Chef Naturelle

Home
Chef Naturelle

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Chef Naturelle, .

Naturopathic chef based in Hertford and specialising in delicious and nourishing plant-based whole food cooking offering cooking lessons, retreat catering and pop-up events.

05/05/2025

The best time of year.

Spring really is the best time of year and a delicious time to be cooking. After a long winter of limited produce that needs time to cook comes an array of freshness, colour and textures.

Radishes are roasted and generously sprinkled with sea salt. If you’ve never roasted radishes before, you’re in for a treat! These spicy Cherry Belle become sweet like candy and will become your new favourite snack.

Potatoes are boiled and dressed with mint and a strong mustard dressing.

Asparagus are steamed and a dollop of wild garlic butter is dropped while they are still hot, allowing the butter to melt and coat them.

I picked up some beautiful red Russian Kale at , blanched it and shocked it in cold water before blending with chickpeas for a delicious purée. On top, pointed cabbage is braised and then cooked in stock for a melt in the mouth result. I love my cabbage when it melts in the mouth, something inherited from my grandmother and which I count to pass onto@next generations. A sprinkle of Cornish kelp to finish.

04/05/2025

Upside down rhubarb, chocolate and orange cake.

I spent all morning walking in the woods, playing with my son play among the trees, watching him trying to pick (successfully!) a solitary bee, and picking nettle and hawthorn.

When I got back, I was craving for chocolate cake. After taking my son for his nap, I went to the kitchen, took out some trusted ingredients out of the cupboard and placed them on the counter. I also had fresh rhubarb and I fancied using it, one of my favourite ways being in an upside down cake. Usually, I pair rhubarb with orange and rosemary but my love for pure and dark cacao is strong these days (oh hello magnesium! 🍫), so I decided to combine these three ingredients together. I could see how the tartness of the rhubarb would go well with the richness of the chocolate. I changed one of the recipes I know by heart to include raw cacao powder while making sure my dry-wet ratio was the same (so there was some note taking involved), olive oil in place of coconut oil and a generous amount of orange zest. In the oven it went, and after just 30 minutes patiently waiting in front of the oven, it was ready. Almost. Gluten-free cakes always need to rest a little in the tin to avoid falling apart. So I waited some more, then turned the tin upside down onto a plate, the contrast of the pink and green hues of rhubarb against the dark brown sponge taking my breath away. I couldn’t wait for it to cool down completely to slice it, it was so delicious. The sponge is soft, rich in chocolate, just sweet enough and zesty from the orange with its centre slightly runny, which I adore. The rhubarb is soft and sticky, caramelised. My idea of a lovely Sunday.

19/04/2025

Nature awakens and the soil is bursting with life, generously carpeting the bare Winter ground with luscious leaves and bright flowers, fresh leaves and scented blossoms popping on the trees above us. “Weeds” mingle together in a gorgeous mess and offer us the freshest food and most dense rich nutrients we need at this time of year. What a time to be in nature!

In my walk yesterday, I picked nettles, dandelion flowers and cleavers.

🌱 Nettles will be weaved through falafel and dried to use in infusion - nettles are super nutritive especially rich in iron easily absorbed by the body and they are an ally for those suffering with hay fever.

🌼Dandelion flowers are currently infusing with rosehips in raw apple cider vinegar and honey for oxymel magic to be served at a Beltane gathering in a couple of weeks.

🌿Fresh cleavers are infusing in water and left in the sunshine to soak all the solar energy transforming into a powerful spring tonic.

14/04/2025

Easter treats with a chocolate sponge cake filled and topped with a silky smooth 75% chocolate ganache!! Beautiful magnolias petals complement the chocolate by giving a hint of delicate and gingery flavour and putting on a striking show with their gorgeous purple colour 🌺

This is one of my versions of the «Nid de Pâques » (Easter nest cake) that I grew up eating (my version being without refined sugar, without gluten, high in protein, you know me 😉) - a flavoured genoise and a generous amount of buttercream of the same flavour, decorated with a nest shaped using the buttercream and cradling chocolate eggs. They look and taste absolutely delightful!

Happy Easter week to all 🐣 May you all indulge in beautiful treats which taste delicious but are also nourishing body, mind and heart!

23/03/2025

Dinner for my 20 month old - bibimbap with wild rice, sautéed carrots and courgettes, tamari hen of the woods, steamed purple sprouting broccoli, wild garlic and pine nut pesto, clementine pickled red onions.

I take so much pleasure in preparing food for him, and plating it up beautifully. I have always served him the same food as me, believing that he too deserves a lovely looking and delicious plate of food.

He loves hanging or helping in the kitchen when I am cooking, because he gets to taste each ingredient while I am cooking it. I discovered he adores clementine pickled red onions, saying “more” after he tried it, same with the wild garlic pesto which does pack a punch and when he got served the bibimbap, he tasted it and said “good”, with a nod of approval 🤍

15/03/2025

Huge congratulations to and for the publication of their new book - 19th Handbook, all about Bees and honey 🐝 🍯 and for the launch party on Wednesday at the beautiful Holland Park.

Such a delight to be celebrating my dear friend Rachel and sampling some of the recipes she shares in the book - the halva were divine, tahini and honey a favourite pairing making a great snack and satisfying for the sweet tooth.

Importantly, I love that this book, like all River Cottage books, is much more than recipes. It is informative, and helps us understand the earth we live on and the nature we are part of, a little better in order to look after it, a little more too.

03/03/2025

Hummus - what are the differences between blending a can of chickpeas or using dried chickpeas?

Better taste, better texture, more nutrients and a better absorption of them, full satisfaction and 100% gourmand!

What I call a proper hummus - using good quality dried chickpeas, soaked for at least 12 hours in filtered water, then cooked for 50 minutes. The skin is removed, a lengthy but necessary process for a silky finish. In the blender goes fresh lemon juice, very good organic whole tahini (high in calcium), sea salt flakes, fresh garlic and a couple of ice cubes, a game changer trick learnt from . This is the canvas of a multitude of versions but already a very good hummus.

In a world that is fast paced and where quick alternatives and fixes are celebrated, taking the time to prepare food properly is an act of rebellion!

27/01/2025

Forced rhubarb is here and it feels like the cycle of the season is starting all over again. Who else is excited? I certainly am, because forced rhubarb brings with it the bright, cheery jolly promise of Spring and delicious, fresh-tasting dishes after what felt like a long Winter!

I cooked the first Yorkshire forced rhubarb of the year with its great companion the blood orange. Both snuggled in a dish, I sprinkled a touch of coconut sugar and drizzled the juice of a blood orange mixed with the seeds of a vanilla pod before roasting until just tender. I served it with a cacao-Piemonte hazelnuts-coconut buckwheat granola and almond milk for my client. It would also be very delicious as a dessert with coconut yoghurt, a drizzle of honey and a few thyme leaves.

05/12/2024

Winter Essentials - going outside first thing in the morning to regulate the circadian rhythm, breathe some fresh air and notice every little beautiful thing that nature has in store for us, and then going back inside and cooking a warming spiced apple porridge while drinking a matcha latte.

02/12/2024

This is with great honour and pleasure that I baked this cake for .is.yle ‘s father’s 60th birthday. I met Ylenia at CNM school, as a teaching role, she’s helped me on workshops and we’ve since become friends. She asked me if I could make a cake for her dad’s 60th who is visiting from Italy and pick it up… from Marlow! If I had any self-doubts (they do creep in from time to time), this is my reminder to quieten them.

Back to the cake, an orange scented gluten free sponge made with brown rice flour and ground almonds, topped with coconut labneh delicately flavoured with orange blossom and vanilla. The addition of golden kiwis is a welcome fresh touch packed with the vitamin c and sunshine we all need at this time of year! Finally, a simple decoration of dehydrated yuzu slices for what I hope will make a glorious birthday cake for Lorenzo.

26/11/2024

Late Autumn in the kitchen. A variety of food cooked for clients, for the family, for friends. Preserving the season by dehydrating and fermenting, creating some natural ornaments with leaves coated in beeswax. The oven is often on, squash roasting for cakes and soups; breads, brioches and endless squash cakes baking. Pancakes and porridges on the stove, while the kettle is a reliable friend for wild brews to nourish and bring warmth in the colder days and nights.

30/10/2024

If you’ve been carving pumpkins, then using up the flesh to make a pumpkin pie is a delicious way to use what would otherwise go to waste. I went to a local pumpkin farm for the first time in my life this year - my 16month-old son loved it and the sight of all the different squashes and pumpkins on a sunny Autumn day was magical, but I got sadden at the sight of hundreds of rotten pumpkins in the field… and also worried about how many more would go to waste, unpicked.

For those who haven’t been carving, I would choose red onion squash and kabocha squash for their dense and flavourful flesh. Butternut squash offers a more subtle and fresher taste but it’s too wet so I would avoid it.

Making the squash purée from either roasted (bolder flavour) or steamed (fresher taste - personal favourite) squash delivers the best taste, texture and nutrition.

I add freshly grated ginger to a gluten-free crust for a spicy lift, and serve it alongside a cream flavoured with freshly grated nutmeg.

Perfect dessert for the celebrations of the harvest season! 🍂 🎃

Address

Website

https://www.chefnaturelle.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Chef Naturelle posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Chef Naturelle:

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Contact The Business
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Event Planning Service?

Country:

City: