To make it crispy, grate it, then add salt before squeezing out every drop of moisture. If you miss any it won’t be crispy. No one likes a soggy hash brown.

For the jerk marinade, and scotch bonnets, allspice, thyme, spring onion, ginger, soy, lime, and honey into a blender. That paste goes into the pan to cook out. Caribbean heat and British shellfish, two things that sound like they shouldn’t go together but absolutely do.

Finally, pick the crap and keep what you get cold.

This is probably a dish two days in the making so plan for leaving the hash brown to squeeze overnight. Show me what you make, people!

The Recipe

Breadfruit & Potato Hash Brown

Ingredients

• 1kg Maris Piper potatoes

• 1kg breadfruit

• 125g clarified butter, melted

• 125g vegetable oil

• 35g salt

• 50g potato starch

Method

1. Wash the potatoes. Grate both the potatoes and breadfruit through a coarse grater.

2. Add the salt and leave for 5 minutes.

3. Squeeze through a tea towel to remove all the water. Add the butter, oil and potato starch and mix well.

4. Line a tray with parchment, add the mixture and cover with parchment.

5. Cook at 180°C for 2 hours.

6. Remove and press overnight with a heavy weight.

7. Cut to size. Deep fry at 180°C for 3 minutes until golden. Brush with clarified butter.

Breadfruit is available in Caribbean grocers, some larger supermarkets and online. If you genuinely can’t find it, tinned breadfruit works as a backup. Drain it well before grating.

Jerk Marinade

Ingredients

• 2 scotch bonnets, deseeded

• 1 bunch spring onions, chopped

• 1 small white onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic

• 25g fresh ginger, chopped

• 18g fresh thyme

• 40g soy sauce

• 40g lime juice

• 40g honey

• 10g ground allspice

• 10g ground cinnamon

• 5g ground nutmeg

• 5g black pepper

• 50g vegetable oil

Method

Put everything into a blender and blend to a smooth paste. That’s it.

Deseed the scotch bonnets unless you want it very hot. With the seeds in, it’s a different dish.

Jerk Brown Crab Sauce

Ingredients

• Brown crab meat

• Jerk marinade, to taste

• Clarified butter

Method

Heat clarified butter in a pan. Add the brown crab meat and enough jerk marinade to coat it. Cook down together until combined and heated through. Check seasoning and keep warm for service.

Picked White Crab

• 454g white crab meat

Pick through three times minimum. Keep on ice until you’re ready to plate.

To Plate

Fried hash brown on the plate. Jerk brown crab sauce spooned around it. White crab piled on top. Sliced spring onions. A brush of clarified butter over the hash brown at the end.

Eat it straight away while the hash brown is still crisp.

Full recipe free for all subscribers.

The cure is four ingredients and 30 minutes. Soy, fish sauce, mirin and lime. Whilst together, the flesh firms up slightly, the flavour deepens, and it picks up this clean, bright saltiness that works perfectly against the fat of the fish. If you leave it longer than 30mins, you’ll fuck it… unless you want it firm and salty. I recco not.

The F brick tartlet is what most people haven’t heard of before. F brick (or feuille de brick, if you’re posh n that) is a thin North African pastry sheet. It’s thinner than filo, crisps up better, holds its shape. No disrespect filo, you just ain’t as good. You can get it from your local Middle Eastern shop or online. It takes about 10 minutes in the oven and it’s what makes the whole dish look like it came off a restaurant pass. Worth tracking down.

For the mayos, if you’re on it you can make them the day before. Mack mayo is built from oil infused with roasted mackerel bones at 120 degrees for two hours. If that sounds like a lot, trust your instinct, but boy, that flavour. You won’t get that depth doing it any other way. The nduja mayo is the opposite of subtle. Fry the nduja off until the fat renders and that vivid orange oil pools in the pan. That oil is your mayo base. Spicy, smoky with the colour popping off.

Finally, for the compressed fennel, kohlrabi, apple, shiso. You’ll need this freshness in the dish to cut through the richness of the fish and mayo. If you don’t have a vac sealer for the fennel, just use a zip-lock and the water displacement method. Whack it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

If you make the mayo and kohlrabi the day before, all you need to do on the day is cure the mackerel, bake the tarts, compress the fennel and dice the apple. Then just assemble. Peace. ✌🏽

The Recipe

Mackerel Cure

Ingredients

• 2 mackerel fillets, scored

• 100g soy sauce

• 50g fish sauce

• 100g mirin

• Juice and zest of 2 limes

Method

1. Mix the soy, fish sauce, mirin and lime juice together.

2. Place the mackerel in a bowl and pour over the cure. Leave for exactly 30 minutes.

3. Remove and drain through a colander. Keep the cure liquid.

4. Dry the mackerel on a cloth. Portion and dress with a little of the soy mix before service.

Smoked Mackerel Emulsion

Ingredients

• 2 mackerel bones, roasted

• 300g vegetable oil

• 75g egg yolks

• 10g lemon juice

• Salt, MSG

Method

1. Submerge the roasted mackerel bones in the vegetable oil and cook at 120°C for 2 hours.

2. Pass through a fine sieve and chill.

3. Blend egg yolks, salt, MSG and lemon juice for 1 minute.

4. Slowly emulsify with the chilled smoked mackerel oil.

5. Check seasoning and consistency. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.

Nduja Mayo

Ingredients

• 200g nduja

• 500g vegetable oil

• 100g egg yolks

• 50ml water

• 10g white wine vinegar

• Salt

Method

1. Fry the nduja in a pan until the fat renders and the oil runs vivid orange.

2. Add the vegetable oil and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Blend for 1 minute. Pass through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

4. Blend egg yolks, water, salt and vinegar for 1 minute.

5. Slowly emulsify with the nduja oil.

6. Check seasoning. Store in a squeeze bottle at room temperature.

Compressed Fennel

Ingredients

• 1 fennel bulb

• 2 tbsp lime juice

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Half tsp salt

• Half tsp sugar

• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Remove the fennel stalks and tough outer layer. Slice very thinly on a mandolin.

2. Mix the lime juice, olive oil, salt, sugar and water.

3. Place the fennel in a vacuum bag, pour over the dressing and seal firmly. Leave 30 to 60 minutes in the fridge.

4. No vacuum sealer: put the fennel and dressing in a zip-lock bag and remove as much air as possible using the water displacement method. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

5. Drain lightly and cut into neat pieces.

Baked Kohlrabi

Ingredients

• 1 kohlrabi

• 3 sprigs thyme

• Olive oil, salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Coat the kohlrabi in olive oil and salt, wrap in foil with the thyme.

3. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool. Peel, dice and set aside.

Granny Smith Apple

1. Wash, halve and core the apple.

2. Slice into strips, then cut across into small dice, roughly 1cm.

3. Toss immediately with a little lemon juice to stop it browning.

F Brick Tartlet Shell

• F brick pastry (feuille de brick)

• Clarified butter or melted butter

Press a sheet of F brick into a buttered tartlet tin. Brush with butter. Bake at 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool on a rack. They’re fragile, handle carefully and make a few spares.

To Plate

Nduja mayo into the base of the tartlet shell. Cured mackerel placed on top. Mackerel mayo dotted around. Kohlrabi, compressed fennel, apple dice, shiso julienned over the top.

Eat it while the shell is still crisp.

Full recipe free for all subscribers.

Enter episode 06 of 12:51 at home, and it’s about time I shared the recipe with you. To start off, the lavender salt cure is what makes it different. Two hours (or the night before, if you can) skin-side down before it goes anywhere near a pan to draw the moisture out, season it deeply and leave a faint floral note that you wouldn’t want to be without.

The hearts and liver are in there because most people have never tried them, they’re cheap, and only take 30 seconds in a very hot pan. If you’re buying a whole duck or getting duck breasts from a good butcher, ask for the offal. You’ll wish you’d started eating them sooner.

You probably know that it’s blackberry season, but it’s also fig season in the UK, so if you’re craft enough, you can pick these up for free… and the pickles and beetroot, and you’ve got yourself an acid base to cut through and lift the richness of the meat. The lavender honey glaze at the end ties everything back to the cure and makes the skin look like it belongs on a restaurant pass.

If you can, make the sauce, the pickles, the puree and the shallot glaze the night before. Cure the duck breast overnight in the lavender salt. Then all you’re doing on the day is cooking and plating, and that’s a much better way to spend your time. Peace.

The Recipe

Lavender Salt

Ingredients

• 200g salt

• 10g dried lavender

Method

Blend together until smooth. Pour onto a flat plate, lay the duck breast skin-side down and leave for 2 hours minimum. Overnight is better.

Lavender Honey

Ingredients

• 200g clear honey

• Dried lavender, to taste

• 2 cloves

• Half a cinnamon stick

• 1 star anise

• 6 peppercorns

Method

Toast the spices in a dry pan until fragrant. Add the honey and lavender and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, pass through a fine sieve and set aside.

Duck Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 chicken drumsticks, chopped

• 3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• Quarter of a white onion

• 250g button mushrooms

• 1 head of garlic, split

• 15 sprigs thyme

• 4 sprigs rosemary

• 500ml red wine vinegar

• 2 litres duck stock

• 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 10 peppercorns, 5 cloves

Method

1. Heat veg oil in a large pan. Add the chicken and caramelise well.

2. Add the vegetables, herbs and spices and roast until everything has good colour.

3. Add the red wine vinegar and reduce until it’s completely evaporated.

4. Add the duck stock, bring to the boil and reduce for 2 hours.

5. Pass through a fine sieve, then reduce further to the right consistency. Pass again.

Pickled Beetroot, Blackberries and Figs

Ingredients

• 300g water

• 200g white wine vinegar

• 50g caster sugar

• 1 star anise

• Salt

Method

1. Julienne the beetroot and finely slice the stalks. Cut the blackberries in half, slice the figs.

2. Bring the vinegar, sugar, salt and star anise to the boil. Add the water to cool it slightly.

3. Pour over the fruit and vegetables and leave to pickle.

Fig and Blackberry Puree

Ingredients

• 6 figs, quartered

• 8 blackberries

• Half a white onion, sliced

• 250ml red wine

• 250ml white wine vinegar

Method

1. Sweat the onion in a little oil until soft.

2. Add the figs and blackberries and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Add the red wine and vinegar, bring to the boil and reduce until the fruit is soft and the liquid is gone.

4. Blend until smooth, pass and leave at room temperature for service.

Baked Red Beetroot

Ingredients

• 1 red beetroot

• Olive oil, salt, 1 sprig of thyme

Method

1. Coat the beetroot in olive oil and season with salt. Wrap in foil with the thyme.

2. Bake at 205°C for 45 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven, cover and allow to cool. Peel and cut into wedges.

Roast Shallot

Ingredients

• 1 banana shallot

• 100ml soy sauce

• 50ml vinegar

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 sprigs thyme

Method

1. Caramelise the shallot in a hot pan. Add the garlic and thyme.

2. Add the soy sauce and vinegar and bring to the boil.

3. Transfer to the oven at 205°C for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the shallot and reduce the liquid to a glaze.

Duck Breast

Method

1. Pat the duck breast dry from the salt cure.

2. Score the skin.

3. Place skin-side down in a cold pan on low heat. Cook slowly until the skin is properly crisp and the breast is pink throughout.

4. Drain the excess fat. Add the lavender honey and let it caramelise around the breast.

5. Rest for 10 minutes. Carve.

Duck Hearts and Liver

Method

1. Trim the hearts and liver.

2. Get a pan very hot. Season the offal with salt, pepper and a little oil.

3. Cook for 30 seconds each side.

4. Add a spoonful of duck sauce and let it reduce around them.

To Plate

Spoon the fig and blackberry puree across the base of the plate. Add the beetroot wedges and the pickled elements. Place the roast shallot. Lay the carved duck breast on top, skin upwards. Add the heart and liver alongside. Scatter the toasted almonds. Finish with a drizzle of lavender honey, the duck sauce, and the shiso, mustard cress and bulls blood leaves.

Eat it while the skin is still crisp.

Full recipe is free for all subscribers.

The version I'm talking about came in a big ol’ glass with a long spoon, usually by the sea. Tinned fruit, ice cream from a tub, maybe a wafer if you were lucky. Some good memories for me.

This one's a bit different.

At 12:51 we took the idea and rebuilt it from scratch. Same name, same glass, same long spoon. Everything else changed. The strawberry juice steams over a bain marie for two hours until it runs clear and tastes like the purest version of itself. Trust me, you want to taste this fucking strawberry. The cheesecake is set with elderflower cordial. The meringue is dried overnight with hibiscus powder until it's the colour of a sunset and snaps like glass. And the snow… white chocolate, toasted almonds, frozen for 13 hours and blended into a fine crumb. Sprinkle that baby on last and you’ve got yourself a taste of nostalgia.

It sounds like a lot (and it is), so you need to work for this finished beauty, but it’s well worth it. Most of the prep can be done the day before, so do a little planning ahead if you’re going to tackle this one.

The thing I always come back to with this dish is the strawberry juice. Most people would just blend the strawberries. Two hours over steam sounds unnecessary until you taste it. What comes out is completely clear, deeply sweet, with none of the bitterness you get from a blender. It tastes like a strawberry showing off. That's the foundation for the whole dish. Get that right and the rest builds itself.

Don't panic about the equipment. You don't need a dehydrator, a very low heat oven with the door slightly open does the same job. The ice cream needs a churner but if you don't have one, the strawberry juice alone with the cheesecake and snow is still a proper dish.

Make the bits you can a day ahead. Taste as you go. And use a looong spoon. Eesh..

The Recipe

Strawberry Juice

Ingredients

• 1kg second grade strawberries

• 100g caster sugar

Method

1. Place the strawberries and sugar into a bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm.

2. Set over a bain marie and steam for a minimum of 2 hours.

3. Pass through a fine sieve without pressing or squeezing the fruit.

4. Discard the solids. Refrigerate the juice, this is the base for both the gel and the final pour.

Strawberry Gel

Ingredients

• 250g strawberry juice

• 2.5g agar

Method

1. Combine the juice and agar in a pan and bring to the boil.

2. Pour into a bowl and allow to set in the fridge.

3. Once set, blend until smooth, pass through a fine sieve and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Refrigerate.

Elderflower Whipped Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 360g cream cheese

• 125g elderflower cordial

• 150g double cream

• 1 whole egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 gelatine leaves

Method

1. Bloom the gelatine in cold water.

2. Combine the cream cheese, elderflower cordial, double cream, egg and egg yolk and mix until smooth.

3. Melt the bloomed gelatine and stir through the mixture.

4. Transfer to a container and refrigerate overnight to set.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 500ml whole milk

• 500ml double cream

• 240g egg yolks

• 200g caster sugar

• 3 vanilla pods, split and scraped

Method

1. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and white.

2. Bring the milk, cream and vanilla to the boil and pour over the yolks.

3. Return to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, to 84°C. Use a probe, don't guess it.

4. Pass, chill completely and churn. Freeze overnight.

Hibiscus Meringue

Ingredients

• 115g icing sugar

• 60g egg whites

• 6g hibiscus powder

Method

1. Whisk the egg whites in a KitchenAid, slowly adding the icing sugar and hibiscus powder.

2. Whisk to stiff peaks, the colour should be a vivid pink-purple.

3. Pipe and dehydrate for 10–12 hours. No dehydrator: lowest oven setting, door slightly open, 2–3 hours. It should snap, not bend.

4. Store in an airtight container.

Hibiscus powder is available in health food shops and online. It's worth tracking down. The colour alone is reason enough.

White Chocolate & Almond Snow

Ingredients

• 200g white chocolate callets

• 100g flaked almonds, toasted

• 15g salt

Method

1. Melt the white chocolate over a bain marie.

2. Toast the almonds at 175°C for 8–10 minutes until golden.

3. Combine the chocolate, almonds and salt, pour onto a parchment-lined tray and freeze for 13 hours.

4. Once completely solid, blend from frozen until a fine crumb forms. Transfer to a container and keep in the freezer until needed.

To Assemble

Spoon the elderflower cheesecake into the base of the glass. Dot the strawberry gel around it. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Place the hibiscus meringue shards. Pour over a little of the strawberry juice. Finish with the white chocolate snow straight from the freezer, right at the end.

Serve immediately. Share with me on socials if you try this! 

For me, summer is all about making the most of a single ingredient when it's at its absolute peak. Courgettes are one of those vegetables that people often undervalue because they're so abundant. But when you treat them right and use them in different ways on the same plate, they can become something incredibly sophisticated.

This dish is a real celebration of texture and contrast. You’ve got the vibrant, clean green of the chilled soup, the bright acidity and crunch from the compressed courgette, and the rich, creamy tang of the whipped goat's cheese holding it all together.

The secret to keeping that poppin’ green colour in the soup is all about speed and temperature, cooking it fast and chilling it instantly. It takes a little bit of care, but it’s the difference between a dull, muddy soup and a vibrant restaurant-quality dish.

Just like before, don't worry about perfection here. It's an incredibly satisfying dish to build, and you can get all the prep done well in advance. When you're ready to eat, just serve it up, get creative with your garnishes, and enjoy.

The Recipe

Basil Oil

Ingredients

• 25g fresh basil

• 25g chives

• 100g vegetable oil

Method

1. Put the basil, chives, and vegetable oil into a blender. Blend on full speed for 3 minutes until vibrant and smooth.

2. Set a fine sieve lined with a clean j-cloth (or muslin) over a bowl.

3. Pour the oil into the cloth and allow it to drain naturally. What you're left with is a pure, bright green herb nectar.

Whipped Goat's Cheese

Ingredients

• 100g mild goat's cheese

• 100g strong goat's cheese (rind included for extra depth)

• 25g olive oil

• 50g goat's milk

• A pinch of salt and pepper

Method

1. Place all the ingredients into a Ninja Creami tub and blend twice on the 'Ice Cream' mode.

2. Chef's note: If you don’t have a Creami, don't worry, a standard kitchen blender or a stick blender will work just fine to get it perfectly smooth.

3. Transfer to a container and keep in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Compressed Courgette

Ingredients

• 100g courgette

• 200g water

• 100g white wine vinegar

• 50g sugar

• 10g salt

• 2 sprigs of fresh basil

Method

1. Cut the courgette in half lengthwise and slice it really thinly using a mandoline. Place the slices in a heatproof bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and basil sprigs to a boil, ensuring the sugar and salt are fully dissolved.

3. Pour the water into the hot pickling liquid, then pour the whole mixture directly over the sliced courgettes.

4. Set aside to cool and infuse.

Courgette Soup

Ingredients

• 1kg courgettes

• A handful of baby spinach

• 3 sprigs of fresh basil

Method

1. Wash the courgettes, trim the ends, and use a knife to slice off the vibrant green skin. Finely slice the skins and flesh.

2. Set up a large ice bath next to your stove and get your blender ready.

3. Heat a wide, large-surface-area pan over medium-high heat. Add the courgettes and steam-cook them quickly so they soften without losing their bright color.

4. As soon as they are cooked, transfer them immediately to the blender along with the handful of baby spinach and fresh basil sprigs.

5. Blend on high for 3 minutes until completely smooth, then pass the soup through a sieve directly into a bowl set over the ice bath to lock in that striking green color.

6. Taste, season with salt, and once chilled, transfer to a jug and refrigerate.

To Finish

You'll need

• Chilled courgette soup

• Compressed courgettes (drained)

• Whipped goat's cheese

• Basil oil

• Finely cut chives

• Edible cornflowers (optional, for a pop of color)

Place a beautiful quenelle or spoonful of the whipped goat's cheese in the centre of a shallow bowl. Arrange the ribbons of compressed courgette neatly around it. Carefully pour the chilled courgette soup into the bowl. Drizzle with the vibrant basil oil, and scatter over the cut chives and cornflowers to finish.

Serve it cold and fresh. The perfect summer starter.

Tartare is one of those dishes that splits people. Some love it, some won't go near it. But if you've ever had a banger, properly seasoned, the right cut, on-point dressing, people soon change their opinion.

The version we did at 12:51 wasn't a classic French tartare. The dressing has eight ingredients in it. Gochujang, Wagyu beef fat, ponzu, anchovy, togarashi, gherkin juice, Tabasco, shallot. It sounds like a lot, but every single one is doing something. The Wagyu fat. People always ask about the Wagyu fat. It coats the beef and gives it a richness you can't get any other way. Don't skip it, people. Any good butcher will have it or be able to get it for you.

People also want to know about the confit egg yolk. It's not tricky, but it does need a sous vide circulator. If you don't have one, get one. It’s worth it. You can pick one up for around £40 and it opens up a completely different way of cooking. The yolk goes in at 70 degrees for 40 minutes with a little truffle oil. What comes out is silky, rich, half raw, half set yolky bubble, and when you pipe it onto the plate and it breaks into the tartare, that's the moment right there.

Real talk, the crispy seaweed isn't seaweed. It's spring cabbage, shredded fine and fried for 25 seconds. The beer scraps are batter pushed through a conical strainer into hot oil. Both of them are there for texture, and both of them take minutes. The oyster emulsion you might recognise from Episode 1. It’s the same method, same two oysters, same result.

It just f***ing works because every element is doing something different. The beef is raw and cold. The yolk is silky. The scraps and seaweed give you crunch. The brioche is there to bring it all together. It's a lot of components but none of them are difficult, and most of them can be made the day before.

Take your time with the dressing. Taste it as you go. And when you plate it, don't rush, especially with the egg yolk.  

If you make this one, let me know. It's been sitting in the archive long enough.

The Recipe

Steak Tartare Dressing

Ingredients

• 25g gherkin juice

• 25g anchovy sauce

• 25g ponzu

• 5g togarashi (Japanese seven spice — Asian supermarkets or online)

• 10g Tabasco

• 50g gochujang paste (Korean fermented chilli paste — Asian supermarkets)

• 50g Wagyu beef fat (ask your butcher)

• 20g chives, finely sliced

• 20g shallot, finely diced

Method

Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Dress the diced steak just before serving and check the seasoning. This dressing keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days and the flavour improves overnight.

Oyster Emulsion

Ingredients

• 2 oysters, plus their juice

• 5g lemon juice

• 200g vegetable oil

• Salt

Method

1. Blend the oysters, their juice and a pinch of salt for one minute.

2. With the blender running, slowly pour in the oil to emulsify.

3. Check for seasoning and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Keep refrigerated.

Beer Batter Scraps

Ingredients

• 5g plain flour

• 5g cornflour

• 1g baking powder

• Pinch of turmeric

• 10ml lager

• 10ml sparkling water

Method

1. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the lager and sparkling water and stir until smooth.

2. Rest for 30 minutes.

3. Pour the batter through a conical strainer directly into oil heated to 165°C.

4. Fry until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and season with salt straight away.

Crispy Seaweed

Ingredients

• 4 spring cabbage leaves, finely shredded

• Salt

• MSG

Method

1. Heat oil to 165°C.

2. Fry the shredded cabbage for 25 seconds, keeping it moving throughout.

3. Drain on kitchen paper. Season with salt and MSG immediately.

4. Store in an airtight container and it'll keep its crunch for a few hours.

Confit Egg Yolk

Ingredients

• 100g pasteurised egg yolks

• 10g truffle oil

Method

1. Combine the yolks and truffle oil in a vac pac bag and seal.

2. Cook in a water bath at 70°C for 40 minutes until semi-set.

3. Transfer to an ice bath to chill.

4. Blend until smooth, pass through a fine sieve, check seasoning and transfer to a piping bag. Refrigerate until needed.

To Finish

You'll need

• Diced raw steak, dressed in the tartare dressing

• Toasted brioche, sliced

• Oyster emulsion

• Confit egg yolk, piped

• Beer batter scraps

• Crispy seaweed

• A little diced butter

Place the brioche on the plate. Spoon the dressed tartare on top. Dot the oyster emulsion around it. Pipe the confit egg yolk in the centre. Stack the scraps on top, add the crispy seaweed and finish with a little diced butter.

Eat straight away. This one doesn't wait.

It was one of those plates that never really left the menu for long. Every time we took it off, people would ask when it was coming back. That's usually a good sign.

I've always loved cooking scallops because, when they're good, they don't need much. The trick is knowing when to stop. The sweetness is already there, so everything else is about bringing a bit of balance. White peach adds a soft sweetness, the jalapeños give it a bit of kick, the herb oil keeps everything fresh, and the coconut velouté ties it all together without masking the scallop itself.

One thing that's always been important to me is using as much of an ingredient as possible. The velouté is made from the scallop skirts, which most people would throw away. There's loads of flavour in them, and with a little patience they become one of the best parts of the dish.

It might look like something you'd only order in a restaurant, but once you've broken it down into its different elements, it's actually a really enjoyable dish to make. You can prep most of it ahead of time, then all you've got to do is slice the scallops and put everything together when you're ready to eat.

Don't worry about making it look exactly like mine. Taste as you go, trust your instincts, and make it your own.

I'd love to see if any of you recreate this one at home. If you do, tag me or leave a comment below—especially if you were one of the people who used to order it at 12:51.

## The Recipe

### Jalapeño Pickle

**Ingredients**

* 1 jalapeño, finely sliced

* Juice of 1½ limes

* A pinch of salt

**Method**

1. Finely slice the jalapeño.

2. Place into a bowl with the lime juice and salt.

3. Leave to macerate for 20 minutes.

---

### Jalapeño & Herb Oil

**Ingredients**

* 1 jalapeño

* 150g sunflower oil

* 50g mixed herbs (parsley and chives)

**Method**

1. Blend everything together for 3 minutes until vibrant green.

2. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice to keep the colour bright.

---

### Toasted Almonds

**Ingredients**

* 10 whole almonds

**Method**

1. Heat the oven to 180°C.

2. Toast the almonds for 5 minutes.

3. Allow to cool before halving.

---

### Scallop Velouté

**Ingredients**

* 2 scallop skirts, washed thoroughly

* 20g ginger, finely chopped

* 2 banana shallots, finely chopped

* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

* 1 stick lemongrass, bruised and finely chopped

* 200ml cider

* 300ml water

* 300ml coconut water

* Salt

* Lemon juice

**Method**

1. Sweat the scallop skirts, shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass in a pan until the vegetables are soft and the pan is almost dry.

2. Add the cider and reduce completely.

3. Pour in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the coconut water, bring back to the boil, season to taste and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

5. Pass through a fine sieve, chill and keep refrigerated until needed.

---

### To Finish

**You'll need**

* 1 fresh scallop, thinly sliced

* Thin slices of white peach

* Pickled jalapeños

* Jalapeño & herb oil

* Toasted almonds

* Picked dill

* Scallop & coconut foam (if using)

Arrange the sliced scallops and white peach around the plate. Spoon over the pickled jalapeños, scatter the toasted almonds and dill, then drizzle with the herb oil. Finish with the scallop velouté and, if you have one, a light scallop and coconut foam.

Serve immediately while everything is cold, fresh and vibrant.

This was one of my favourite deserts to make at 12:51. The sharpness of the cherry cutting through the richness of the pistachio, the cold of the parfait against the shatter of a filo crisp.

This version is for you to make at home, with the parfaits needing to be made the night before, so get them in the freezer ready to put together tomorrow.

Cherry Parfait

• 125g mascarpone

• 400g whipping cream

• 100g egg yolks

• 50g rapeseed oil

• 100g caster sugar

• 100g cherry jam

• 25g glucose

• 15g water

1. Lightly whip the whipping cream and set aside

2. Whisk the hazelnut oil and mascarpone in thermo

3. Put egg yolks in bowl and whisk to pale and white

4. Take sugar, glucose and water to 121c and add to sabayon and allow to cool

5. Fold in mascarpone mix and fold in cream

6. And freeze in desirable moulds

Pistachio parfait

• 125g mascarpone

• 100g whipping cream

• 100g egg yolks

• 50g rapeseed oil

• 100g caster sugar

• 100g pistachio puree

• 25g glucose

• 15g water

1. Lightly whip the whipping cream and set aside

2. Whisk the hazelnut oil and mascarpone in thermo

3. Put egg yolks in bowl and whisk to pale and white

4. Take sugar, glucose and water to 121c and add to sabayon and allow to cool

5. Fold in mascarpone mix and fold in cream

6. And freeze in desirable moulds

Cherry jam

• 200g cherries

• 100g caster sugar

• Juice 1/2 lime

• Peel of 1 lime

1. Bring to boil, set, blend with lemon juice

2. Pass and put in squeezy bottle

Filo circles

• 100 icing sugar

• 100 pistachio meal

• Clarified butter

• Filo pastry

1. 1 layer, brush butter, almond/sugar mix and repeat twice should be 2 layers 3 if brick sheets

2. Cut to size and bake between to heavy trays at 160c for 9 mins

3. Cool on rack