Simon says... you can do it

FOR lifelong foodie Simon Wood, a career in the kitchen was always a case of 'when', rather than 'if'. "I've always wanted to cook, I've always watched cookery shows, I've always read cookbooks and I've always wanted to be involved in that. In any concept," the 39-year-old recalls. "So if I can get a cookery TV show, I want one. If I can write a cookery book, I want to do it. If I can win MasterChef, I want to do it."

And he's a man of his word. Since applying for, and winning, MasterChef 2015 – "I got into work one morning and someone had sent me an email that really rubbed me up the wrong way. I applied and never looked back" – Wood, dubbed the series' brightest ever talent, has enjoyed a whirlwind of success.

"It's been crazy; it's been the quickest year of my life. The best but the quickest," quips the Mancunian, who counts stints at Simon Rimmer's Greens Restaurant, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, and Theo Randall at the InterContinental among his exploits.

"It was a massive culture shock, though. Sometimes I still wake up and think, 'Oh God, it's really real', but I've done so much and there's so much more to come."

Rapidly ticking off his bucket list, the father-of-four is seriously busy – first with his debut cookbook, At Home With Simon Wood.

"I want people to look at the book and say, 'My God, look at that; I couldn't do it', but then actually have a good read and think, 'Yes I can'," he enthuses of the book's 'fine dining made simple' ethos. "Do you know what? There's one dish in there that uses one ingredient – cauliflower! There are some spices but essentially it's cauliflower and, to me, it looks outstanding. If someone can generate that dish with some inspiration from my book then I'll be made up.

"Don't be scared of doing it wrong: just learn and practise," he adds.

There's a section dedicated to the art of plating up, too, and chapters covering a range of themes, including salads, non-gluten, pasta, meat, sweet things, the sea and vegetarian dishes.

"Hopefully it will inspire people to turn out some good quality food for friends and family, and not spend a fortune doing it," says Wood, who suggests going for a taster course menu – five dishes, each from different sections of the book – for a well-balanced dinner party. While penning recipes is a straightforward process for the one-time burger-flipper, he admits whittling them down was slightly more complicated. "I don't dislike anything, so I find picking ingredients to put together really easy. The most difficult thing is what not to put in," he exclaims, laughing.

As well as his book release, Wood recently landed his "dream job", as executive chef at his beloved Oldham Athletic AFC.

"I'm going to be opening a fine dining restaurant [at the stadium] too," he reveals. "Initially, it will be a pop-up on the third Thursday of each month, called The Boardroom by Simon Wood. "I'm currently looking at premises [in Manchester] to open a business," he adds, "which is going to be somewhere that's relaxed and contemporary and that serves sophisticated dishes with a modern twist, using wholesome, enjoyable ingredients. I've worked in city centres, I know what people want and I know there's a gap I can fill.

"So there's the book, the pop-up boardroom and the full business," Wood muses. "Busy is good. Busy is definitely good."

Why not get busy in the kitchen yourself? Here are two of Wood's recipes to crack on with...

Chargrilled lamb cutlets with feta and aubergine

(Serves 4)

For the lamb:

300g natural yoghurt

50ml olive oil

Large bunch fresh oregano, chopped

Salt and pepper

12 lamb cutlets

For the aubergines:

8 baby aubergines

Olive oil, for brushing

2 small red onions, peeled and halved

1 red chilli

50g black olives

Salt and pepper

To garnish:

150g feta

In a food processor, blitz the yoghurt, olive oil and oregano and season well. Save a third of this for the garnish and then add the lamb cutlets to a bowl and coat well in the remaining marinade.

Cook on a griddle until charred and nicely cooked, then set aside to rest.

For the aubergines, brush with a little oil and season, then use the griddle pan to char and cook them through.

Add some foil in a frying pan and gently burn the red onion.

Finely slice the chilli and olives and use these along with the remaining yoghurt and oregano to garnish your plate.

Finally crumble the feta over.

Twisted tiramisu

(Serves 4)

For the sponge fingers:

4 eggs, separated

150g caster sugar

100g plain flour

½tsp baking powder

For the tiramisu:

600ml double cream

250g mascarpone

50ml Marsala wine

2tbsp kirsch

1 tin of pitted black cherries, chopped

5tbsp golden caster sugar

25g dark chocolate, grated

300ml espresso coffee

2tsp cocoa powder, to garnish

Candied cherries, to garnish

For the sponge fingers, preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the egg whites into a bowl and whisk until you have soft peaks. Add two tablespoons of sugar and continue whisking until it is shiny and you have stiff peaks.

Take another bowl and beat the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar until they are thick and pale yellow in colour. Separately, sift the flour and baking powder.

Fold half of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, followed by the flour and baking powder. Then add the remaining egg whites and add the mixture to a piping bag. Pipe out neat, evenly-sized fingers onto the baking tray and bake for seven minutes.

For the tiramisu: whisk the cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix the mascarpone, Marsala, kirsch, a little of the black cherry syrup and the sugar. Gently combine with the whipped cream, then stir in the chopped black cherries.

Pour the coffee into a large bowl and add half the sponge fingers. Turn them until they are soaked, but not soggy, then layer them into a large serving dish or individual bowls. Spread over half of the cream mixture and some grated chocolate.

Then soak the remaining sponge fingers and repeat the layers, finishing with the creamy layer. Cover and chill for at least three hours.

To plate, dust with cocoa and grated chocolate and decorate with candied cherries to serve.

At Home With Simon Wood: Fine Dining Made Simple by Simon Wood (Meze Publishing, £20)