Can you tell us a little about your career in food before Quince?
I started working in London 15 years ago. I got my first, like, proper kitchen job in Gordon Ramsay for 3 years in two different restaurants. I went to America for a year and worked at Gramercy Tavern, then came back and was at Lyles for about five years. I then worked at The River Cafe as their executive pastry chef which they never had as a role before which was cool.

Do you agree that cooking is a labor of love?
I think so. I guess. I think it's an emotional exercise. It's always a funny thing of equal parts, of labor and love.
I think it's detrimental to people to HAVE to do it. I think of that because when you look at people that have to cook in factory settings, or where it's production rather than creation of something nourishing. But there's such a big difference between those for me. So for me, yes, always.

We know how much you love your flour supplier Landrace mill in Somerset. How do you go about sourcing new ingredients from new suppliers?
I've been cooking in London for like 15 years, so I think there's quite a kind of natural evolution at this point, people know what I am interested in, so that if another chef finds someone who they love they will then pass them on to me. It's a natural cycle supporting smaller scale farms outside of London doing really amazing things. Everyone knows everyone. It is a really relationship based industry, I think.
And when it's a small farm or a newer grower, people are very keen to kind of support it and pass the name around as much as possible to people that they know will support it.
For example the nuts we use are from Food and Forest. Before then we were just buying from the dry store company. Kim at Small Food Bakery in Nottingham had found these guys because she wanted to find nuts that were well farmed. And then she introduced them to my friend Andrew at Landrace bakery. And then, he introduced them to me, and I've used them solidly for every place I've worked since.

Whose work or food are you enjoying at the moment?
I always love what Hamblin Bakery does in Oxford. I think they do a really good job of respecting British baking tradition. She's got some Swedish family, so that comes into it too, it feels very expressive of her.

Desert wise I love everything that Spring makes. Out of anywhere that I wish I worked it has to be there. Everything is so beautiful, so precise.

What do you like most about Falcon?
I really hold that William Morris quote of ‘having nothing in your home that is not beautiful nor useful’.
And I always feel like Falcon really fits perfectly into that, like, they've got a really lovely, utilitarian feel, but as objects are always really beautiful and have a really lovely tactile nature.

What local spots are you loving at the moment?

Of course Neals Yard dairy on the Essex road, they are good pals of ours. The Bearing Pub is great. They do really good lunches. There's a really lovely quilting shop on the Essex road called Ray Stitich. She’s got lovely fabric. My mum was a quilter so I've got aspirations to make a picnic quilt and now that we have moved i have got more space and time to do that.

You can buy Quince bakery’s Quincemas puddings now, along with Anna's book ‘The last bite’ for delivery in time for Christmas.

What is Lardy cake and why have you chosen this?

Lardy cake is something that our grandparents could greet with glee but which modern generations might be a bit more skeptical of. Lard is a great ingredient, it is a delicious fat that adds a gentle savouriness to sweet bakes whilst keeping things tender and moist. Lardy cake is a yeasted dough rippled through with sweetened lard and juicy currants.

Ingredients:

400g Organic strong white flour

125g organic plain flour

290g whole milk

2 large free range eggs

30g caster sugar

2 tsp fine salt

1 tsp dried yeast

50g soft butter

 

150g room temp lard (or butter)

150g light muscovado sugar

Pinch of salt

Pinch of ground mace

150g currants

Caster sugar to sprinkle

Soft butter for the tin

Warm the milk in a pan until it reaches body temperature (if you pop your fingertip in it should feel neither warm nor cold). Add the warm milk, eggs, caster sugar, salt and yeast to the bowl of a kitchenaid mixer. Add the flours on top and mix with a hook for 5 minutes on a medium high speed. Let the dough rest in the mixer for 10 minutes. Mix again for 3-4 minutes before adding the soft butter. Mix on a high speed for 2-3 minutes until the butter is well incorporated. The dough should look smooth and glossy at this point. Shape the dough into a smooth dough and transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm to double in size. You can also pop it into the fridge overnight at this point where it will rise more slowly but will be nice and workable.

Whilst the dough rises soak the currants in some strong hot tea. I like an early grey or breakfast tea. Combine the lard, muscovado sugar, salt and mace together and beat together until it is soft and smooth. Generously brush the cake tin with soft butter and then dust with sugar to create a sugary crust.

Once the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a well floured surface and roll it to rectangle that is about 30cm x 60cm. Spread the lardy mixture in an even layer all over the surface then drain the currants and sprinkle over in an even layer. Fold the dough into three like you would a letter. Lightly roll the dough again with your rolling pin just to make sure the layers have stuck together. Cut the dough into 4 equal, long strips along the longest edge. Twist 2 strips together and place into the tin. Twist the remaining two strips and place on top. Cover with a tea towel and place somewhere warm to rise again. It should rise to a little under double in volume. Bake in a preheated oven at 180c for 30-40 minutes. Insert a skewer to check it is cooked all the way through (if you have a thermometer it should be above 92c). Allow the cake tin to rest for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cake stand or serving dish.