How to Cook a Perfect Sunday Roast: Top Tips from The Maven

The Sunday Roast is iconic, perhaps the dish most associated with the English (not for nothing do the French call us ‘les rosbifs’) and done right, with all the trimmings and the absolutely essential Yorkshire puddings, it can be the most satisfying meal of the week. But doing it right can be tricky – there’s a lot of plates to juggle (literally and  metaphorically) and everyone claims to know best (or claims their mum does).

The Maven Restaurant, housed inside the magnificent Vermont Hotel, has a reputation for truly excellent Sunday roasts, so we decided it was time to get the low-down on how to make the perfect roast from a man who knows: Maven executive chef Leon Dodds.

IMAGE: THE MAVEN

Leon has been executive chef at the Vermont since October last year and he admits their kitchens needed work when he arrived, but was clearly glowing when we chatted, having just got the results of their recent AA inspection which suggested they’re headed for an AA Rosette. This former Masterchef Professionals finalist clearly takes a lot of pride in his work, especially the Sunday roasts. He admits that there’s no great secret to the popularity of the Maven’s Sunday lunches – “I think we just do it well, it’s as simple as that. There’s a good team of chefs in there that know their stuff. I always think Sunday lunch is the staple meal of any restaurant: it’s always going to be busy, you’ve got a captive audience. Get the Sunday lunch right and hopefully you’ll attract people back during the week.” Leon is sounding very energised and optimistic about the future following the AA inspection and says that his team is always bouncing ideas off each other, and plan on getting their heads down, refining their food and winning that rosette.

IMAGE: THE VERMONT HOTEL

Leon is first to concede he doesn’t make a lot of roasts at home – “it’s a busman’s holiday!” – but enjoys it when he does, and many of the tips he’s developed from years in commercial kitchens apply just as well to a home-made meal.

The Meat

“It’s a bone of contention in my house because I’m lamb all the way  but the missus can’t stand lamb so it’s more often than not beef! In the Maven we do a slow-cooked featherblade of beef which is very nice, but I love the way we do roast sirloin. We only take the core temperature up to 39 °C – just above body temperature – and we let it rest for two hours. It’s just the most perfect, sheer pink in colour and it’s so tender.”

IMAGE: THE MAVEN SUNDAY ROAST

The Potatoes

“We do serve duck fat potatoes, which have the best flavour, but for crispiness I prefer vegetable oil. You need to give them potatoes a pre-blanch boil – start them in a pan of cold water, and the minute the water comes to the boil, take them off the heat, give them a jiggle in the colander to get them all fluffy and then straight into a deep, hot tray of oil. You should almost submerge the potatoes in the oil in the oven at first, then when you start getting some colour on them, drain off about 80% of the oil and finish them, they really come up crispy.”

The Yorkshire Puddings.

It’s all about equal measures, it seems. “A cup of eggs needs a cup of milk and a cup of flour. And try and make the mix the day before - letting the batter rest lets the gluten relax and allows more aeration. And never salt them before you cook them because it breaks down the egg whites, add the salt just before you put them in the oven.”

The Gravy

You just need a good meat stock. You can’t get round the hard work – a really good meat stock, including the juices from the meat when you cook it, but get it started a day or two before. Roast some bones – we tend to get some big marrowbones in – along with some tomato puree and vegetables and lots of red wine, Cook off the alcohol, boil it all down, top it up with water and let it sit for a day or two.”

IMAGE: THE MAVEN SUNDAY ROAST

The Vegetables

“Again, what veggies we have is a big bone of contention in my house but I like a carrot and swede mash, buttered leeks and I’m a big lover of tender-stem broccoli. Sometimes some nice roast parsnips, caramelised with a bit of honey and sesame.“

The Timings

So many potentially excellent Sunday roasts  have gone wrong in the closing stages because things aren’t ready at the right time. As Leon explains, “the timings are all instinct and practice. Cheffing is all to do with timing. Anybody can follow a recipe and get a decent result but I think the art of being a chef is getting the timings right. And that just comes with years of practice, years of experience. There’s no simple way round it. It’s just the graft.”

So there you have it: armed with insider tips like these, your next Sunday roast should be a taste sensation and finally your partner will stop claiming that their mum does it better. With Leon’s tips and a bit of planning, you’ve got this covered. And if for some reason it does still go horribly wrong, a reservation at The Maven is just a mouse-click away.