Leaving the restaurant
For the first time in my life I have been invited outside of the kitchen and asked, paid even, to do something other than cook. Of course, I’ll still spend a lot of time cooking, but to say I’m excited for this next chapter of my life is an understatement. Excited to learn new things, excited to be involved in growing the food I’ll be cooking, excited to be cooking under a more creatively demanding position, and excited to share my discoveries with you, right here on this blog.
So let me begin with an introduction. I’ll keep it short and sweet because it is apparent to me that there are two types of chefs in this world. Those who enjoy talking about food and those who enjoy talking about themselves. I am part of the former. Here goes…
I am 32 and I have only ever been a professional chef. My first job was pot washing for a five star hotel in Shropshire and I haven’t left the sector since. I have been lucky enough to work with some fantastic and inspiring people, and have been welcomed into the world of sustainable, organic food production through visiting the farms of the most amazing producers Ceredigion has to offer. I’m a keen home fermenter and experimenter, from Kombucha, to kombucha syrup, to kombucha syrup jelly; I love to take a simple ingredient and see how far I can whilst still remaining true to what it it. In my spare time, what little there is, I enjoy reading scientific publications on a variety of topics, from electromagnetic generators to planetary sciences to fungal networks and have been known to get lost in a book or two about philosophy. I also draw, paint and illustrate. Back when I was a full time chef, most of my experiments were conducted at home as there aren’t many restaurants that can afford the luxury of a dedicated test kitchen, but then came along a new opportunity.
As you might have guessed, THIS is that new opportunity. A man called Huw Richards approached me with an idea; he had lots of food that needed cooking and an audience eager to see it cooked. And I was the person he wanted to cook it. Huw’s whole thing is regenerative growing and permaculture. He’s been writing books and recording videos on the subject for a long time and managed to accumulate rather a staggering following of people who now employ the techniques and advice he shares. But he felt there was something missing. He helped his audience reach the stage where they had all this beautifully grown food but nothing on what to do with it. He also wanted someone with the flexibility to help around the garden as well as film videos for him. That’s where I come in. What could I say? I was hardly about to pass up an opportunity like that.
So, that brings you up to speed on me and how I ended up in the position I am. Without further ado, let’s get on to the more interesting part.
Goals for this year:
To dedicate a day a week to experimenting in the kitchen with whatever seasonal produce is available in the garden.
Outline and share techniques, hints and tips to help you make the most out of your ingredients.
Cover preserving techniques to help extend the life of produce so you can enjoy it over a longer period.
To share both successes and failures in our journey.
Begin filming and sharing videos on more developed recipes.
Develop signature dishes to help celebrate key dates in the calendar using ingredients that are available at that time.
Promote the best choices and easy changes that benefit us and the environment.
Once we have enough recipes on the website, I plan to develop a dedicated page to easily navigate blog posts via seasonality and type (i.e. Winter - Starter, Spring - Dessert).
Lastly, as avid readers (both Huw and I), I would like to share recommendations for books and articles you may find of interest. No doubt, most will relate to food and growing, but you may also see the occasional piece on a variety of sciences or cultural philosophy sneak in too from time to time.
So, for now I think this concludes the first blog post. I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of images to post or recipes to share just yet, but perhaps you can enjoy this photo of me in the garden.
I look forward to cooking with you.
All the best,
Sam.