Chicken & Biscuits

2 kg whole chicken, rinsed
2 litres chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
4 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup butter
3 carrots, cut in 2 cm pieces
3 ribs celery, cut in 2 cm pieces
1 large onion, cut in 2 cm pieces
6 mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp SIDS SALT & PEPPER
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
1 tbsp herbes de Provence
3 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
280 g biscuit dough

Place chicken in large (10 lt) stock pot, pour in chicken stock then drop in a bay leaf and a single clove. Simmer over medium-low heat. As foam rises to the top of the broth, skim and discard with a slotted spoon. Add peeled garlic cloves, cover pot and simmer on low for 1 hour. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove all meat from the bones and set the chicken meat aside. Pour stock into a bowl and set aside.
In a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and stir carrots, celery, onion and mushrooms until the vegetables start to become tender, about 10 minutes. Season with SIDS SALT & PEPPER, cayenne pepper and paprika. Mix in flour, stirring to coat vegetables and cook another 5 minutes. Add half of reserved stock and stir with the vegetables to form a very thick sauce. Stir in remaining stock until sauce is smooth then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Stir milk into the sauce and gently mix in the reserved chicken meat, herbes de Provence, tarragon and rosemary. Bring stew back to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes. Pop open the can of biscuits, separate and place biscuits on top of stew.
Bake in the oven until the biscuits are golden brown and the stew is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Place lid on the pot or Dutch oven and return to oven and bake until biscuits are cooked through, about 15 more minutes. Test biscuits for doneness by pulling apart a biscuit near the middle of the stew to see if it's cooked through.