It seems that every time I turn on the television there is a cookery programme. The latest is the Great Sport Relief Bake Off which somehow I have ended up glued to. There are even some channels on Sky totally dedicated to food, its transformation and ultimate mastication.
It’s easy television, low cost but always something going on. There are characters, exotic ingredients and recipes redolent of Sundays at your Grandmothers. There is magic, an alchemy as the different components are brought together to make the whole. There is completion, sometimes there is competition and there is also tragedy, things always go wrong along the way. Perhaps they are a pastiche of the way life is, which is why they are so compelling.
But please don’t let me watch any more.
I sit there and salivate. I start to think about whether or not I could try to make the dish. I used to write down the ingredients but now a quick Google and they are there right in front of you just asking to be cooked. And that is what I do. I work out what I have in the store cupboard and jot down the missing bits on my shopping list. I stick to the less unusual, things I know that I would like to eat with the odd curve-ball thrown in.
And I’ve cooked some interesting stuff, a beet and potato dauphinois from Gordon Ramsey, a sausage casserole from the Hairy Bikers and a pear and almond cake from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage to name but a few.
I’ve enjoyed cooking them all and easting them even better. I’ve had a couple of near disasters but know how to correct them for the next time. The problem is that I have put on weight because I eat one meal while I’m making them and one once I’ve finished.
Please don’t let me watch any more.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 