It is just over three years since Michelin Starred chef Tom Kerridge opened his second pub in Marlow. In 2017, The Coach was awarded its first Michelin star and achieved fifth place on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list. The vibe is informal and welcoming – no reservations, an open kitchen, and a comfortable leather, tile and brick décor enhanced by a burnished pewter bar.
Head Chef Nick Beardshaw, who has worked with Kerridge for seven years, leads the team at The Coach.
“We use modern techniques but have a classical finish,” he explains. “We don’t mess about, presentation is very simple and the menu is not divided into traditional starters and mains just ‘Meat’ and ‘No Meat’.”
The Coach is bijou in size, but it is, as one would expect, extremely busy. A hard-working kitchen like this needs to be able to rely on the equipment and every individual item of kit needs to earn its place. Among the most used and prized pieces of equipment in this highly regarded kitchen is the Vitamix Vita-Prep 3 supplied by Jestic Foodservice Equipment.
“We use the Vita-Prep 3 all day,” says Nick. “It is extremely high speed and blends things so quickly and smoothly. The high speed is an imperative especially for green purées, and our blends come out so silky and smooth”.
The Vita-Prep 3 has a variable speed setting and an accelerator tool which allows for control and easy processing of dense ingredients. The advanced cooling fan together with the speed of operation ensures that any mixes don’t begin to cook in an overheated blender.
“As an example, one of our popular dishes is the Mushroom ‘risotto’,” explains Nick. “Not actually a risotto at all as it contains no rice, it is made from King Oyster mushrooms which we dice in the Vitamix before sautėeing. We make a butter mushroom mix and purée it in the Vita-Prep 3, and then fold the dice through the purée adding mozzarella and parmesan in classic Italian style. It’s simple but unctuous and creamy, and very delicious.”
“It really is essential for us that we have a machine that can blend as well as the Vitamix can, and I absolutely would recommend Vita-Prep 3 to other chefs. There is nothing else out there that achieves the same result as quickly and effectively in my opinion.”