This probably was love at first bite! Richard Bertinet had no other
idea than to become a baker. His uncle had a
bakery in Paris and his mum used to work behind the counter in a
baker’s shop. Richard would haunt the local bakery to watch the
befloured and T-shirted men (could fancy that myself!) working at the
hot ovens.
Richard started his career in earnest when he was still at school. He
would spend half his time at his lessons and then the other half and
weekends at the bakery. After leaving school he continued his training
at a number of bakeries in Brittany and also with the Grand Moulin de
Paris.
In the mid 1980’s Richard moved to the UK and his catering journey
progressed via the Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire, becoming head chef at
the Rhinefield House Hotel in the New Forest. The Silver Plough at
Pitton in Salisbury is where in 1990 he was awarded Egon Ronay’s Pub of
the Year, and American Express Magazine’s UK Pub of the Year.
In 1996, a position as Operations Director with the Novelli Group of
restaurants brought him to London, where in 1998 he started advising
small food-related businesses. After leaving Novelli Richard started
working with a number of small businesses helping them to improve the
quality of their food, and the business flourished such that he set up
the Dough Co., his consultancy business, in 2000.
Between 2000 and 2004, Richard split his time between consultancy work,
advising on the development of new products for several supermarket
chains, teaching at London cookery school Divertimenti, and writing.
In 2004, with a young family, Richard and his wife Jo decided that it
was time to leave London and head west to be closer to Jo's family. The
plans for The Bertinet Kitchen began to take shape and they found the
premises at 12 St Andrew's Terrace, Bath, at the tail end of that
year. The cookery school opened in September 2005 in the same month
that Richard's first baking book, DOUGH, was published. The Bertinet
Kitchen has done so well that it is the winner of Tourism Experience of
the Year 2008/9 South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
“I have been a baker almost all of my life and crazy about bread since
I was a kid, but it wasn’t until I started teaching people how to bake
simple breads at home that I really appreciated what fun, and what a
sense of achievement almost everyone experiences when they realise, for
the first time, what can be done with some flour, yeast, water and a
little salt.”
I asked Jo if she also had a catering background. “Nope – until June
2005 I was a commercial litigation lawyer in the city at one of the big
international firms – I had done that for 13 years but found it
difficult to combine with a family, so the cookery school was a way for
Richard and I to work together and combine our talents.”
Has Richard noticed a change in British food since he first moved to
the UK? He remembers his arrival in 1988. “In Britain I knew there was
a strong tradition of home baking, but when I arrived here I was
shocked to find that very few people were bothering to any more, not
because there was a fantastic bakery around every corner, but because
the staple diet was the sliced white loaf.” Jo and Richard both agree
that things are much better these days. “Absolutely yes – much improved
– there has been a complete revolution in this country and in many
places it is now much better than France,” says Jo.
Even if you marry a chef it’s likely that you will be the one cooking
for the kids. “I tend to cook for the children but Richard usually
cooks for friends – we eat very informally at home – lots of simple
French and British home cooking.”
Would Richard and Jo be happy if the kids wanted to become bakers? The
hours are said to be horrible! “I am sure Richard would be happy that
they wanted to follow in his footsteps but I can think of much easier
ways to make a good living!”
So, plans for the future? I can tell you that Richard is working on
another couple of books. All those of us who appreciated his first two
look forward to more.
Crust
This is the second bread book by Bath-based baker Richard
Bertinet and
doesn’t disappoint. If you have Dough in your cookbook collection you
will already have reserved a bit of space just next to it for this
sequel.
 Richard has a
very different technique for kneading dough but if you follow his
method you will be producing the lightest bread imaginable. Crust is
the book for you if you have failed in the past to produce a loaf that
is anything other than brick-like.
Photographer Jean Cazals has, once again, produced fine pictures that
illustrate the process of bread making. The combination of Richard’s
written instructions and Jean’s photographs enable you to feel
confident that you can, with practice, achieve a professional and tasty
loaf, or Bath Bun, or Gingerbread Biscuit...or many other delicious
baked treats.
Crust, like Dough, has a DVD included which gives detailed instructions
for the slightly more complicated breads like Sourdough. I say more
complicated but it’s not a difficult process to make fabulous
traditional Sourdough. Richard takes the fear out of fermented bread
and teaches you that, yes, you can do this at home. You are missing
something very special if you have never tasted Sourdough bread. It has
a flavourful tang that is unique.
Home bread-making allows you to use different types of flour to
produce, using the same kneading and baking process, amazingly
different breads. There are no additives to increase shelf life, no
flavour enhancers. You have total control over the bread your family
eats. Your additives will be some whole grains, some raisins, some nuts.
Richard was born in Brittany so it’s no surprise that he also includes
Croissants and my very favourite, Brioche. It’s not as difficult as you
might imagine to present warm, fragrant, sweet breads for Sunday
breakfast. All the information is in this book to enable you to impress
the in-laws with your skill, and I promise that shop-bought croissants
will never cross your threshold ever again.
Most of us eat bread every day. It’s a healthy part of our diet if we
make good choices. There are lots of different flours to try that will
help to improve digestion and manage problems like wheat intolerance.
You take care to buy the best fruit, vegetables, meat and fish because
it’s important to give your family good food. Baking your own bread is
another way (and an easy, fun way) of ensuring flavourful and
nutritious meals...and the kids will never ask for white sliced again.
Crust
Author: Richard Bertinet
Published by: Kyle Cathie
Price: £19.99
ISBN 978-1-85626-720-5
Dough
This chap Richard Bertinet has really got something here.
It’s a
totally different approach to bread-making and it’s explained and
illustrated in his book Dough.
I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about Richard’s work before
reading this book but now I am an enthusiastic convert of this man from
Brittany. I make bread about twice a week so this will be a hands-on
adventure.
How can Richard’s method of bread-making be so very different from
others? Have a look at the DVD (each copy of the book comes with one)
and you will see. I would say that the DVD is an essential part of
understanding and enjoying the process. I will go further and say that
if I had used Richard’s recipe for basic dough but my usual method of
kneading, I would have been shocked and I probably would have
complained about a printing error!
It’s all about...well, the dough! It’s far softer that regular dough
and gives the impression of being just one step away from sauce! Watch
the DVD and you will see Richard transform this unpromising semi-liquid
into the silkiest, airiest dough you would ever have seen. You will be
as amazed as I was and will want to have a go right away.
Dough starts with Richard’s basic bread recipes and takes us down
different avenues. By the time you have finished reading the book and
practised a bit you will be able to make 50 varieties of scrumptious,
professional-looking bread.
Richard offers examples of dozens of the usual bread suspects but also
some spectacular additions which will become as popular as Delia’s
Sticky Toffee Pudding, quicker than you can say Mon Dieu! Puff
balls are light hollow spheres just waiting to be filled with some kind
of extraordinary salad. What a presentation! Or how about a soup bowl
made from bread, or an Apricot and Oat loaf made from Richard’s brown
bread dough. Who could resist a home-made doughnut from the sweet dough
chapter? Any of us who are transported by those delicious Mediterranean
breads will love Richard’s olive dough and the colourful and sun-filled
breads made from it.
The photography by Jean Cazals is marvellous. Not only does he show the
finished breads to perfection but also the illustrations of the
step-by-step method are helpful and easy to follow. This large format
book and its DVD is a real winner.
Dough
Author: Richard Bertinet
Published by: Kyle Cathie
Price: £15.99
ISBN 978-1-85626-762-5
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