Gabriel Gaté:

The beurre blanc was created in my native region of the Loire Valley in France. It's a sauce made with butter flavoured with shallots and cooked in wine and vinegar. To make it, cook on very low heat a finely chopped shallot, or echalote, in 3 tbsp dry white wine vinegar and 3 tbsp dry white wine until almost all the liquid has evaporated. This is called a reduction. Add 1 tsp cream, and with the pan on low heat, whisk in bit by bit about 50 g cold, cubed butter, whisking until the butter is creamy. Remove from heat, season with freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Gabriel Gaté:

I have been in your situation several times. You can buy a flat wok to use on your electric cook top, but it’s still not as efficient as cooking on a large gas burner with a normal wok. I have found the best alternative to be an electric wok. I have one manufactured by Breville which is very efficient. Best wishes.

Gabriel Gaté:

Yes, you can make moussaka with chicken using exactly the same recipe as you would for lamb. You can use different spices if you wish, e.g. cumin, nutmeg, fennel seeds, clove, curry powder, etc. Best wishes.

Gabriel Gaté:

A bread improver is used to speed up the bread-making process. Up until the 1950’s it took all day to make bread using sour dough. Bread improvers are made up of a number of chemicals which increase the amount of fermentation early in the bread making. They help produce gas and to retain the gas inside the bread. By using improver you can make bread in about 2 hours compared with 12 hours or longer. Baker’s flour is recommended in making bread because it has a higher protein (gluten) content than ordinary flour that is usually used in baking cakes. Baker’s flour still needs the addition of yeast or improvers to make bread.

Gabriel Gaté:

Danish pastry is like croissants and is very difficult to make well at home in a domestic oven. I’ve never actually been tempted to do it myself at home as I know I would not be happy with it. I have helped to make it in a pastry shop. The dough is made with yeast and folded like puff pastry to obtain many layers. It takes skill and experience to prepare the pastry and bake it. The oven needs to be hot at the base for even cooking and to get a perfect texture. You could join a pastry course for more information. Best wishes.