I’ve always loved the combination of pear and blue cheese. It’s a combination I’ve come back to time and again over the years. I’m pretty much sold on not messing with the cheese at all - here’s where I doff an imaginary cap to the skill of the cheesemaker - but I do love to pickle the pears; a nice marriage as the sweetness of the pear and sour hit of the pickling liquor (which can double as a dressing or be made into a jelly) balances out the richness of the cheese. You can vary it to suit your taste, so just go with what you like - if you prefer a stronger cheese like Dunsyre or Lanark Blue, then go with that; you can vary the sweet / sour balance of the pickled pears, too, to suit yourself.

This is an ancient photo, but it always makes me smile. One of those happy little happenings that occurs randomly and cheers you up. I was cutting scones for afternoon tea, a big batch of dough enough for around 200 or so dainty little morsels. This happy chappy was there sitting on the bench when I was nearly done, grinning back at me. Hi!

And, well, this place is supposed to be about fun, too; about being happy. About celebrating food, and about how it can make us smile, make memories, give us a little bit of joy.

It’s weird…..this is my first post on my brand new ‘space’ and I am thinking about how different it is from my last site, in a great way. I used to be a freelance private chef, running my own business and constantly on the lookout for bookings - so everything online felt like it was pointed, like there was an agenda, like I was selling something. I was, of course, I was selling ‘me’. I’m ‘settled’ now, I’m not running around trying to fill my diary.

I know too that one key thing about being a private chef is that, well……it is private. Discretion is everything. So…..no names, no places, no tales to tell out of school. I think it’s important to say that, right at the start.

This place, this space, is designed to be different…..it is just for my love of food, and my love of feeding people. I love what I do, and that’s why I started doing what I do in the first place.

I guess that, what I’m trying to say, in a roundabout sort of way, is that, right now, I am a happy wee scone. This is brand new, and I’m excited to welcome anyone who stumbles upon it. So, pull up a chair and lets tuck in!

I love apples….I was just looking at some old photos and it occurred to me that I probably don’t cook with them as often as I should.

Everyone loves a crumble, don’t they? A decent apple crumble must be in lots of top ten comfort food lists. Maybe its the apples…..the crunchy bits and the soggy bits of the topping…the anticipation while trying to wait patiently to let it cool down from blisteringly hot….maybe its the custard……(actually, for me, it’s probably the custard, but this is supposed to be a post about apples, so we’ll just gently gloss over that).

It’s an interesting thing, though, I often forget that folks love an old fashioned honest-to-goodness crumble. If I’m honest, sometimes when I’m cooking I probably try too hard to impress, to be clever, to dress things up and play. I like to have fun, you see. I like to challenge myself just a little bit. It’s nice to play with the familiar, though, isn’t it?

This is a good example. It’s also the beginning of a good example as to how plates evolve and garnishes change and progress, but that’s a whole different post…

Apple terrine, calvados parfait (rolled in crumble), raisin purée, apple syrup, creme fraiche

It was tasty and I think it looked nice. This (below) is more like it though, because the custard is there, albeit in a different form (I like custard, can you tell?)

Apple terrine, date purée (tweaked from above version), crumble, granny smith sorbet, vanilla creme patisserie, apple syrup

But this…..c’mon, I’d rather eat this:

Apple & bramble crumble, vanilla custard, apple sorbet

Any takers? And look…..proper custard!

Custard or ice cream? Not just a crumble question, but the eternal apple pie conundrum……I suppose I’m compromising a bit with the crumble above, as it is served with custard and something cold that isn't ice cream, in this case, sorbet, to sort of reinforce the notion that it’s all about the apples, at the end of the day.

Digressing slightly and heading more into pie territory, here’s another example bending apples to the will of the cook:



Apple tarte fine

I particularly like the way the tarte is squished flat, upside down, when it comes out of the oven. Quite satisfying, a good squish. 

When I was maybe twelve or thirteen years old, I used to get wheeled out to make sandwiches. My Mum was pretty proud of my sandwiches, and I loved making them. So whenever she had visitors, I made sandwiches. I took it pretty seriously then and I take it pretty seriously to this day!

I think I understood from early on, as a pre-teenager, that you needed the correct amount and combination of fillings, the right amount of moisture, the right ratio of filling to bread…..it just had to be interesting.

Wait. Am I a weirdo? Does this sound like over analysis? It’s just a sandwich…..

I sometimes wonder about my relationship with the humble sarnie. I found myself wondering the other day if anyone else does the (definitely) weird thing I always do when I eat a sandwich, which is this:

Take a bite. Chew slowly. Appreciate the taste and remember it.

Turn the sandwich upside down

Take a second bite. Chew slowly. Appreciate the taste and compare it to the ‘other way up’ memory.

Decide which way up the sandwich tasted better.

Make sure to continue eating sandwich in that same orientation…..

The thing is……it always tastes better one way up, than the other, doesn’t it? Try it (if you don’t do this already….and why wouldn’t you, it’s eminently sensible, isn’t it?)

It is safe to say that I’ve made a LOT of sandwiches in my life. It’s an underrated thing, the sandwich, in my humble view. I also EAT a lot of sandwiches myself, because a lot of the time, if I’ve been on my feet cooking all day for clients and guests, constantly tasting sauces, seasoning things, checking how flavours are developing, for a semi-complicated meal with lots of components…..the last thing I want to do is eat that meal myself. So, after service, I’ll have a sandwich. I’d pretty much have a really well constructed leftover turkey sandwich rather than the turkey dinner.

DELICIOUS.

Like I said, I’m weird. Don’t get me started on toasties right now, that’s a whole separate art form.

All hail the humble sandwich. Don’t take it for granted!