Ingredients For Life
My love for life starts in the kitchen.
Do you like to bake, or do you prefer to cook? I’ve done both on a professional level and I love them both. When you’re in a professional kitchen there is always a sense of urgency, a need to push harder, a respect for yesterday’s service that will likely not be repeated. The pressure is undeniable, you’ve got to accept from the beginning that things won’t always go great, but when they do celebrate the wins. After what we would call a ‘good service’ my colleagues and I from The Ritz Hotel, London would go to the pub at the end of a shift and have endless arguments about how to correctly fillet a fish or which pastry chef made the best scones. I would sit there looking at them with awe. They were incredible at their jobs, and I was a part of this little team, learning how to be great. Learning how to inspire.
Even when you go in on a cold, dark morning, there are few people around, all you hear is the humming sounds of the percolators, ovens gearing up for another busy day and the dense drumming of the fridges. It’s electrifying yet fearful and demands that you move to the beat of the mechanics you can hear. I loved it from the beginning, and still do. Even now when I get the opportunity to step inside a professional kitchen, I feel a tingling in my spine the hairs on my arm stand on end - that cannot be understood unless you’ve walked the walk.
My day used to begin with a Chococof. A mixture of hot chocolate and coffee to keep me on my toes, I drink these no more. Sometimes after a gruelling workout I wonder if I should try one, I head for a protein shake instead. Life has changed.
Now when I step into my little kitchen, I still hear the mechanics of the fridge, the dishwasher sometimes lets me know it’s here for me with the odd bleep. I look around in the cold, dark morning and see the beautiful equipment that make my work a success.
It’s a calm piece of heaven I relish. My big sister has a sewing school and I think she feels the same when she steps into her space. You’re able to breathe, appreciate your gifts (a lesson I learned at The Ritz) and are grateful for everything you have. That’s how I feel in my kitchen whether I’m there to cook, bake or simply experiment.
You might think that sounds crazy as you have a very different relationship with being in your kitchen, but most people who do not share my level of comfort usually share the same problems.
a) They do not give themselves enough time to prepare whatever it is they’re doing. Nor do they consider the reason they’re cooking or baking.
b) They do not have the correct equipment and compromise, not only the journey but also the result.
c) Don’t follow a recipe correctly (there may be ingredients missing which they interchange with something else). Which ultimately means you have not set yourself up for success. You may be laughing right now as you’re thinking, “that’s me.” Let’s change your journey and give you my Ingredients for Life.
I aim to inspire you with my love for the kitchen, my delicious recipes, funny stories, and give you the tools so that you too can fall in love with being in the kitchen.
