Felice Tocchini is owner and head chef of the unique Fusion Brasserie restaurant and bar in Stoulton, just outside Worcester. Having worked for most of his life in catering Felice and his wife Fiorinda decided to follow their dreams and opened Fusion in 2004. Originally located in Alcester Fusion was moved to Stoulton a year and a half later in an effort to find a more suitable venue. Fusion is a retro pub built in circa 1963 over the “ashes” of a much older inn dating back to the 1850s. Fusion is a relaxed, stylish and contemporary restaurant and bar with a welcoming atmosphere. Felice is passionate about food and local ingredients and both the menu and service reflect this. The Brasserie is become extremely popular locally and has also received national reviews.

To find out more about Fusion Brasserie please visit www.fusionbrasserie.com

Felice Toochini

Born in Porcari a small village just outside Lucca in Tuscany, Italy, Felice was raised with a strong connection to food, the countryside and its way of life.  His love of food prompted him to enrol on a 3 year course at the Ferdinando Martini Catering College in Montecatini Terme. Following his graduation in 1982 and at the age of only 16 Felice and his future wife Fiorinda moved to Stratford Upon Avon where they worked at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company Restaurant, positions originally intended to last 1 year. 6 years later following stints in both the kitchen and front of house Felice was appointed Chef Manager of the Shakespeare Company’s newly acquired Seymore House Hotel. Over the 16 years that Felice ran Seymore House he collected AA Rosettes, a listing in Michelin, Heartbeat awards and many more.

In 2000 Felice was approached by the British Sprouts Association and has been their honorary chef ever since. Working with the association has brought considerable media attention including apperances on Country File, GMTV, One Show, BBC Good Food Show and Midlands Today. Some of Felices quirky sprout recipes like “sprouty cake” have gained global media attention with coverage in the USA and Australia. Over the years Felice has also worked with schools to promote fresh local seasonal produce something he is passionate about. In 2004 Felice and Fiorinda left the Royal Shakespeare company and opened Fusion Brasserie, which thanks to Felice’s love of fresh produce with a “fusion twist” has proven a great success. Felice continues to work with the British Sprout Association as well as local schools and has made several appearances at the BBC Good Food Show and Malvern Show. To view Felice’s latest recipe click on ‘read the rest of this entry’

Cornish Whiting in Twisted Spire and sesame seed batter, with triple cooked chips.

Ingredients:

• Oil for deep frying
• 4 x 175g Cornish Whiting fillets (you can use almost any fish)
• 225g plain flour plus extra for dusting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 33oml Twisted Spire
• 1 tbs each of black and white sesame seeds
• 6-8 large floury potatoes, Maris Piper, King Edwards, Desiree preferably

Method:

Start with the chips, this is a long process, but well worth the effort and they keep well in the fridge.

1. Peel and square off the potatoes into rectangles, then cut them into chips about 2cm thick. The length of the pieces is unimportant, but you do want to keep them the same thickness, so that they cook at the same rate.
2. Place them in cold running water to rinse off some of the starch.
3. Bring a large pan of unsalted water to the boil add the potatoes, bring back to the boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or  until the point of a knife easily penetrates the chips.
4. Carefully lift the potatoes out of the water and place them on a tray. Cool down before placing in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
5. For the next stage heat a deep-fat fryer to 130c and plunge in the chips. Cook for about 5 minutes, but do not let them brown. Drain and leave to cool before putting them in the fridge.
6. Once all the above is done prepare the beer batter: Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sesame seeds and whisk in the beer to create a batter with a consistency of a thick double cream that should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add a little extra beer if it seems over thick. Do not add the salt at this stage as it keeps the batter more crisp.
7. Season the fish and dust lightly with flour to enable the batter to stick to the fish.
8. Dip the fish in the batter and fry at 180c for 6 – 9 minutes until golden and crisp.
9. Remove from the fryer and keep warm.
10. Plunge in the chips and cook until golden brown. This may take 8-10 minutes.
11. Season with salt and serve.