Qingdao chef Lawrence Lingard cooks up Dutch dish on final stop of culinary world tour

Clipper Race cook Lawrence Lingard has completed his culinary world tour, cooking a Dutch dish in the north of Holland on the final stopover.

The London chef and Qingdao crew member was shown how to prepare Lamshaasjes, a dish of grilled lamb fillet from Texel, a nearby island famous for its provenance. The dish includes grilled ratatouille, pumpkin puree, Texel ham, roast vine tomatoes and vegetable crisps.

Kade 60 restaurant owner Timo de Vries also introduced Lawrence to local Dutch ingredients, including junever and picked herrings.

The chefs also tasted beer from local Den Helder boutique brewery, Helderse Jongens.

Lawrence said: “Dutch food is very simple and uses fresh, natural ingredients. The Lamhaasjes was very simple to prepare and only took a few minutes to cook so would be a good one to have on the boat.

“I liked it so much that I will put it on the menu when I get back to my restaurant when the race ends.

“I was quite nervous beforehand as it is the final stop and cook off on my world tour and we are about to do the last race of the series.

“It has been an incredible experience to meet like-minded chefs round the world and be inspired by them and their ideas and different methods.”

Timo gave his congratulations to Lawrence for cooking in the extreme conditions and tiny galley on his round the world journey.

He said: “Chefs can be very dominant personalities, but it is still a big compliment to Lawrence that he managed with the good and bad weather and seasickness for a year on this voyage.

“I was nervous ahead of the filming but Lawrence soon reassured me and I could see how calm under pressure he was, which must be very useful in nasty weather when cooking at sea,” he added.

Timo shared a joke with Lawrence that he was the brother of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay as they tasted Helders Goud, a blond beer, named after the sunset in Den Helder which is bright gold when on the beach.

Lawrence, owner of Simplicity Restaurant in London, is the victualler for Qingdao and is responsible for planning all the menus, ingredients and buying supplies in ports of call during the round the world voyage.

Lawrence is using his experience on the Clipper Race to discover the world through its local cuisine, varying flavours and cultures. He has met international chefs at fifteen ports on his journey who provide inspiration for meal ideas as he cooks up a variety of dishes for his Qingdao team mates.

His cook offs have been filmed by the Clipper Race’s TV production company, 1080, for the documentary series being distributed.