Chef Profile: Steven Smith - Chef/Patron at Freemasons at Wiswell of Freemasons at Wiswell

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Hometown: Blackburn

Work experience: Steven started his career in hotels and pubs around Blackburn and went on to gain experience at recognised restaurants such as Gilpin Lodge in Cumbria and The Box Tree in Ilkley.

Tell us about your current menu: Our mission is to create top class food, using the finest seasonal ingredients, but without the stuffiness of some top restaurant experiences. Freemasons at Wiswell is a pub and our food reflects our heritage, our setting and also our ambition.

What is your favourite dish on your menu and why: Goosnargh Chicken Maryland - Escoffier's Ma Cuisine through 1960s England to Wiswell 2012. This dish featured in pioneering French chef, Georges Auguste Escoffier's landmark cookbook, Ma Cuisine, before becoming popular on the menus of 1960s British pubs, with the chicken breadcrumbed and served with sweetcorn fritters and bananas. The 2012 Freemasons version sees the chicken poached in buttermilk, served with a creamy buttermilk sauce (the Escoffier influence), and served with fried banana puree, sweetcorn popcorn and a brioche crumble. This sums up our philosophy of taking pub classics to the next level.

What inspires you: Outside of food? Rocky Balboa...!

Which is your favourite restaurant? (not your own): Alinea in Chicago

Big Brother or Question Time: Are these TV programmes!? I don't have time for TV (except perhaps Great British Menu!)

Weblink: http://www.freemasonsatwiswell.com/

Published on 06/02/2012