16 souffles, which you can keep as a base in the fridge for up to a week.
Creme patissiere:
Place milk and vanilla in a pot and simmer. In the meantime, place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add cornflour and flour to the egg mix and whisk until smooth. Pour 100ml of warm milk over the egg mix and combine well to temper. Now add the egg mix back into the pot with the remaining milk. Cook slowly on a medium heat until it becomes thick (around 5minutes). Place in a tray and cool in the fridge.
Moulds:
Grease 4 souffle moulds with softened butter using a pastry brush. Leave to set in the fridge then "repaint" with the butter again, creating a nice thick layer. Be generous with the butter, you don't want the souffle to stick.
Pour the coconut sugar into the buttered mould and roll the sugar around to coat all of the butter. As the souffle cooks, the sugar will melt and combine with the butter to form a protective layer between the souffle mould and the souffle mix. If you don't have souffle moulds, use small, flat, white coffee mugs.
Souffle mix:
Have two bowls. Place the eggs whites in one bowl with 5g of the sugar. Start to whisk (you can use a kitchen aid if you want or do it by hand), keep whisking and slowly add the rest of the sugar, whisking until you have soft peaks.
In the other bowl put the souffle base and creme patissiere. Give it a good mix to soften it a little then add one-third of the whites and mix. Carefully add the rest of the whites and fold into the base.
Spoon into your greased moulds and bake in a 180C oven for 10 minutes. Serve with icecream.
