I’m Carl Isham and I have been head chef at the Turl Street Kitchen for three years. My cooking style is British, taking inspiration from the delicious ingredients found in Oxfordshire and across the country.
My signature dish is house smoked Tamworth pork sausages, crispy brawn, parsnip mash and red wine reduction.
My favourite places to eat and drink around Oxfordshire include Oxfork, the little cafe with the best brunch tucked away on Magdalen Road.
The strangest food I’ve ever eaten is dried squid in Thailand.
My favourite kind of cuisine is Classic British, making the most of the amazing ingredients we can find on our doorstep.
I am inspired by Raymond Blanc.
CRAYFISH BISQUE
To serve six people, you will need:
* 1kg live crayfish
* 2 x carrots, sliced
* 1 x fennel, sliced
* 2 x celery sticks, chopped
* 6 x garlic blubs
* Olive oil
* 4 tins plum tomatoes
* 1 x bottle white wine
* 1 litre fish stock/cold water
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lemon juice
* Double cream, to serve
Put the live crayfish in the freezer so that they go to sleep (making the cooking process as humane as possible…).
When they’ve chilled, smash them up in a large pan lined with grease proof paper and give them a whack with a rolling pin.
Tip the bashed-up crayfish into a roasting tray or casserole along with the carrots, fennel, celery, garlic bulbs and a little olive oil. Roast in the oven heated at 220 degrees C for 20-25 minutes.
Take out the tray and pour in the tinned tomatoes, making sure you scrape all the sticky goodness off the bottom of the tray as you stir them in with the fish and vegetables.
Put the tray back into the oven and roast for another 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, transfer to the contents of the tray into a big saucepan, pour in the bottle of white wine and cook on the hob for 10 minutes.
Add the fish stock or cold water, bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Let it cool, then blitz in a food processor and pass through a sieve.
Pour it back into the saucepan, bring to the boil, and then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Finish off with a drizzle of double cream.
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