TV chefs don’t have to deal with this!

I’ve never worked in a professional kitchen, but my assumption is that the chefs know exactly how their ovens work best with particular recipes and are clearly enabled to produce the best quality meals possible, without any extraneous distractions. This notion is perpetuated by many TV cooking shows, even those filmed ‘at home’ – if you’ve ever watched any Nigella programme, you’ll know exactly what I mean! This calm idyll was only broken when some tv chefs filmed from home during lockdown and people like Jamie Oliver were being interrupted by their kids etc.

There is a joy about cooking at home, surrounded by familiarity. You instinctively know where pots/pans/knives are (or where they should be, depending on who last unstacked the dishwasher!), where you left the paprika in the spice rack and how many steps it is from the hob to the sink. You know exactly how carefully you have to put certain pans down on the worktop, how long to keep the gas on before the hob stays lit, when to put the fan on so that the smoke/heat detector doesn’t go off….

However, there can be disadvantages too. Anyone with young children will know only too well how they can distract you at a critical moment. Anyone with an elderly parent has probably had a phone call at the most inopportune moment with an ‘internet related’ emergency. Anyone with a pet will be only too familiar with potential issues. Our dog, Coco (pictured above) loved food, any food, all food. She would hover by the fridge, hob, work surfaces, hoping for something to fall into her mouth – cheese was a particular favourite (our fault, as we always ‘hid’ any medication in a lump of cheddar), though cucumber, tomato, strawberry and chocolate always went down well, as did salmon and any meat. The amount of times I swore when nearly falling over her with a hot pan, over-filled bowl or just trying to prepare a meal!

However, when your pet of 13 and a half years is no longer around, words cannot express how much you miss those times… RIP Coco…

Eating: Those of you who know me are well aware of my fondness for soup. This ‘cheat’ gazpacho was a real treat – served from the fridge and topped with olives, pickled onion, mozzarella and basil. Great for the current warmer weather we’re enjoying!

Drinking: With some warmer weather (at last!), time to crack out the rosé. This one is the perfect pale colour, refreshing and, most importantly for me, dry.

Listening to: You know how there are some artists that pass you by and it seems overly difficult to start getting in to them? i knew the name Gil Scott Heron, but was not really au fait with his music. A recent Desert Island Discs episode, however, encouraged me to listen. Current favourite tracks include the well-known Lady Day and John Coltrane, The Revolution will not be televised and Is that Jazz?