Eton Mess
This is a dish that, as tradition has it, was created by a mother for one of her son's school picnics. The word 'Eton' denotes the school and the word 'mess' describes how all the ingredients have been mixed together all higgledy-piggledy

Oh how I laughed when I first heard that explanation! You know what that sounds like to a chef? It sounds like some posh mother did her best to impress all the other moms by making a summer meringue basket, however it sounds like she accidentally dropped or crushed her prized desert, with its seasonal fruits and compote inside her picnic hamper. So trying to save face she promptly called it an 'Eton mess' and declared it not as a mistake but as an intentional experiment! That sounds too much like me when I screw up in the kitchen, I'll hide the worst of my errors and try to cowboy it out!

However regardless of the reason why it was so named, Eton mess is delicious. Most kitchens always have a large supply of meringues lying about so its a very quick dish to knock up (for the domestic cook looking to save time; most supermarkets supply meringues and compote).

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 punnet of strawberries
150g / 5oz meringue
570ml / 1pint double cream
1 Tsp vanilla essence
55g / 2oz icing sugar

For the compote:
150g / 5oz mixed soft fruits
85ml / 3fl oz water
1/2 Tsp vanilla essence
1 Tblsp icing sugar
1/2 lemon or lime, juice of

Mise-en-Place:
Cut the strawberries in half
Crumble the meringue into rough chunks
For the compote:
Juice the lemon

Method:
Make the compote:
Put all the compote ingredients into a saucepan
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer
Cook for 8-10 minutes until all the fruit is soft and the water has reduced to a thick syrup
Remove the compote from the heat
Drain any excess liquid (the compote should be thick, any excess liquid can be kept for a coulis or smoothie)
Allow to cool

Bring the dish together:
Whip the cream with the vanilla and icing sugar to a 'soft peak'
To serve arrange alternating layers of the whipped cream, meringue, compote and strawberries

Adjust:
The compote:
Too sweet: Add more fruit and lemon juice
Too bitter: Add more sugar
Too thin: Cook for longer

The whipped cream:
Too thin: Continue to whip until it thickens
Overwhipped / Split: Discard the cream and start again

Presentation:
I always serve Eton mess in a glass container, the better to show off the contrasting layers.
To serve individually arrange the Eton mess in a 'slim jim', wine or flute glass.
Because of the richness and sweetness of the dish garnish with mint tips

Chef Tip: I always use soft, damaged or frozen fruits to make compotes or coulis and save the best fruits for garnish. (Hey if its going to be cooked to a pulp it makes no sense to waste premier grade berries.)

Chef Insight: What's with chefs and mint?
Chefs add mint to sweet and dessert to invigorate the taste buds. Half way through your sweet you should chew a mint leaf which will clear your mouth and freshen your palate, then when you take the next mouthful of sweet it will taste as great and as exciting as the first.