To cook and prepare the crabs

1. To cook the crab, prepare a large pot of lightly salted water (it should taste somewhat like the sea), plunge the crab inside and boil for roughly 20 mins for a 1-kilogram crab.
2. Remove from the boiling water and plunge into iced water for a minimum of 10 mins, drain well.
3. Carefully remove the claws and legs in a snapping motion and begin to break them open with a heavy blunt knife.
4. Remove the meat from inside using a crab pick or dedicated tweezers being careful to avoid any unwanted shell.
5. To prepare the head of the crab gently pop the main vessel from its shell, keeping this and putting the brown crab too one side both will be used later.
6. The head meat can now be delicately removed using the same picking motion used before but keep this separate from the claw meat and brown meat.

To make the crab bisque sauce

1. Bring the stock to the boil and whisk in the puree
2. Dice the butter and keep refrigerated
3. Add the cream and bring back to the boil
4. Whisk in the butter and emulsify well
5. Season with the oil and the juices to taste preference

To make the orange crab tuile

1. Slice the carrots and sweat in a medium sized saucepan
2. Slice the squash and sweat in a separate medium sized saucepan
3. Add the juices and bring to the boil
4. Cook this until soft and the juice has been almost fully reduced
5. Place both in a blender separately and blend till smooth
6. Once smooth add the dry goods and blend till incorporated
7. Both purees can now be passed through a fine sieve and reserved separate
8. Using a circle stencil, spread the carrot puree to leave the impression of orange circles
9. Dry this fully at 70c for roughly one hour and then spread the butternut puree over the back and dry further for 1 hour
10. This now should be dry but pliable
11. Punch with a stamp cutter the same size as the serving bowl and cut in half
12. Dry till crisp

To make the crab hollandaise

1. First add the butter to a medium saucepan and warm till melted, add the reserved crab shells and cook slowly till the butter just starts to brown, remove from the heat
2. Pass this butter through a fine sieve once cool but still melted and reserve too one side
3. Add the vinegar, orange juice and star anise to a pan and reduce by half leave to cool
4. Add the eggs and add a splash (roughly 50mls) of the reduction to a sabayon bowl, this bowl can now be placed over a gentle simmering pan of water whilst constantly whisking till a thick ribbon like mix is obtained
5. Add the butter gradually by streaming in and whisking constantly till emulsified this should be glossy and light, season with salt till desired taste
6. Pour into a cream whipping gun and charge twice with a cream whipping gas charge
7. Leave in a warm place for later use

To make the crab head mousse 

1. Place all ingredients apart from the ginger; garlic, spring onion and clementine zests in a bowl and then on an ice bath to completely chill down
2. Once cold blend in blender till smooth and glossy
3. Remove from blender and fold in the grated ingredients and zest
4. Chop the spring onion fine and add
5. This is now reserved too be filled inside the bread for toasting

To make the crab brioche 

1. Dice the butter and place back in fridge
2. Warm the milk in a pan till blood temperature (Just warm) add the yeast and stand for 5 mins
3. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and combine with the dough hook
4. Add the liquids too this and mix for 5 mins
5. Set a timer for a further 5 mins and gradually add the butter in this time frame
6. Remove from mixer and place in the fridge over night
7. The next day take from fridge and roll roughly 2cm in height and place in the freezer
8. Punch out into a small disc and prove in a well buttered ring mould
9. Once doubled in size steam at 100c for 6 mins
10. Remove from the mould and place in the fridge too set up
11. Portion to correct size
12. This can now be deep-fried in hot oil at 190c till crisp
13. Hollow the toast and fill with the crab head mousse
14. Bake back in the oven for 5 mins roughly until golden and the mousse is cooked through

 To make the crab custard 

1. Take the crab stock and combine with all the other ingredients apart from the juice, veg gel and timur pepper and hand blend or whisk till combined
2. Pass this mix through a fine sieve
3. Pour into the cooking bowl or vessel and steam for roughly 15 mins at 88 degrees till just set
4. Remove and leave to cool
5. Boil the juice with the veg gel and add the pepper this can now be carefully poured over the custard and left to set
6. Leave in a warm place to be served later or alternatively warmed back through the steamer again till warm

 For the orange vinaigrette 

1. Place all in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk or hand blend till thick and glossy reserve too one side and finish with marigold when ready to plate

To plate and finish the dish 

1. Take the picked crab claw meat and dress liberally in the reserved orange vinaigrette and fold through the chopped marigold, season lightly with salt because the cooking water should have seasoned the crab well enough.
2. Place into a bowl only on one side
3. Place the crab toast in the oven and cook for 2 mins till warmed through (remember the mousse should already be cooked through)
4. Warm the bisque sauce and pour in the base of the bowl with the dressed crab claw
5. The crab can now be covered with the orange tuille and the marigold cress used to garnish (The orange circles are made to resemble small clementine’s)
6. Place a good amount of pike roe on top of the toast and dress with another marigold cress
7. Remove the custard from the warm place or steamer and serve the three dishes together
8. The idea is to enjoy all aspects of the crab in different versions simultaneously