Favourite Food - It's just what I do

- Cooking is about experimenting at times you don't know the dish only the 'flavour and texture' you want
- You need a recipe to do it well, otherwise you cant guarantee that anything you make will turn out the way you want
- Both have there point don't they... there is no science to cooking though, It's an art ... who said that anyway?

Kevin & Clea are very special friends of mine, We met over a decade ago. I was working as a new store openings support for a very well know business and found myself not too comfortable in my new living arrangements. As an openings trainer I was travelling around a lot and 'adopted' a base for 3months or so at a time.
Clea whom I was working alongside in the new start-up, knew of my predicament and suggested that I stay at the house she and Kevin had bought and were fixing up.

Through out the day I took the opportunity to do a little shopping around the Oxford Covered Market, I really wanted a new pepper mill I knew that the market had a very good reputation for really good organic produce today I was on the lookout for fish I had the idea that a fresh thick fish soup or something! I started my search. There were many parts to the Market that I hadn't discovered and on my journey around the market I was easily swayed by the selections of dish to recreate I get so excited about great ingredients.

I arrived back at the house ladened with a big smile and a few bags from the market. That night we all found new allies I discovered that Kevin's passion was cooking and we forged a friendship there and then. I so loved his Le Creuset too That's what added to it being such a special cook off for me...

Asparagus tips with fresh prawn & dill butter
Then a creamy white fish stew with bread from the market.
I retired to what would become known as "my floor" and slept a good sleep.

One of my earliest school memories is of making Jam tarts.

I must have been about 5 or maybe 6yrs old. I certainly recall how proud I was plumping the cake tin onto the dining table after school declaring that I had made apple tarts.
They didn't quite look the same as they did at school ... Maybe it was the frantic 400 meter dash home to show my wares.
That memory has stayed with me for almost 40 years So many other great cooking memories alongside it.

Mum comes from the Island of St Vincent and Dad from Grenada which means that in our house we had food on the go all the time. I remember mum making 'Nut Brittle and Sugar Cake' every weekend just as she did with her "home made" Bread and Cakes. I remember sitting down with the whole family on Saturday afternoons to watch the "Worzel Gummige"and "Cat weasel" eating freshly baked bread and fruit cake and laughing out loud ... I still can't help but grin at those memories.

The oldest of 3 brothers I was the only one interested in the kitchen at that time.... I was licking the cake bowl long time before my brothers knew what they were missing..lol

I remember that my dad used to collect all kinds of yummy things together (he was the real experimenter in the kitchen) place them neatly on the 'bread back' (the thick end of the loaf) under the grill with cheese and claim it was pizza.
Seriously and honestly, believe that was the start of a love affair with food for me ...... not the Pizza the era.

I'd been working as one of a pair of Manager's in a krispykreme doughnut factory In the UK, I worked for krispykreme for about 4 years all in. One of our team leaders I'd met briefly before at one of the other store openings,a lady who I instantly bonded with called Mamta. I can't really remember the occasion but I was lucky enough to be invited for "a bite to eat" as she put it at her home with her family and a few other members of our team.

I must say that I do usually stay with the mild dishes when I'm out at an Indian restaurant, I'm the guy that breaks out in a sweat at the smell of a Vindaloo gulping quarts of water quite quickly!.. so my taste buds had only wanderd across the few dishes, that I knew did not need me to take too much liquid; Tandoori, Korma's and Pakora were about my limit. I first tried them in Rita's in Southall UK. Jay Gabbi a (blast from the past) introduced me to that Brilliant little place .

As We arrived my sense of smell went into overdrive, I caught gusts of all sorts of new and mouth-watering aroma's....After the introduction to the family I of course went straight into the kitchen. I was far too intrigued with what was to come I needed to look in a few pots You see my passion for food isn't just the enjoyment of eating great food, but more the preparation off. I got to tell you I was a little disappointed - Mamta and her mother had already finished everything. Each lid that I lifted and looked under was simmering away or already settled and complete. But my eyes were still popping anyway.


Soon after the dining room was full of chatter as the feast was being laid onto the table Dish after dish after dish the table was full with about 12 dishes or so I could hardly believe my eyes, how on earth were we to finish all this beautiful food. Well We didn't do it in one sitting, but we did it, well most of it. That day I tasted real home cooked Indian like I never tasted B4 those dishes I still don't know how to make but Mamba is a great friend now and I just pop in when I can for a little of the best home cooked Indian I know..and always come away with a little doggy bag too..

Crazy Fact. Mamta and I found we were born on the same day in the same year, no wonder we are so alike two peas in a pod when were together.

It's a very frustrating problem for a lot of home-cooks.... It stands for:

"Fed Up With the Kitchen And the Supermarket"
But finally there is a secret online cure guaranteed to save you hours of time, money, and stress... "Such a sales strap on"..lol

Now personally I've got to admit I don't generally have that problem. What ever I find in the fridge or cupboard there is bound to be something that I can do with it..... But I can relate to the scenario of "what the heck am I going to cook today"? I literally stumbled across this:

Looks like a cool Idea - Let me know what you think of the suggestions.



I supposed it comes down to that same old phrase 'depends on how you were brought up'!. Remember dad and his make shift pizza? "You have to be a bit of an experimenter in the kitchen" that's what he used to say

My dad always said that fish was his favourite food. In fact he stopped eating meat and only eats fish now and had done for the past 25 years or so. ... random fact again sorry

Anyway I can remember being in one of the kitchens of the college and it was the first lesson on filleting fish. The air in the class smelt lovely, filled with the smell of fresh plaice. Now let see... I think it was a Welsh Lady I cant remember her name at the moment who took the lesson. She demonstrated perfectly how we should remove the two fillets from one side of the fish then turned to us and gave us the 'nod' to have a go ourselves.

As you can imagine the fillets we produced were not as ermm "perfect" as hers far from it. but me and my filleting knife kept going... A little tip is to put salt on your fingers as you hold the tail. It's really easy to grip the fish that way...As I think about it now I had Carbon Steel Knives back then. I'm sure nobody uses them anymore... This is the one of my filleting knives I would use now. The Wusthof Classic Flexible Fish Fillet Knife 8-in bends beautifully and long enough for one stroke and 'off it comes'



However I was soon going to enter a whole new world of knives. (but that's for another story). I mean without my tools I feel lost believe me. A Chef's BIGGEST Asset and what all Cooks love the BEST IS our kitchen tools and Gadgets. Whether that be Knives ,Pans or even the oven you use, we just can't get enough of them... Well I can only speak for the men ...LOL...

I'm thinking of Percy, Sam, Mandy, Ian and Deb's just to name the first that pop in to my head. We had so much much fun learning 'Our Trade'

I wonder how many who started out as avid chefs Stayed in the Kitchen? I went from a commis chef in a classical kitchen structure. "A brigade of about 70 chefs in my first position" To working involved in writing Training Manuals to building Restaurants ground up!. I suppose I was still in the kitchen in some way, I was always driven by the food business somehow!

My best buddy was a guy called Mark Percival. Affectionately known as Percy or Dobbin! For the couple of years we were studying together we became a bit like the the classroom jokers. We were also a formidable team on sections! The Last Time I saw Mark he was working as a Chef in a little boutique restaurant in Royal Windsor...I wonder what he is doing now?

I did enjoy the evening out in Windsor. a picturesque place when the sun shines. and often packed with tourists in the summer visiting the Castle. I can't say that I had my 'favourite food there, I seem to remember that it was all too delicate for my me...(that's just my way of saying that you really didn't get a lot on your plate!) I only lived about 10 miles from there in a little place called Harlington.

A Queen Indeed Xx- Jaguar Julie ....... She is a Very very good to read have a peek...Peek...