CHEF'S DISH: Tasty way to beef up a real bargain meal

But he cites his mother’s humble-yet-creative suppers as a key inspiration behind his 25-year career.

One of five children, Charlie grew up in Leeds. He learned his skills in acclaimed kitchens nationwide and became head chef at Turner’s London restaurant before moving to Sheffield and ultimately launching Peppercorn, on Abbeydale Road South, two years ago.

But he has never forgotten the kitchen table dinners of his childhood: “An all-time firm favourite is my mum’s corned beef hash and dumplings – it’s simple, delicious and can be made very cheaply,” he says.

“Just the smell transports me back to my parents preparing home-cooked meals for the clan on a budget... Though Henderson’s Relish does feature when I make it now, since moving to Sheffield and discovering the best kept culinary secret!”

Those memories will no doubt be with Charlie this weekend at Sheffield Food Festival, when he teams up for a cookery demonstration with Sheffield-based Approved Food, sponsors of this year’s event.

The company specialises in selling food that is nearing or past its ‘best before’ date at bargain prices – an approach that resonates with Charlie: “I was given a guided tour round their Tinsley warehouse by founder Dan Cluderay who explained the confusion between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ – which leads households to throw away perfectly good food and generates millions of pounds of waste each year.

“When I was growing up I was very aware about food waste and I think society has come back to those values, moving away from what has been a very ‘disposable’ attitude and towards a more conscious responsibility.”

Dan believes that educating people about the facts could lead to an annual saving of £50 million for UK families.

And Charlie will be helping him to put it to the test at this weekend’s food festival – where he’ll be using Approved Foods ingredients to cook his mum’s beef hash.

Members of the audience will have a chance to sample the dishes to see if they can taste the difference.

Dan says: “It’s great to be involved with so many wonderful local producers and we’re really looking forward to showing the audience that our food is still #PerfectlyGood to eat!”

See Charlie at 1pm on Saturday at the demo marquee in the Peace Gardens. Approved Food will also be staging demonstrations with The Real Junk Food Project at 1pm on Sunday and Monday.

Mum’s corned beef hash and dumplings

INGREDIENTS:

(serves 4)

1 large onion

2 carrots

1 stick of celery

2 potatoes

1 large tin of corned beef

1 litre beef stock

100g suet

200g self-raising flour

oil for frying

METHOD:

HaSH

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC.

Roughly dice up the onion, carrots and celery.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry vegetables until onion softens (approx 5 minutes). Place in a large casserole dish.

Peel potatoes and cut into large cubes. Add to casserole with beef stock.

Place in moderate oven and cook for 40 minutes.

DUMPLINGS

In a bowl, mix together the flour and the suet.

Add water, a drop or two at a time, until the mixture becomes a paste, similar in consistency to soft plasticine. Divide into 8 dumplings.

Dice the corned beef and add to the casserole dish; place the dumplings on top and cover with lid.

Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid and cook for a further 5 minutes to colour the dumplings.

Serve – adding a little Henderson’s Relish for extra flavour!