Lay on a spread with berry butter …from the chef whose videos have been watched 200 million times
- Thomas Starker, 32, who has cheffed at the Dorchester and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, started making cooking videos in March 2020
- The young chef has been blending shop-bought butter with quirky ingredients
- Thomas’ butter flavours include burnt chili and garlic and salt and vinegar crisps
As a chef who has worked at some of the finest restaurants in the country, I would be expected to love working with butter,’ says Thomas Straker with a smile.
‘What you wouldn’t expect was that my 15-second videos demonstrating how to make weird and wonderful flavoured butters have been watched more than 200 million times!’
Thomas, 32, who has cheffed at the Dorchester and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, started making cooking videos in March 2020 when Covid struck and his restaurant opening was delayed. He blends ingredients into butter to create quirky flavours that can elevate anything from a piece of toast to a dinner party dish or even a pud.
‘I’ve made 51 episodes of my series, All Things Butter, so far,’ he says. ‘There’s popcorn butter, Marmite butter, Bloody Mary butter, a sweet blackberry and raspberry butter and, of course, roasted chicken skin butter in the very first episode I posted. It has had 10.8 million views and began the #ButterTok trend that’s been sweeping TikTok over the past few months.’
Thomas Starker, 32, who has cheffed at the Dorchester and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, started making cooking videos in March 2020. The young chef has been blending shop-bought butter with various quirky ingredients
So why does he think they’ve been so successful? ‘It must be at least partly down to butter itself,’ Thomas says.
‘It’s been a staple for hundreds of years and it’s one of those foods that evokes passion and emotion — even my four-yearold daughter loves it.
‘Practically speaking, butter is the king of ingredients, as any chef will tell you. It’s a fat, so it carries flavour, and just a small amount can elevate any dish to the next level.
‘It’s also visually appealing, which I think is why it does so well on social media. I tried to get enticing shots of the butter dripping, plus quick-fire shots of the other ingredients being grated, chopped, poured or whipped into the mix.
‘Each video is just 15 to 30 seconds long, so you don’t need a huge attention span. There’s something quite soothing about the process and each video features me scooping a perfect quenelle of the finished butter — people go mad for that!’
The popularity of the videos could also be down to the affordability of the recipes. ‘It doesn’t really matter which brand of butter you use,’ says Thomas. ‘I tend to avoid using expensive artisan ones. Just make sure it’s unsalted so you can season to your own palate.
Thomas’ (pictured) butter flavours include burnt chili and garlic and salt and vinegar crisps
‘Flavour inspiration often comes from store cupboard ingredients such as crisps or bottled sauces, or from a fridge raid for leftovers or veg that needs using up. If chilled, most of the butters keep in the fridge for a few weeks and you can freeze them too.
‘My favourite so far has probably been the caramelised red onion butter, although the roasted chicken skin one is up there.
‘Probably the weirdest is salt and vinegar crisp butter but it was an absolute revelation.’
Right now he’s busy launching his restaurant, Straker’s, in London’s Notting Hill. ‘You may be surprised to hear it isn’t going to be big on butter. We’ll be doing flatbreads out of the pizza oven and we may pimp them up with chilli and garlic butter. I can’t rule it out.’
Salt & Vinegar Crisp Butter
- 250g butter
- 80g salt and vinegar crisps
Blend the crisps with the butter in a food processor for 1-2 mins. Great in sandwiches.
Caramelised Red Onion Butter
- 250g butter
- 3 red onions
- 50ml balsamic vinegar
- Salt
Slice the onions. Place a pan over a medium heat, add olive oil, and cook the onions slowly for 20 mins until soft. Next, turn up the heat to give the onions some colour. Once they’re dark golden brown, deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and season with salt. Cool the onions and blend with the butter in a food processor.
Burnt Chilli & Garlic Butter
- 250g butter
- 6 red chillies
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt
Burn skin off the chillies over a gas flame or on a barbecue. Peel the skin off and remove seeds. Blend chilli with butter, grated garlic cloves, lemon zest and salt.
Berry Butter
- 250g butter
- 50g raspberries
- 50g blackberries
- 150g caster sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
Put the berries, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl, mix well and allow to macerate for 2 hours. Strain off the liquid from the berries and reserve it for later. Blend the berries with the butter, and add in half of the berry liquor. Try it on brioche French toast.
Miso Butter
- 250g butter
- 70g dark miso
- 20g honey
- 40g soy
Blend the ingredients together. Great on pan-fried cabbage.
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