Antipasto

As I am now going to start writing about food, I suppose the main questions to ask are when and how did my love of food develop?

From a young age I have been surrounded by cooks and kitchens.....

Some of the earliest memories of both my life and my (paternal) Grandmother are those that involve food and cooking....... from going to markets to buy ingredients (picking beans individually to ensure a good bunch), or from summer afternoons stirring the Christmas pudding or peeling potatoes for a roast dinner (we followed tradition in our family, even if it was 35oC!), I loved to cook with my Gran.

My Gran, now departed, was a fantastic cook. Nothing fancy, just good comfort food, with flavour combinations born out of necessity (peanut butter in rissoles? Try it - 1 tbsp for ~ 500g of mince, and see!), as well as those picked up along her travels (no one does curried sausages like her!!).

From a parental point of view, Dad considers himself the “Chef”, whilst Mum considers herself the “Cook”. There are numerous tales of Mum’s failed cooking experiments (the mere mention of rice pudding still brings laughter and tears!), yet like my Gran, with necessity being the mother of invention, my Mother could whip up a fulfilling and flavoursome meal from humble ingredients, and budget!

During my early teens, when my lack of patience with swimming training developed, it was my chore to start off the evening meal whilst Mum was at work. From here it extended to helping with things more and more, including the most important meal of the year – the Christmas dinner (and now that I’m in the UK the family do miss the roast potatoes!). I then began to start cooking more for myself when my parents were not around (which then started off my love affair with Italian food and risotto), and to then cooking for myself as I moved from Australia to the UK.

With my partner Lucy being a “foodie” as well (with a love of food closely matched by her lack of ability in the kitchen – though it’s improving!), we try to bring great food into our lives as much as possible – from making our daily meals a bit more interesting than the “meat and three veg” that as kids we grew up with, to trying as many different restaurants in our area (South-west London), and also those special occasions when we visit top restaurants in London, the UK and the world.

So, that’s it for background – now to the future – happy reading and happy eating!

P.S: The title of the blog comes from a gift from Lucy – my own personalised and embroidered Chef Whites!