My name is Nathan Bowles and I became interested in cooking while I was still going to Carterton Community College and had a weekend job as a kitchen porter at The Vines in Black Bourton.
My interest in what was going on in the kitchen grew and, with the encouragement from Ardi Gerges at The Vines and my family, I completed a three-year course for chef qualifications at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College.
I work at The Killingworth Castle in Wootton near Woodstock and have been there as a sous-chef since June 2013.
My signature dish is a vegetarian one – asparagus, wild rice and halloumi salad. And my guilty pleasure when I’m too tired to cook is KFC and I like to try new places with different menus and styles of food. The strangest food I've ever eaten is camel steak, which is in fact a very rich meat.
My Nan always inspired me. She was a great cook and always ready to encourage me in my career and everything else. She sadly passed away recently.
SALAD OF ASPARAGUS, WILD RICE AND CHARRED HALLOUMI WITH CHERRY VINE TOMATO AND NETTLE PESTO
Serves 2
Ingredients
* 1 bunch of asparagus blanched and refreshed
* 100g wild rice
* 1x 200g block halloumi cheese
* 1 bunch of cherry vine tomatoes
* 100g broad beans, blanched and popped
For the pesto
* 2 garlic cloves
* 2 tblsp pine nuts
* 2 tblsp grated parmesan
* 9 tblsp blanched nettles
* 2g salt s 200ml olive oil
Method:
To make the pesto, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined.
Keep refrigerated until needed.
Place wild rice in a pan with 250ml warm water, bring to the boil and simmer until the water has evaporated (about 40 minutes).
Cut the halloumi into wedges, season and drizzle with olive oil, fry over a high heat until well coloured. Set aside until needed.
Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season. Place in the oven at 180 degrees for five minutes until softened. At the time of serving, warm the rice and broad beans in a pan at the same time lightly sear the asparagus in a separate pan.
Spread the rice and beans generously between two plates, top with the halloumi, tomatoes and asparagus.
Finish with the pesto and accompany with dressed leaves of your choice.
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