Bachara was born in Lebanon before relocating to Sweden with an incredible mother who could cook the most amazing food and a father running his own Mediterranean restaurant. By age 7, he knew his passion lay in food, and worked closely with his mother to master her dishes. Bachara started to help out at his dad’s restaurant at age 13, this inspired him to gain formal education where he learnt classic French cuisine. After this, Bachara travelled all over Europe cooking, spending time on private yachts and cruise ships. He then came to England 20 year’s ago and developed his skills further over the years. Bachara says his best accomplishment was winning Cheshire life best restaurant of the year 2008/2009 as well as opening many successful restaurant’s over the years. He now spends his time continuing to learn and develop himself whilst teaching everything he knows to junior chefs.

 

 

Bacha’s classic Swedish Christmas ham

Christmas ham ingredients

  • 3 kg Christmas ham (rimmed)
  • 8 allspice grains
  • 2-3 bay leaves

 

 Grilling for Christmas ham ingredients

  • 1 dl Swedish mustard (mixed with Scanian or Colman’s)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1-2 dl breadcrumbs

 

Cooked Christmas ham preparation

  1. Put the ham in boiling water with the peppercorns plus the bay leaves.
  2. The cooking time is estimated at about 1 hour/kilo
  3. Turn the heat down so it simmers, not boils. Let the Christmas ham cook for about 3 hours
  4. Feel free to use a thermometer. It is pressed in and should be at the top, so you can see it
  5. The Christmas ham is ready at around 68 degrees
  6. Remove your Christmas ham and let it cool
  7. Save some rind but remove some

 

 Grilling preparation

  1. Whisk together eggs, mustard plus sugar to form a grill ring
  2. Spread over the rind, then the breadcrumbs
  3. Set your Christmas ham in the oven, 200 degrees for about 5 – 10 minutes