First stop, farmers' market!

Alan Stewart is head chef at Fulham brasserie Manson. Here, he talks about his enthusiasm for farmers’ markets and seasonal produce, his most memorable meal and the food that he can never resist

On a cold Sunday morning in December, recently-appointed head chef at Fulham’s Manson restaurant, Alan Stewart, tore himself away from the heat of his own kitchen to do a spot of cooking at Parson’s Green farmers’ market. The idea was to inspire shoppers and show off just how wonderful seasonal produce is by making dishes using ingredients bought from the market. It was also an opportunity for Alan to make connections with independent growers and, of course, to encourage people to drop by for a meal at Manson.

It was a treat indeed. From the Handpicked Shellfish Company’s mussels cooked with Brussels sprouts, smoked bacon, cider and cream to venison from the Mersham Shoot with pickled beetroot and Jerusalem artichokes, followed by glazed Essex apples cooked with cinnamon, rum-soaked raisins and cinder toffee, it didn’t take long for a crowd to form around the savoury smells of the open air kitchen and enjoy sampling Alan’s tasty dishes (see recipes for more).

Alan took up the position as head chef at Manson, a relaxed neighbourhood brasserie on the busy Fulham Road, in October. Prior to this, he spent 12 years training with some of the UK’s best chefs. These include two years working as head chef under the celebrated Tristan Welch at Kensington’s Launceston Place and before that two years under Bruce Poole at Chez Bruce in Wandsworth (if you’re in the mood for drooling, just take a look at his sample December menu). Alan’s training has also taken him to Perthshire’s grand Gleneagles Hotel, which has long upheld a reputation for excellent cuisine and fine dining.

It was while working at his local gastro-pub, the Anglesea Arms in Hammersmith, aged just 15, that his love of food really took hold, though both his parents and sister Laurie, who runs front-of-house at Manson, were definite influences. Alan, 29, says, ‘As a young person I was quite unadventurous but aged 15 something awakened in me. Growing up in a household where eating was a big focus definitely had an impact. We had a large garden and grew a lot of our own produce so much of what we ate was home grown. There were different influences from within the family as my mum’s mum was an amazing chef whose father was Russian. Chopped liver on Sundays was one of her specialities.’

Celebrating the seasons

A continual theme running through all Alan’s training has been the importance given to using the best of local seasonal produce. It is his experiences of working with many of the best chefs in Britain that have undoubtedly shaped his ethos today. He says, ‘I spent 12 years working under some great chefs and I’ve taken little bits that have inspired me from all of them and am now using them in my own way. I take the best produce from the British Isles and cook it with love, care and attention to create the best tasting dishes which put the produce on display.

‘It’s about showing respect to the produce in order to show it off to the best of its ability. You can’t do this if you cook out of season. This is why farmers’ markets are absolutely fantastic, the fact that they make all this wonderful seasonal produce like Jerusalem artichokes, Brussels sprouts and game available to people at the right time of year. It also means people get a chance to meet independent producers and they get to sell direct to customers. There’s no better way of shopping, and it’s also cheaper to buy what’s in season.

‘It just comes down to wanting and being able to cook because people aren’t going to buy vegetables if they can’t prepare them. Take Jerusalem artichokes, they’re incredibly versatile. You can make soup with them, purée them, thinly slice them and eat them raw, pan fry them gently in butter and stock. They’re wonderful!’

Knowing your sources

Having respect for ingredients is at the heart of Alan’s philosophy. He says, ‘Our gardener comes in every day with produce from our allotment and we also use small, independent producers. Everything at the restaurant is made on site. We butcher our own animals, churn our own butter, make our own mustard and ketchup and prepare all the fish ourselves. There are two reasons for this. It means we’re in control of the produce we’re selling so we have a greater knowledge of it. And, as a youngster, I really benefited from training under great chefs and I want to be able to do the same for the people who work here.’

The best of British     

Alan is clear about what he wants to offer people.

He says, ‘We try to offer great value for money.
We’re creating interesting and innovative dishes using the best possible seasonal produce in an instinctive way, and having worked in amazing restaurants I think my food is as good as theirs. But I don’t have linen tablecloths or lots of waiters. I want a relaxed atmosphere and that goes back to my love of the Mediterranean. Seeing French families around the table for four hours together enjoying food and wine is my idea of how to eat well. 

‘I still think we’re ten years behind the continent in the way we shop and eat but our food culture is really blossoming. Things like farmers markets, chefs and producers have slowly gone, ‘We can do this.’

I think farmers’ markets should be set up all over the place and opened up to as many people in as many areas as possible to give more people an opportunity to shop there and enjoy the best of British produce.’

See the Recipes section for dishes cooked at the market.

Alan Stewart’s best of

Best expensive meal – L’atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris (one dish in particular stood out: soft shell crab with avocado puree, well worth queuing for, they don’t take bookings).

Best inexpensive meal – pizza at Franco Manca, Brixton.

Most memorable dish – a barbecued grey mullet on a little island off Belize cooked by a Creole guy sitting on the beach.

Most admired chef – Stephen Harris, chef patron at the Sportsman pub in Seasalter, Kent (which happens to be my favourite pub, he really does have good taste!)

Guilty foods  – Tunnocks teacakes and Haribos, especially the fizzy cherries.

Christmas dinner – kippers for breakfast, always, a family tradition, followed by Rib of Beef cooked by his dad, who wanted to be a chef himself but his parents talked him out of it.

Sample dinner dishes at Manson

• Salt baked beetroot, potato dumpling, goats cheese, walnuts
• Rib of beef, bone marrow, chips, green salad
• Roast gurnard, salt-baked parsnip, black cabbage, fennel seed yoghurt