Award-winning Biggleswade chef Justin Brown is back with a lip-smacking food column for Chronicle readers


He, his Polish wife Dominica Brown and their 10-month-old son Phoenix, who was born in Amsterdam, are now back home to put down roots among family and friends.
And we’re delighted to introduce him as our new monthly food columnist – and yes, he will include one of his delicious seasonal recipes every month.
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Hide AdThe former executive chef for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein had his first cookery lesson at Stratton Upper and admits: “It wasn’t my strong point.


"I knew I wanted to move to London and ultimately travel the world. I knew I'd soon be bored in an office job – my attention span wasn’t good – and I knew I wanted to do something creative.
"At the time Jamie Oliver was just starting on TV and I liked the look of his creative freedom, it seemed something that might interest me.”
So aged just 16, he had the nous to write to all London’s five star hotels asking for work.
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Hide AdThe Landmark London Hotel responded. And the rest, as they say, is history.


Justin not only fulfilled his ambition to travel – he worked in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Hawaii as well as closer to home – but he’s also cooked for some stellar celebrities, including our late Queen, the Beckhams, the Rolling Stones and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
He also met and worked with Jamie Oliver and says his experiences have always been good: “Except for normal dietary requirements, I’ve never found anyone to be difficult.”
For the past 10 years he was in Amsterdam, running his own company. He had the opportunity to work for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein and says: “I grabbed it with both hands, it was a great experience.
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Hide Ad“Tommy Hilfiger is a really nice down-to-earth guy and what they’ve managed to do with Calvin Klein is great not only to see but because it’s also motivational.”
His own career has been pretty inspirational: he’s published three books, featured in the Michelin, Good Food and AA guides (where he was awarded three rosettes) and won numerous titles, including Chef of the year at the Great British Pub Awards - three years’ running.
Chef of the Year is the one he’s most proud of – and he has an amusing tale about making it to the final three: “I was fourth, and only the top three cook off.
"But one of the finalists was sick and couldn’t attend, so they called me a few days before to see if I could make it.
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Hide Ad"When I went to the Award ceremony, I had no idea if I could actually win.”
But win it he did – in front of an audience of more than 1,000 at a Park Lane ceremony. Then did it again in 2010 and 2011, just to prove the point.
Justin says pre-pandemic, he might have considered opening a restaurant locally. But now he prefers pop-ups and private catering.
He also enjoys cooking at home: “It’s always a nice mix of Polish and English traditions when it comes to our daily family meals. We love trying new foods and learning new things – and now we have our son to try everything with us.”
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Hide AdJustin and his family are based in Ickwell but he says Biggleswade will always hold a special place in his heart.
Here’s the first of his terrifically tasty recipes – look out for the next one soon.
Tropical BBQ Beer Can Chicken
(Serves 4)
1 whole free-range chicken
1 320ml can of beer – I like to use a craft beer or larger
For the tropical rub:
4 tbs smoked paprika
1 tbs Chinese five spice
1 tbs salt
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs mustard powder
1 tbs ginger powder
3 tbs mango powder (optional)
For the tropical BBQ sauce:
5in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 whole fresh green or red chillies, chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, chopped
4 tbs olive oil
½ cup tomato ketchup
½ cup brown sauce
½ cup mango juice
½ cup orange juice
½ cup white wine vinegar
For the rub:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Take the chicken and rub 1 tbs oil all over – this will help the dry ingredients stick. With your hands take the rub and rub it all over the chicken as evenly as possible. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.
For the tropical BBQ sauce:
Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend for two minutes. Add to a pan and bring to a simmer, then leave for 15 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Once thickened, leave to cool. The sauce can be used cold.
Beer Can Chicken:
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Hide AdTake the marinaded chicken out of the fridge. Open the can of beer (drink half) and then place the whole chicken over the beer can so the chicken is standing up, using the beer can as the support.
Gently place the chicken standing up on a small tray.
If using an oven, heat to 180 degrees and place the chicken in the oven. For a BBQ, try to control the temperature using the lid.
Cook the chicken for 20 minutes – this will crisp the skin and cook the marinade. After 20 minutes, take a brush and brush the BBQ sauce all over the chicken. Repeat this process every 10 minutes for a further 40 minutes.
Once cooked carefully remove the chicken (from the heat source). Leave to rest for 10 minutes then remove the can.
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Hide AdI like to serve with some grilled pineapple, a green salad and some new potatoes.
> Follow Justin on Instagram @justinbrownchef or visit www.justinbrownchef.com to learn more about our new food columnist.
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