The Only Way Is Eating

Saturday 14th January, 2012


6:10pm

Food is such a huge draw to some people, especially when it is crafted by widely known and regarded professional Chefs with stars and rossettes in tow.
People are willing to travel the length and breadth of this fair Country in order to share the experience of some truely memorable food.

So, I therefore beg the question:

Why would I, a professional Chef with a fair reputation for good food, travel for three hours in the cold of Winter to dine at someones home who is not a professional and does not even work within the industry?

Simple.

Passion.

I have been chatting to Mr. B (name with held to protect his current career) for a while now and his passion for food, cooking, and the dream of owning his own Bistro is, to say the least, endearing and infectious.

I know of people within the trade with far less food knowledge and passion, so when invited to road test his capabilities and critique his work, I couldn't say no.

And here I am in an undisclosed location in England typing up my introduction, whilst sat in a freezing Ford KA waiting for an acceptable time to announce my arrival at his door. (I am always very early for appointments, never, ever late)

And I am desperado for the lavatory.......

11:48pm

I am now sat back in the even colder KA about to leave, but need to make note of my initial summary.

The whole enjoyable, easy going and relaxed evening was amazing for the wrong reasons.

Now, that may seem harsh, but allow me to expand and tell you why. The meal was certainly the reason why the gathering was set in place, as the main focus of the evening was to acertain as to whether the Gentleman in question had the skills and ability to advance to a level of Chef/proprietor of his own, self funded Bistro.

However, the biggest resonance that the evening left was an overall warm feeling from meeting new people, sharing a table with them and enjoying an evening of good conversation, witty reparte, and exploration of individuals getting to know and understand each other. Be it over the top, but I left the home feeling not so much a guest, but rather that I had just gained some new close friends.

I know that some of you reading this may be suggesting that this is a good sign of a well balanced Dinner Party, and that the food should be there to give an enhancement to an enjoyable evening, and you are right. That is exactly the point behind good food. But this evening, as already mentioned, was designed to help our Host decide whether the pipe dream should stay just that.

And the answer to that, although not quite as succinct as I am just about to put it, is Yes.
And No......

Sunday 15th January, 2012


7:25pm

Arriving at home at 4:15 this morning, I decided to sensibly gain some sleep before going ahead and writing the rest of my piece on last night's soiray in order to give it my full focus and attention. And what better inspirational place than within my place of work, surrounded by people and enjoying each others company, as well as the ambience and most importantly, the food.

After finalising my introduction yesterday evening, I left the car and made my way along the quiet and unnasuming Street, climbed the aged worn Stone steps leading to my destination and knocked on the door 15 minutes earlier than the invitation indicated. Almost immediately after my rapping on the door ceased, the door was opened by whom I correctly assumed to be the Chef/Host. After a very warm, friendly welcome, I was introduced to a fellow diner, followed by Mr. B's wife. I immediately felt relaxed and at home as pleasantries were exchanged, and my Jacket for a very wonderful glass of chilled Sedlescombe Cuvee Bodiam Brut, West Sussex.

We then moved into the nice cosy front room, while Mr. B retracted himself to his kitchen to finalise tasks and, most probably, prepare himself mentally for what he was very soon embarking on.

The husband of the female Diner, whom I had already met, appeared from upstairs joined us and we started the usual getting to know you conversations, which was enjoyable, giving rise to genuine interest on all counts and general good banter.

The final guest arrived, a Scottish lady who had me genuinely bewitched with her strong personallity,  fun sense of humour, and amazing depth of knowledge and understanding about pretty much everything.

After an offer of having our glasses refilled, Mr. B steered us towards the Dining room to prepare ourselves for the start of the main reason why we were all assembled. The next wine, a vibrant red-Les Nivieres 2010, Saumur, Loire was served, and so it began, the parade of edibles that was to be sampled, ruminated, discussed, digested and regurgitated in the form of honest opinions, thoughts, reccommendations and suggestions.

Dish one was an Amuse Bouche of An Olive Tuille with local Mozzerella, and slices of Baby Plum Tomato.
Portion size was honest and correct, with the presentation kept simple to enable the diner to see the taster was almost a homage to the base ingredients, that complexity was not key to what the host wanted us to experience.

The starter course arrived of Confit Duck with Cognac, Cornichons, dipping oil and Homebaked Breads. Again, the premise seems simple enough, asking those experiencing his craft work to realise his well created series of steps taken were ultimately to experience the quality and passion involved in producing the dish as a whole.

At this stage, one diner enjoyed it to the extent that he asked for a further sampling, as to him, the flavour and texture deserved to continue. Praise for any Chef, indeed.

A brief repast, apology for a delay in the next instalment, and the main course arrived of Pork tenderloin with green chilli, lime, herbs, wrapped in Pancetta, served with Puy lentils cooked in fesh Chicken stock, with a Mustard, Creme Fraische and White Wine Reduction. Accompanied with two large bowls of mixed baby leaf salad, we all tucked in silently to start with, focusing on our reason for being at the table. To me, although all dishes are to be of a good standard, the main course has to be the pinnacle and the culmination of all the Chef's effort, attention to detail and passion. After a few mouthfuls, encompassing all that was on the plate, a steady conversation returned as we all continued to finish the sybiosis of meat and pulse.

Final course, dessert, which to others is deemed as the real course that matters, and a brave attempt to deliver a Chef school classic that has to be 100% right, the highly revered Tarte au Citron. With Lavender Meringue.

At this stage, pushing the boat out, as well as showing just how important the whole experience was for Mr. B, a beautiful Dessert Wine from Bordeaux (possibly Chateau Liot 2008, Sauternes) was charged in glasses. And it was a perfect choice to accompany the sweet/tarte final dish.

I will catagorically go on record to say that this man certainly understands the concept of correct wine pairing and would happily ask him to arrange a selection for my own personal consumption, or even for accompanying my foods served within my place of work.

The conversation then ceased briefly, as our host sucked in his breath akin to final taste of sweet air before a hanging and asked the all important question.

A mix of carefully selected turns of phrase, very honest and direct analagies and broad ranging conclusions ensued, with Mr. B sagely and nervously hanging on each word, taking every slight and well meaning critique on board like the proverbial sponge.

The general consensus was that this man could certainly show a love of food and that rather than continue with the hosting of six seater supper clubs, in order to gain the capability of realising his dream, it would be prudent to:

 spend time in real professional  kitchens

Take over a cafe for an evening

Gain the vital theoretical knowledge of ingredients, recipes and cooking methods

And just as importantly, maintain the love and passion that has thrust him this far towards our world.

As I said my fairwells to all and made my way to the front door, I managed to personally thank Mr. B for his hospitality once more, giving a few final pieces of advice for him to take onboard before stealing into the icy night, back to the confines of my frost coated KA for the journey home.


Monday, 16th January, 2012

For the very astute of you, you will have noticed that 24 hours and more have passed by before I have drawn my closing conclusion. This is for good reason. Firstly, so I could give a full report to Mr. B before drawing this post to a close.
And secondly, because it is not that easy to be fully honest, when critiquing a party in someone's home that you were invited to, for free, with the company of such lovely people and wonderfully welcoming hosts.

But, conclude I must.

So, if this was a genuine invitation from a good friend for a meal, I would have been bowled over by the effort and generosity of such a wondrous series of dishes and wine. This would be the best meal in someone's house I have had.....

........But this was a call for professional advice and honest critiquing, in return for 4 courses and wine.

If Mr. B owned the Bistro, and therefore regarded as a fellow professional, then there would have been disappointments and 'issues with the meals on offer. Would it have prevented me from paying the bill when it arrived? No. Would I make a revisit? Perhaps not. Would I recommend it to friends and family. Sadly not. In this premise the food was okay, but had the hallmarks of an amateur at work which would have real gourmands tutting and certainly turning their conversation to every microscopic issue they then could relay to others. So, if Mr. B had his Bistro now I would advise him to employ a Head Chef and let the professionals do their job.

However, the mystery Man is not handing money over for a set of keys to his dream anytime yet, and has plans to keep building on his abilities, learn all he can from those who understand the trade and industry skills, and go thoroughly through underpinning knowledge, understanding the logistics and acknowledging the vast difference between home cooking and professional fine dining before even contemplating on opening doors to a business premises.

And because of that, I know that this man, this very brave and passionate man will one day invest in a set of whites and dazzle people with his cuisine. And when he does, I will be back there, knowing that any distance will be worth it.

Masterchef UK: mainstream television

So it has begun..........

Masterchef UK started tonight at the new time and new channel, proving not just how popular the program is, but also how much people enjoy watching the blood sweat and tears behind creating passionate food.

Boasting a swanky new set, both Gregg Wallace and John Torode launched themselves straight into the frying pan of uncertainty, as the doors opened for eager foodies to cook to impress and secure themselves a place in the top twenty.

The dishes served up were an eclectic mix ranging from inspired to tired.

There seemed to be some that had practiced and had become reasonably well versed in their showpiece which received fair praise, and deservedly so. Then there were those that made me wonder if firstly they had even attempted the dish before, and secondly, if the individuals had ever watched Masterchef before to gain understanding as to the level of cooking expected.

We saw the usual suspects lined up: People looking for career changes, people with mid life crisis's, those who have been told by Friends and lovers they are amazing at cooking. The obligatory I want to quit my job and open my own Gastro Pub (grrrrr), The over thinkers, under-achievers and the raw edged souls who yearn for guidance to become the next best thing in the Industry.

After 45 minutes of preparation time, the hopefuls load up their trolleys one at a time and dispatch themselves into the room beyond with a single kitchen area to finish their offerings in front of the two formidable hosts.

This gave Gregg and John ten minutes to grill, quiz and de-construct the individual, before they pass their judgement on the presentation, textures and flavors set before them. 

Dreams were fulfilled for some, for others they were dashed, whilst a small handful were granted the opportunity to retry by returning the following day. At the end we were left with 11 hopefuls through to the first stage of this prestigious televised Food journey.

For me, Masterchef has not really started yet, and won't until the chosen ones start cooking in that big Kitchen, competing against each other to be recognized for their raw abilities, secret talent. These first two days almost feel like they are purely a demographic pleaser, an amuse bouche, keeping en vogue with currently big audience grabbers and smacking of Xfactor/Britain's Got Talent. Gregg and John look relaxed and comfortable in their surroundings, and unnaturally quiet with regards to their usually animated verbal-isms, almost like they too cannot wait to get stuck in to the Starter courses that are the first rounds.

The show does already promise to be as emotionally exciting as always, with each of us finding our wannabe to champion (although my favorite tonight was axed during the life-line cook off, so need to rethink). And most of this is down to the personalities of the keepers of the Aprons. 

These guys are all about food. 

They have passion, knowledge, a nurturing quality and above all else, an infectious attitude to the fact that the proof is in the eating. Hell! I get excited watching them get mesmerized by some of the food they eat, the smiles and noises of ecstasy when someone hits the notes spot on and plays the tune they know so well.

I would love to meet those guys and share a whole day of eating and talking Food. Or even a whole weekend........Or a whole week. 

......Or once every 3rd weekend for a year.

One of my top  qualities as a Chef is that I am always talking about ingredients, dishes and all things food orientated with friends, family, colleagues and often clients who ask questions like I am a walking Food bible. 

One of my bad qualities as a Chef is that I am always talking about ingredients, dishes and all things food orientated with friends, family, colleagues and often clients who ask questions like I am a walking Food bible.

And that is what this show represents. Passion for what we do and for what we eat. Britain has a relationship with food that is ever growing stronger, putting it well and truly on the map as one of the top, if not the best, Countries for all things Culinary. Thanks to the Chefs, the Producers, Foodies, and the likes of Masterchef UK for making food more than just a means to live.

Don't just Eat to Live. Live to Eat!