Staff Profile: Chris Wilkinson

Position: 2nd Chef at Portofino
Age: 21
Joined the restaurant: August 2002
Initial job: Part-time Pizza Chef
Job History: Joined Portofino from school.
What do I like about working here? I enjoy the work atmosphere in the kitchen. I love creating nice dishes.
Favourite dishes I like cooking: Sea Bass with fennel and rosemary butter. Slow cooked lamb shank. Salmon with mussels and chive sauce.

Favourite dishes I like eating: Tomato and basil bruschetta. Beef fillet or sirloin steaks. I am really into Indian food at the moment.
Favourite holiday: Anywhere hot and busy. Magaluf in Spain is my best to date.
Places I'd like to visit: Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Lapland at Christmas!!
Heroes: My parents, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey.
Thoughts: "Don't take life too seriously, you may not get out alive!"

Krimo says: Chris has gone from strength to strength since starting out with us nearly six years ago. He was given the opportunity to progress and he took it. He is a good listener and a quick learner. His cheerful disposition is a great asset in the very busy environment of Portofino's kitchen.
"Chris, I honestly love your easy going personality and happy face at Portofino. Keep up the good work!"

Cooking steaks....

...can be quite frustrating.

The usual questions are:
"How do you get your steaks so tender?"
"How long do you cook a steak to get it medium to well done or medium rare?"

The answer to the first question is to use a local butcher who hangs the meat for long enough to tenderise it. Two to three weeks will make all the difference.
Once you have a good produce to start off with, the rest is simply cooking by numbers.

1-Choose a heavy-bottomed pan that can retain heat.
2-Warm it up a little then add a tbsp of olive oil. This is enough because it will spread in a warm pan. Use good olive oil because it will not burn.
3-Make sure that the meat is dry. Use kitchen roll if necessary.
4-Once the pan is hot enough (2 minutes) place the steak to seal it on maximum heat.
Do not season until the end. Salt draws moisture leading to the meat being boiled.
Important: Leave the steak alone for around one minute. This will seal it on one side.
Turn it over using tongs . Pricking it with a fork will lead to loss of juices.
5-Seal the steak for another minute.
6-Turn the heat down by half.

HOW you like your steak will determine the length of time you need to cook it.
With your index finger press the steak to test its cooking. The longer it cooks, the firmer it will get.
Below is a simple test the steak.
Gently touch (not squeeze) your thumb with your index finger as in the photos below. Feel the ball of your hand. You will find that it is quite soft. That is how a rare steak should feel like.
Index: Rare
Second finger: Medium to rare
Middle finger: Medium
Third finger: Medium to well done
Small finger: Well done.

Photos modelled by Karen's hand. ( You could've let me get my nails done first!")