I've been a mild Japanophile since I was a teenager. The best games of the time came from Japan; you had to import them at extortionate prices. As such we pored over every detail and absorbed a lot of Japanese along the way. I took a Japanese module at university to bolster this further, reading James Clavell's Asian Saga along the way. I've always dreamed of going to Japan some day.
It's against this backdrop I gleefully accepted an invitation to Continue Reading ››
Those lovely people at Vouchercodes.co.uk asked me to come up with a family-friendly money-saving recipe. Just for them I made roasted vegetable chilli with parmesan wedges. They filmed it to boot. Watch the whole recipe below on YouTube:
Fun fact: I wasn't going to make wedges, it was supposed to be polenta fingers. Unfortunately the wrong ingredients were delivered! Disaster. A quick rummage around the store cupboard and I settled on (what else) potatoes instead.
Make sure you pop along to … Continue Reading ››
I've been fortunate enough to work with quite a few people of Nigerian descent; without fail every one of them at some point has brought in jollof rice from home for lunch. This is a slight play on it. Usually the rice is simmered in tomatoes but this can be time consuming so I kept the parts separate until the last minute. I blended it with a gift from a colleague, a coriander-heavy blend of Continue Reading ››
I'm certain people who cook a lot, like me, ponder something along these lines: when you really enjoy a dinner, one that you made, what made it special? Was it the choice ingredients, or the exotic technique you used... or was it the company? Heston talks often about this theory - the atmosphere of a meal - and how you can recapture it. It's often impossible.
I love having friends over for dinner. This occasion was a reunion of very old colleagues who … Continue Reading ››
Whenever my son is offered a treat out to a restaurant, say for a birthday or good school report, before I've even finished the question he replies "Wagamama". And he always orders the same thing: chicken katsu curry.
I've hard arguments with people on Twitter about Wagamama in the past; that it is lowest common denominator stuff, that it's Westernised muck... they are aiming at global appeal to be sure. I can't speak to its … Continue Reading ››
along the way. I've always dreamed of going to Japan some day.
It's against this backdrop I gleefully accepted an invitation to Continue Reading ›› 
