Welcome to my blog

Eating solo means eating however I like and that includes licking the plate. I’ve never been one for breakfast in the morning, yet I’ll happily tuck into bacon and eggs at 3 p.m. And let’s be real—who hasn’t eaten cereal for dinner?

Even after years in the food industry, I sometimes lose my mojo. What I have learned is to ditch the judgement—internal or external—and embrace food as something fluid, adaptable, and, above all, satisfying.

After years in hospitality and catering, these are my best tips for helping everything run smooth, whatever the occasion. And most importantly, be present and enjoy yourself. It’s supposed to be fun after all.

Generally, I’ll make the bechamel and the ragu ahead of time and assemble the whole thing whilst it’s cold. You choose what suits you. Chunking the workload is more achievable for me most days but if I’m in the mood, I can get it done in a day. Yes, it’s a project but then I never promised otherwise.

We’ve been travelling for less than two weeks and I feel the need for some breathing space from the festive dining and drinking but also from the continuous forward momentum that travel involves.

I peek around the door jamb and pull at tufts of the yellow shag pile carpet. Even now I can smell the stale dust odour of that carpet and hear the chaotic conversation mixed with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass echo into the hallway.

The octopus legs I purchased were already fully cooked so they just needed some grilling or frying for colour and texture.

I have many kitchen creeds: recipes are ideas not just a set of instructions; if you’re going to turn the oven on, cook more than just one thing; balance of textures is just as important as balance of flavours; eat something green with every meal; woo the eater with visuals first. You get the idea..

I’ll often use my bbq on weeknights when I want to cook something quickly at a high heat without setting off the apartment’s smoke alarm. Yes, I speak from experience.

My best tips for cooking with mussels, why we should eat more and even a recipe for you to get started.

What lessons can we learn from mayonnaise? TLDR – patience and perseverance.

So here we are, metres from a legend outside his original restaurant. It’s like seeing Father Christmas himself, albeit in a bright navy pinstripe suit, white shirt, red socks, brown…