Hello

Over the last few years, I've been increasingly fascinated by the science, technology, creativity and sheer exuberence of cooking in Britain today. I've been inspired by many evenings in the dining room, and one day in the kitchen at Midsummer House, countless other meals in restaurants of all kinds, discussions with friends (and taxi drivers), a close encounter with some meat, and a flood of books. 

But what really got me started on this journey was the challenge of concocting a meal for some vegetarian friends - steering clear of the usual "meat dish without the meat", or variations on "casserole/bake" and trying to come up with some interesting flavour and textural combinations, with perhaps some degree of refinement. I was quite pleased with the results* (although a lot of the presentation was somewhat wobbly; practice makes perfect).

The buzz I got from playing around with some of those simple ideas, and seeing the disproportionately pleasing results is the start point. For 2009, I've invested in some interesting kitchen kit and chemistry (who doesn't love a chemistry set), and started this blog to document my culinary experiments (success and failures alike).

Next post...unpacking the bits...

* This was the menu:

Gin snow

Duck egg with watercress soup
Cep veloute
Roasted fennel with tomato, peas and fried potato
Pink grapefruit sorbet
Pear and black olive baked yoghurt with lemon scones