Try This 3-Course Dinner By Private Chef Neill Anthony Who Has Cooked For Madonna, Victoria Beckham, and Elton John

He is trained in the kitchens of Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, and cooks for prestigious clients and celebrities. He is Neill Anthony and he is a private chef.

Neill Anthony is a chef who has worked in the kitchens of the greats. After his immense training under Michelin-starred chefs, he has decided to pursue a career as a private chef—after he came back and played football for the World Cup in 2010, that is. Talk about wearing many hats! And even though he is based in Cape Town, he is contracted by people all around the world to create a sumptuous spread for their dinners, home entertaining, and parties.

 

 

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His skills translates really in the quality of work that he delivers. For a small dinner with six to eight people, Neill can do it all, from prep to cleaning. For bigger parties, he would sometimes bring in his assistant.

And some of this magic is translated into the screen via Neill Anthony Private Chef, his television show that showcases how he creates dishes for his most prominent clients. Some of his biggest clients that he featured in his show includes model and actress Carishma le Martin, South African TV presenter and producer Carol Bouwer, racehorse owner Marsh Shirtliff, and influencer Kumari Govender.

 

For the premiere of season 2, Neill cooks a beautiful 3-course dinner for singing sensation Arno Carstens, former lead singer of The Springbok Nude Girls and now an award-winning solo artist. Neill has released 10 studio albums with over 20 top ten singles, winning him five South African Music Awards.

 

For Arno’s dinner with his wife Mel and their friends, Neill prepared three exciting dishes: Spelt Risotto with Ox Tongue, Rabbit in a Snow Storm, and Cheesecake Mousse with Passionfruit.

 

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Want to recreate this 5-star dinner by Neill? He shares the recipes featured in his TV show on his website, NeillAnthony.com.

 

Spelt Risotto with Ox Tongue

• 3 turnips, peeled and sliced on a mandolin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 15ml White-wine vinegar
• 125g cold butter, diced
• 2-3 shallots, finely sliced
• 500g pearl barley
• 1.5L hot chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• 200g pecorino, finely grated
• 1 ox tongue
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 head garlic, halved
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• Olive oil, for frying
• Salt, to taste

 

1. Place turnip slices in a bowl. Add sugar, salt, and a splash of white-wine vinegar. Mix and set aside.
2. For the risotto, add barley and toast briefly. Add all the stock. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes while stirring every now and again.
3. Add crème fraiche.
4. Remove from heat, and add chives and pecorino, stirring gently 
5. For the braised Ox tongue, season tongue with salt. Sear in pressure cooker.
6. Add onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds. Cover with water, close with a lid. Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
7. Remove the tongue and strain the liquid, reserving the stock.
8. Cool, peel, and trim the tongue. Cut in half lengthways and press between 2 trays, for 3-5 hours.
9. Remove and cut into cubes of 1cm
10. Sauté tongue cubes until crispy.
11. Top the risotto with sautéed tongue and serve.

 

 

Rabbit in a Snow Storm

 

• 3 bone out rabbit saddle, shoulder and leg separate (kidneys and livers reserved)
• Olive oil
• A few sprigs of thyme
• A few bay leaves
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2L chicken stock
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 400ml whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
• 2 shallots peeled and sliced 
• 6 garlic cloves 
• 800g button mushrooms, sliced 
• 120ml balsamic vinegar
• 50g butter 
• Tapioca multidextrose
• Fresh ceps and wild mushrooms
• Wood sorrel  

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Heat oil in a pot. Sear legs and shoulder meat and add salt, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and garlic cloves.
3. Deglaze with a little chicken stock and then add all the stock.
4. Braise for 1 hour in the oven.
5. Remove the rabbit and set aside, reserving chicken stock/braising liquid for serving.
6. Shred meat off legs and shoulders and place in a bowl.
7. Place chicken breasts in a food processor and blitz. Slowly add cream to form a paste.
8. Remove from blender and cover in cling wrap. Refrigerate.
9. Sauté liver and kidneys briefly and then chop roughly. Refrigerate.
10. Mix the chicken mousse, shredded leg meat, and chopped liver and kidneys. Cover and chill until needed.
11. Lay rabbit saddles flat on a board. Season rabbit saddles with salt and spread with wholegrain mustard.
12. Roll about 1/2 cup of mousse filling into a thin sausage (saddle length).
13. Lay sausage along the spine of the saddle.
14. Roll the saddle neatly, making sure the filling is neatly tucked in the middle.
15. Roll up tightly in cling film, tying both ends. Chill until needed.
16. Roll any leftover mousse into walnut-sized balls. Cover and set aside.
17. For the mushroom ketchup, add the garlic and button mushrooms and cook for about 20 minutes.
18. Add balsamic vinegar and a knob of butter and cook until reduced.
19. Season and blend in a blender ’until smooth then pass through a sieve and set aside.
20. For the olive oil snow, place steaming basket over simmering water. Steam rabbit loins for 15 minutes then remove and allow to rest.
21. Warm ketchup over medium heat and place in a squeeze bottle. 
22. Heat a non-stick pan over meduim heat and add a splash of olive oil. Sauté the rabbit meat balls until golden brown then set aside.
23. Remove the rabbit from the cling film and cut into 1-cm discs.
24. Cook the discs for 30 seconds each side then remove.
25. On the same pan, sauté mushrooms until cooked then remove.
26. Reduce leg braising liquid to form sauce.  
27. To plate, place sliced rabbit loin on the plate. Dot ketchup around rabbit. Top with rabbit meatballs, sauté mushrooms, snow, sorrel, and sauce.

 

 

Cheesecake Mousse with Puffed Rice and Passionfruit

 

• 500ml whipping cream
• 200ml milk 
• 500g caster sugar
• 2 squirts vanilla paste
• 250g full-fat cream cheese
• 300g puffed rice
• Flesh from 4 passion fruit

 

1. Heat cream and milk with 200g caster sugar and vanilla paste.
2. Pour onto room-temperature cream cheese and whisk until smooth.
3. Put into espuma gun and chill.
4. For the puffed rice, warm 300g castor sugar gently until caramel forms.
5. Add in puffed rice.
6. Stir and pour onto silicon mat. Spread out evenly and allow to set.
7. To serve, charge espuma gun with 2 chargers, shake well.
8. Spray into serving bowl and top with puffed rice and passion fruit.

 

 

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For more 5-star dishes and celebrity dinners, catch Neill Anthony Private Chef on Metro Channel, channel 52 on Sky Cable and channel 174 on HD.