With all its playfulness and whimsy it can be easy to
dismiss baking as somewhat superficial, frivolous even. But that would be a
mistake, for it is so much more than that. It is a not only a means of bringing
joyous wonder into everyday life, but an artisanal skill that can be learnt, attained
and applied by nearly everyone, regardless of status or circumstance. Its
concepts, techniques and processes are absolutely achievable at home and one
baker represents this perspective more for me than nearly any other, Richard
Bertinet.
Richard is an award winning baker, author and food champion. He is
a master, with over 25 years experience and both his bakery and books rightfully
receive near universal acclaim. However he is also a teacher, passionate about
sharing his knowledge and enabling others to realise their own aspirations and
become better cooks, from amateur enthusiasts to professional chefs. His
recipes, knowledge and enthusiasm are a frequent source of inspiration, so it
was with great pleasure that I recently took the opportunity to ask him a few
questions…
How would you describe your philosophy on food?
Simple and plenty. I love to serve food piled
high on a platter. The joy comes in sharing with family and friends.
Why baking?
I was drawn to the local bakery as a child. I
used to peer over or round the counter and was always fascinated by what the
bakers were doing.
What inspired you to become a baker and what continues to inspire and
motivate you?
As above I always loved the smell, warmth and
atmosphere as a child and it stayed with me. Later on I became inspired
by the likes of Lionel Poilane whose book I still pick up from time to time. In terms of on-going motivation, I love teaching people to bake. It
is hard not to love what you do when you see the satisfaction on someone's face
when they taste great bread they have made themselves.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
Publishing my first book Dough was a great
personal milestone. It was wonderful to see my recipes in a book form and
to be able to share them with a wider audience. And then more recently
winning the BBC Food Champion award was a fantastic honour particularly as it
is voted for by the public. It was a complete shock and I was thrilled
that customers felt motivated to write about their experiences at our cookery
school.
What is your favourite thing to bake and why?
I think it has to be our signature sourdough loaf.
The crusts sing as they come out of the oven and cool and it never ceases
to excite me.
What do you see as the next big thing in food?
I think we will all be talking about the issue of
Trust for the next few years. The horsemeat scandal has really shaken
people's faith in our food producers and we need to win it back. We need
to engage customers in a dialogue and ensure we can show the provenence of our
products.
What are your plans for the future?
Well I am just starting work on my next
book so that will take up a bit of time over the next few months and hopefully
will come out next year. The cookery school has an amazing programme
lined up for the autumn with Angela Hartnett, Nathan Outlaw, William Curley and
Mat Follas all coming to teach guest chef classes so that will keep me busy
too. And we have a rolling programme of development of new products for
the bakery so do make sure you are signed up to our newsletter for all the
latest announcements.
Aside from your own bakeries (of course!) what is your current favourite
shop, café or restaurant?
I love Mitch Tonk's SeaHorse reastaurant down on the
south coast - I am trying to find a free weekend to take Jo and the kids down
to take them there but things are a bit busy at the moment so I think it will
have to wait until later in the year. We also ate at the River Cafe a
week or two ago - the food was wonderful - its such a classic but doing
great things. Locally I have had great meals recently at both the Pony
& Trap in Chew Magna (south of Bristol) and the Pumphouse in Bristol.
What piece of kitchen equipment could you not do without?
My dough scraper. Brilliant for bread.
Brilliant for cleaning a frosty car winscreen!!
What are the most common mistakes people make when baking?
Not putting enough water in the dough or
compromising the recipe by adding flour or oil to the table when working the
dough.
What single thing should everyone learn to bake?
A basic white dough is the place to start - turning
it into a fougasse for instant gratification and a white tin loaf as it is the
bread that most people use more than anything else.
What tip would you give to aspiring home bakers?
Practice makes perfect and remember to show the
dough who is boss!
To find out more about the Bertinet Bakery and Cookery School, including information on booking classes, please visit http://www.bertinet.com/
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