For the past year Head Chef Phil has been working closely with local company Aylesbury Escargot to perfect the curing process of snail caviar.  The Escargot Pearls have featured on a number of dishes at Paris House over the year and been tried by many guests at the restaurant.

In August 2012, the restaurant hosted the launch of Aylesbury Escargot’s snail pearls which have truly taken off.  The company was signed up on the spot to supply Fortnum and Mason and now Head Chef Phil has been featured in an article about Escargot Pearls in last Friday’s edition of the newspaper.

The Independent reports “Inside the kitchen at Paris House, a half-timbered gem on the Duke of Bedford’s estate in Woburn, I watch Phil assemble a starter of beef carpaccio and braised Aylesbury snails, confit egg yolk, and crispy shallots, which he’ll be offering on the à la carte menu this evening.”

To read the full article please click here.

The Michelin-starred Paris House restaurant, located on The Duke of Bedford’s Estate inWoburn, today hosted the launch of a unique local and British product – Aylesbury Escargot.  The small but exceptional artisanal snail farm, run by local farmers Sophie & Mike Wharton, is the only farm in the UK producing snail caviar and meets an unsaturated need for quality high protein low fat snail meat and snail eggs as ‘escargot pearls’

Invited guests including Fortnum & Mason, Wild Harvest and Yes Chef! were introduced to the Escargot Pearls over Champagne and Canapés.  Sophie and Paris House Head Chef Phil Fanning talked guests through how they have together been perfecting the snail curing process to ensure the exclusive pearls are preserved for the longest possible time in optimum conditions.  Guests then feasted on a bespoke Gourmand Tasting Menu specially created for this occasion by Paris House Head Chef Phil Fanning and which featured a number of dishes with the unique Escargot Pearls.

Says Paris House Head Chef Phil Fanning, “About 6 months ago Sophie turned up at the back door with some raw snails eggs in a little jar, asking me if I could do anything with these. I played around with a number of curing methods and ratios and eventually found something that worked. Since then we have been developing recipes and menus using the pearls and they have become an increasingly used product on my menus. I always like to challenge our Chef’s Table guests with some products they won’t have tasted before and the snails eggs are always a winner.  I believe that Sophie’s product is exceptional but as with all small artisan businesses without support just because it’s exceptional doesn’t mean it will be successful. Hopefully by joining forces with Paris House’s parent company, The 10 in 8 Fine Dining Group, we can offer Sophie some assistance in getting the business into a stable position and Aylesbury Escargot will be around for years to come.”

Guests wishing to try the Escargot Pearls first-hand are now able to do so as the snail caviar features on the A La Carte Menu and on a Chef’s Table Menu at Paris House.

Menu served at Aylesbury Escargot Product Launch, 22^nd August 2012.

Canapes

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Bread

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Amuse Bouche

Snail and foie gras Pate with Iranian Pistachio and figs

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Starter

Ceviche of scallop with apple, thyme and snail caviar

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Main Course

BBQ’d Welsh Wagu with snail and bone marrow fricassee with a tarragon sauce

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Pre Dessert

Snail Egg Mojito!

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Dessert

Sour cherry marshmallow, vanilla parfait with chocolate sauce

As Bedfordshire’s only Michelin-starred restaurant and set in 22 acres of stunning deer park on the historic Woburn Estate, the restaurant has won numerous awards and is a ‘must-do’ for food-lovers.

Phil went head to head in a final cook-off competition with Tom van Zeller, Enzo Mauro and Christopher Cleghorn filmed at Dawnvale’s recently launched North West Design Centre’s theatre kitchen.

Elizabeth Carter, Editor of the Good Food Guide and Food Writer and Restaurant Critic Matthew Norman from the Daily Telegraph were joined by Hi-Life member and Sponsor Denise Jones of Dawnvale.

This year’s Hi-Life Awards (www.hi-life.co.uk) or HILDAs as they are fondly known in the industry took place on Friday 3rd February, 2012 at The Midland Hotel, Manchester.

The Hi-Life Dining Awards are considered the leading food and drink awards in the industry, with nominees and winners voted for by the dining public.

Presented by TV presenter and journalist Paul Ross, guests enjoyed a champagne reception followed by a four-course dinner and a glittering line-up of first-class entertainment including American singing sensation Gwen Dickey of Rose Royce fame.

Stars from stage, screen and sport presented thirteen awards to some of the best restaurants and chefs in the UK and Ireland.

Said Lisa Lund, Hi-Life’s Commercial Director:

“Tonight was a fantastic showcase of the very best in dining excellence and congratulations to all our winners and short-listed entries.  The calibre of participants this year has been exceptionally high.  With more sponsors and partners than ever before this has been our most successful event to date and I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support and enthusiasm, including, in particular, our loyal Hi-Life Dining Club members and restaurants.”

La Bécasse in Ludlow received the highest ranking of the 10 in 8 restaurants placed 24th. Sister restaurants L’ortolan in Reading and Paris House in Woburn were placed 57th and 54th respectively.

Alan Murchison, Executive Chef of the Group said “I am so pleased for the teams that their hard work is being rewarded. This is a great achievement and extremely important list to be included in because it is voted for by the general public.”

During they day, Phil gave a talk to all the children in an assembly followed by two cookery master classes with some of our pupils at the school.

School Govenor Joanne Preston said “The Event was a fantastic success and the children enjoyed so much the talk that Phil gave them in Assembly and then the Masterclasses with them afterwards. The buzz in the school was fabulous. I do believe that it was something that they will always remember, and that it will inspire them for the future.”

To view the photos of the opening on the school’s website, please click here

The Acorns identify the brightest talents in the hospitality industry, and acknowledge flair and reward good work. Each year, thirty people under 30 are nominated by their peers and colleagues for having made an impression in their field, and have done for the past 25 years.  Previous winners include Marco-Pierre White, Marcus Wareing and Michael Caines, all of whom have gone on to become major figures within the industry.

To read the full press release, please click here.

To read the full press release, please click here.

The non-profit event which runs from 15th April to 2nd May 2011 sees the traders of Woburn and Woburn Abbey join together to promote high quality original art by turning the village of Woburn into an art gallery with a sculpture exhibition.

During this time, Paris House is housing the “Torso of The Onyx Queen” in Red Iranian Onyx by celebrated artist Paul Vanstone.

The 2011 celebration of art was launched last Friday with a Champagne & Canapés reception in the gardens of Woburn Abbey.  We were delighted to join the festivities and provided all the drinks and canapés for the occasion.

To visit the Woburn ARTBEAT website, please click here.

Richard Pursey, Chairman of 10 in 8, said on announcing the name this week “Angélique has obvious origins to the restaurant’s past but also has a more subtle link to the fine dining industry as Angélique is a type of herb. We all feel this new name is fitting and continues with the French theme of our other restaurants including the Michelin-starred La Bécasse, L’ortolan and Paris House.

Angélique and its new brand and logo will appear for the first time at a grand opening on the 13th January 2011.

The new website for the restaurant will be www.angeliquedartmouth.co.uk