Like any good chef (and dutiful son), Marcus says he was inspired to cook after growing up on his mum’s excellent home cooking. Born in the North East, he has developed his skills as a chef through working in restaurants in France, Scotland, the United States and at the world famous Harrods store in London.

Marcus’ philosophy is straightforward- the secret of good cooking is good shopping. At the Crown, he works with local suppliers to ensure the menu is a celebration of the best of fresh local produce as well as great cooking.

Rump Steak with a Brandy, Cream, and Peppercorn Sauce

I thought steak would be a good recipe to start with because it is so easy to make a true world class dish of, if you get the cooking – and the shopping- right.   I learned the tricks about steak in France, where they’re unbelievably picky about how they like steak cooked, so thought I could pass them on and you can try them for yourself. Oh and there’s a cheeky brandy peppercorn sauce in there to go with it, too.

Right- to the off!

Ingredients

For the Sauce

30 g of chopped onion

15g chopped green peppercorn

splash of brandy

beef jus if not a good home made beef gravy

finish with 40 ml of double cream

Steak

Rump steak – well matured-  1 per person sized to suit

Method

Soften your onions in a hottish pan then remove from the heat. Next chop up your green peppercorns roughly- not too small- just enough to allow the flavours out, and add the pan with the onions, along with a pinch of black pepper.  Then – taking real care now because this is the bit where the flames are going to shoot up out of your pan- add the brandy, and as soon as the alcohol has burned off add the beef jus. Then put the pan back on the heat and stir.  Once slightly reduced add your cream, stir a couple of times, and remove from the heat.   The sauce is now pretty much ready bar gentle reheating just before serving,

Next, take your steak and coat it on both sides with some oil. Notice we’re actually oiling the steak itself rather than the pan which we’ll leave dry.  This way the steak will grill properly and taste much better for it.  Add your steak to a really hot grill pan, and cook for time according to taste.  I like steak rare to medium, so a couple of minutes on each side absolute maximum will do for this, and increase slightly if you like your more well done.

After cooking just let your steak rest for a minute or two on a tray or plate, before serving with – of course- chips, and your peppercorn sauce.  Some like to pour the sauce onto the steak, personally I like it on the side so I can dunk my chips in!

Enjoy!

Yours – in the kitchen

Marcus