As stated in my last blog, we had the pleasure of Davey and Elsa's company over the weekend. They were driving from Finland to Portugal and stopped over at our house in Normandy for the weekend.

Davey is a professional chef, and has worked for some of the best restaurants in the world, and for many VIP/Governments. As usual, Davey had promised to cook for as many people as we wanted to invite. Davey is Irish, but lives in Finland with his Finnish wife, Elsa.

This is Davey:



As they say in Ireland, the crack (craic) was mighty !

So, after shopping in Fecamp for the necessary food ingredients, Davey started thinking what to do..



The first thing to do was prepare the belini mix, since it needed 8 hours of rising.



Davey then moved over to the desert, Chocolate mousse. His preparation is not like any mousse I've ever seen.. first you take some 70% chocolate blocks....



You then boil water and on top of the water you put your chocolate, so that it melts gently:



You then put some egg yokes and gelatine leaves in (the gelatine leaves had soaked a bit in water beforehand).



He added some water, no milk, and poured them in the cups and put them in the fridge.



Next, he started preparing the salmon tartare. For that he took some salmon and cut them in strips, and then chopped them into small pieces.



Davey said NOT to use a food processor, but do it by hand !



He then sliced some apples into small bits and added them and some onions, Tabasco and herbs into the mixture.



Then he peeled some shrimps.



Davey then sliced some red peppers, put olive oil and peppers on them, and stuck them in the oven. When they are darkened, he took them out and removed the skins.



He then continued slicing vegetables, leeks, onions and garlic.



For the chicken, Davey took some bacon:



That he cut into small bits. The bacon was not going to be eaten (the dogs would do that), but it was only used to generate some cooking fat and to give some taste.



Davey then started preparing the broccoli soup, by putting in the sliced vegetables in a pot.



According to Davey, you put in the stalks first, and the broccoli head at the very last moment, since the head only needs 3-4 minutes cooking, and would lose its colors.



When the soup is well cooked, at the last moment you add the broccoli heads:



And then mix it all up, chopping it fine:



Then the bacon was thrown in the pan and fried up, freeing the fat:



5 small "coqs" were put in the pot:



Davey, like any professional chef had brought his own "toolbox" of knifes and other tools:



In the mean time, Davey continued slicing mushrooms and more onions:



Then with the help of some of our own production Calvados (apple brandy), Davey decided to burn down our kitchen:



When the fire was under control, Davey decided the extinguish the fire by adding some white wine....



And while Rome was burning, Davey was whistling:



The chickens seemed to have survived the ordeal:



Since Davey is not only a Chef, but also an entertainer, he started his juggling act:



And while he was cooking, he was teaching the assembled guests at the same time:



He mixed in some egg yokes into the belini mix:



Davey then chopped up avocados and mixed it with some lemon. They were to be the canapes for the drinks:



In the mean time, the red wine (Chateau Neuf du Pape 2003) was decanted:



Finally, we were able to start our drinks:



The avocado and tomato canapes (with hot peppers) were served:



But Davey was not finished. He then started slicing (not totally, just slicing into) potatoes, which he then sprinkled with salt and Parmesan cheese. This is an adaptation of a Swedish dish:



In the mean time, the guest were concentrating on the cooking, marvelled at his techniques:



The first of many toasts... and as a good Irishman, Davey drank beer:



Davey then proceeded with the belinis. He had donated a real belini pan previously, so he used that:



The table was ready for everyone



And we then attacked the food. The belinis were severed with the salmon tartare ! Yummy !



Davey then did up the Tanzanian perch in the frying pan:



That was served with the red peppers and a sauce. Finger licking good !



In between course, all guests had their roles. Here are Barbara and Philippe drying the dishes.



The Swedish potatoes came out of the oven, perfectly!



Davey then proceeded slicing the chickens (coq) in half:



While Davey was slicing, Trish was putting the vegetables on to the plates:



At the end, Davey added some cream to the sauce in the pan, stirred it up, and we had a fantastic sauce:



And we had a incredible coquelette:



Finally, the mousse was taken out of the fridge, and Davey prepared a whipped cream with Baileys liquor. The mousse as excellent, but heavy ! Real dark chocolate, very tasty !



Afterwards we had Irish coffee and Belgium truffle chocolates! My diet is out of the window... but worth it.

After the meal, Davey sang his Irish songs and kept us all amused until the wee hours of the morning.