Thought I’d share with all of you the update I received from World Vision as part of my sponsorship of a young girl in the Hlaing Tharyar province of Myanmar (Burma) The devestation caused by Cyclone Negris is yesterday’s news in the West but for the Burmese people the destruction is still being felt. What economy the area had was given a double whammy by both the cyclone and the global economic downturn and it is been through the work of charities rather than the Burmese government which has seen some of the area’s economic and physical infrastructure slowly recover.

World Vision has helped develop community spirit and learning through programmes highlighting child protection, social responsibility, food distribution and disaster risk reduction. A number of events have been held and recently over 25,000 children took part in the Universal Day of the Child in the Bogale Township. It was a chance for all the young children affected by the cyclone to play games and take part in role plays highlighting more serious issues. More than 40,000 people saw their homes damaged or destroyed in the area and this must have been a great boost for the community spirit.

Reading the report it is obvious that the charity places a great deal of attention on child welfare and education, according to UNICEF the enrolement rate for primary schools is 80% in Myanmar but the drop out rate equates to less than 55% of children completing their primary school term. This goes hand in hand with the major problem of child trafficking and the parents of sponsored children have been given guidance on the tell tale signs of potential risks to their children.

My sponsored child, May Mi Mi is still going to school and seems to be growing up rapidly, she still wants to become a teacher and I’ve got the feeling she’ll make it…

Thought I’d share with you the results of the best photographic product awards as featured in Amateur Photographer magazine this week. The Eisa awards stands for the European Image and Sound Association is made up of European photography magazine editors and the annual awards make for interesting reading. Amateur Photographer is one of my favourite magazines and well worth checking out if you see a copy.

So the poll is a mix of the usual likely winners but also contains one or two items which grab the attention. I for one am a fan of these awards because you get an unbiased, cross European opinion on the best available product at that particular time, which in the minefield of photographic purchases can be very welcome indeed…

Best European Camera: Canon EOS 550D
Best Advanced SLR: Canon EOS 7D
Best Professional SLR: Nikon D3S
Best Micro Camera: Sony NEX-5
Multimedia Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2
Best Compact: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX5V
Travel Compact: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10
Advanced Compact: Samsung EX1
All Weather Compact: Olympus u Tough-8010
Super Zoom Camera: Fujifilm Finepix HS10
Best Lens: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
Best Zoom Lens: Tamron SP70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD
Best Micro System: Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4-5.6
Professional Lens: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G ED VR 11
Best Printer: Epson Stylus Pro 3880
Photo Software: Apple Aperture 3

So a mixed bag, interesting to see a pretty even split between the big two with Nikon stealing a march at the pro end. That said best overall camera for the 550D is where the money is at so……

More of an open forum this one than a scientific statement. It comes on the back of a UK report which highlighted the amount of salt in pre prepared salads from our leading supermarkets. Apparently the salt content is higher than that of a lot of fast food and it raises a couple of interesting points and questions…

Has the advent of ready meals and the associated flavourings impaired our taste buds to the extent that salt has become a necessary evil? Was food simply too bland before? I am sure all of us knew or know of a relative/friend who would drench their meal with salt before ever tasting it and why did they do it? Smokers with impaired tastebuds? Not always.

Do the supermarkets concede that in order to sell their product it has too be more seasoned/salted than would otherwise be necessary? Is this consumer driven I wonder?

Now it seems to me that we are on some kind of irreversible trend in as much that now consumers palletes have become accustomed to a level of salt in their foods how do you pull back from that? I hope that a scientist’s mind (Laura?!) could dispel the concern and show how salt could or can be replaced to a larger degree than it already is. Whatever our thoughts there is no doubt that ready meals will only continue to grow in popularity through generational change. Too few children and young adults are being encouraged to learn to cook and couple that with either a busy lifestyle of indeed a lazy one and the future of old fashioned home cooked food seems bleak. Is this relevent in your own country?

Either way we are, as a nation getting fatter and seemingly less inclined to do anything about it. According to another UK report the use of gastric banding is ten times more prevelent now. Interestingly I do not hear much about the health issues concerning excess salt intake as opposed to alcohol or fatty foods and I wonder why that is?

So what do you think? Would you be prepared to eat something slightly more bland for the greater good? Are our shop bought salads really worth buying after all? I’d be delighted to hear your comments…

It seems hard to believe that it has been twenty years since Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash shortly after a concert. Vaughan was the leading American blues guitarist of his generation and won his place amongst the all time greats with his crossover of blues and rock.

There are plenty of tribute pages out there so I’ll leave you with a song to listen to whilst you do something else. Have a good weekend and here’s to Stevie Ray…

I haven’t done this in a while and as it approaches that time when summer is begining to fade into the early signs of autumn it’s good to know what is still good to eat and what to look forward to.

For me the big news of August is the begining of the grouse season in England. A fine game bird and one which has benefited from a harsh winter with its nemesis, the parasitic tick killed of by the long freeze. Prices always start off high for grouse but come down quite quickly after the initial flurry and a shooting friend of mine tells me there have been more grouse shoots this year than there has been for a number of years. It’s still too early for other game birds such as partridge and my beloved woodcock but the middle of September is the time to start game cooking partridges and mallards. Other game birds will be better for waiting for so wait until October and November for the rest.

In the fields it’s a good time to put corn on the cob on your menu, I’m making a fine soup with the stuff and the price is very low right now. Food in general has gone up across the board but beware of wheat and grain prices going up along with potatoes, lemons and soft vine fruit. Plums are still a great buy as are greengages and gooseberries which have lost their initial tang and must be made use of.

Looking out of my bedroom window I can see some rather suspect mushrooms growing in my lawn and the spate of wet weather has made for plenty of girolle picking in Scotland. These are well worth trying if you can find some, they are delicious cooked in olive oil and butter with a little chopped garlic, lemon zest and parsley. Serve the lot on a thick slab of country bread.

Could there be a more tranquil place than where the river Witham passes through Bardney Lock in Lincolnshire? Steep embankments line the river’s route as it gently meanders its way through the countryside. Home to the occasional canal boat and patient fisherman it is a haven for wildlife and a reminder of times gone by.
The old, dissused sugar beet factory still stands tall close by and the grounds are teeming with birds from peregrine falcons to buzzards, ducks, swans, kestrels, owls and many more.

I chose this particular part of the river as my starting point because it is the area which I frequent the most, Bardney is a gateway to some wonderful places; Chambers Farm Woods, Nocton Fen and Wasps Nest, College Wood, Tupholme Abbey, Southery Wood all within a short drive of one another.

Little is made of the history around this area and that is a shame, the Witham river is an ancient one which is said to predate the Celts and it was the Romans (who else?) which transformed the river into an invaluable route across the county and towards the east coast. Bardney lock was originally constructed in the late 1700’s and refurbished in 1865. The bridge area has been sadly neglected and overgrown but the brickwork remains intact and lovely to see.

The high sided tidal banks offer a great view of the surrounding countryside but it’s worth stepping down closer to the rivers edge to get a real feel for the river and all that inhabit it. I have never fished the river but I am told it makes for excellent winter pike fishing and I can believe it, this is classic pike territory with plenty of smaller fish for them to feed on.

What I love is the way small tributries flow off from the main river and cut through the surrounding fenland. They are such peaceful stretches of water and perfect places for swans to rear their young and the occasional kingfisher to spend a morning fishing. It is easy to be distracted by these stretches of water which is what I love about the Witham. You cannot help but wonder how much history these waters have seen…

Mute Swan near Bardney Lock

Notice I wrote ‘daytime’! Professional kitchens are a hard place to spend your working life, bollockings are the norm. You’re either taking one or giving one but either way you’re getting a dose of stress you could do without.

When you’re a commis you take turns with the kitchen porter to make the tea, the head chef usually has his own mug which nobody dare touch whilst the other mere mortals make do with old chipped cups, plastic beakers and any other grotty vessel no other self respecting human being would drink from.

Tea is the ultimate healer, I have used it on many an occasion. A pot of strong steaming tea has awakened the living dead from the hangover from hell, stopped tears of the homesick trainee, calmed the nerves of a stressed chef and celebrated a birthday, Christmas or particularly crappy day.

I’ve drunk tea in all sorts of places but nothing beats tea in your home town, nothing. Working in Switzerland and Germany made me realise what I was missing to make the ultimate mug of tea; dodgy water boiled in a kettle full of limescale, tannin stained ten year old mug, fresh milk (no not UHT or those horrible creamers) and PG Tips tea bags. Drinking ‘foreign’ tea has an adverse affect on the young English chef, it’s bad enough with the beer but a double whammy with weak tea is too much to take.

What I learnt before going to work in Spain was that when in Rome or Marbella do as the locals do, which in the case of Marbella is mostly fat, drunk English people. Tea, as any self respecting English blue collar worker will tell you cannot be copied in the thirty degree heat of a Spanish hotel. No Sir! Instead I would reach for a glass of Moroccan mint tea infused with fresh mint to stir my wilting soul into a modicum of energy and drive.

There are some wonderful teas out there but in the English kitchen there can be only one. PG Tips. As strong as you can take it. Job done.

Gods of thunder, Motorhead are releasing a compilation album and a live dvd to celebrate 35 years in the business. The dvd was recorded in Switzerland in 2002 for Swiss television at the Open Air in Gampel concert. Tracks include Love for Sale, Sacrifice, Shoot You in the Back, Ramones, No Class, Bomber, Nothing Up My Sleeve, God Save the Queen, Dr Rock (no suprise there) Civil War and, suprisingly Damage Case from the Overkill album.

Hopefully it will be as good as the last live dvd, set for release in the US in September and released in England a couple of weeks later. The album is centred around the Fast Eddie Clarke era and to be honest I cannot see the point. Motorhead compilations are ten to the dozen so why another?

Happy Anniversary lads!

This comes on the back of an article by a UK newspaper which has published its top fifty cookbooks of all time. I don’t agree with all of them but I was wondering what you would list amongst yours?
I would suggest a ‘definitive’ list is impossible and surely down to personal taste (literally!) What makes for a great cookbook, just recipes? easy to follow recipes? glossy photos? food stories/history?

Here’s a few of mine, some you may not have heard of unless you’re in the business…

1. White Heat-Marco Pierre White. The book which influenced me as a chef beyond all others
2. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet-Alford & Duguid. Asian food, photography and travel-truly beautiful
3. Charlie Trotter’s Seafood-Charlie Trotter. Made me think outside the box in the late ’90’s
4. La Tante Claire-Pierre Koffman. From the chef’s chef.
5. Silk Road Gourmet Vol. One-Our own Laura Kelley for reminding us there are other countries and cuisines out there.
6. Ma Cusines de Bistros-Guy Savoy. Parisienne superstar demonstrates the beauty of brasserie food.
7. French Country Cooking-Elizabeth David. Could be anything by her quite honestly
8. El Bulli Vol Two-Ferran Adria. Not a cookbook but a moment in time of a great culinary destination.
9. Kochkunst in Bildern-Vol Three. The book which inspired me to enter professional culinary competitions.
10. Food and Travels Asia-Alastair Hendy. Simple, inspiring food and brilliant photography.
11. Cuisine a la Carte-Anton Mossiman. The ex King of hotel kitchens, one of my earliest inspirations
12. Thai Food-David Thompson. If you have to own one book on Thai food this has to be it.
13. The French Laundry-Thomas Keller. Inspirational American cuisine from a great chef.
14. English Seafood Cookery-Rick Stein. Dated maybe, charming certainly.
15. Sichuan Cookery-Fuschia Dunlop. A brilliant read of a much misunderstood cuisine.
16. Anything by Simon Hopkinson. Took up where David and Grigson left off.
17. Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery-Jane Grigson. Could have been any of hers but this is my favourite
18. Simply Asian-Neil Perry. Brilliant, inspiring and easy to use.
19. New Larousse Gastronomique-Bible of cookery, try and get an older copy for nostalgia.
20. Mangoes and Curry Leaves-Alford & Duguid. Another incredible book in the Asian trilogy.

Ok, apologies to Julia Child and the rest of them but I haven’t read them. What’s yours?

Looks as though Canon are set to announce the upgrade from the EOS 50D, the EOS 60D. I’ve not seen the exact spec details yet but word has it that it’s got the same pixel count as the EOS 7D but without the magnesium body. Apparently it is smaller than the 50D but has a new screen and I would assume video capapbility is a given. So another model to bridge the gap between the 500D and 7D and most likely a camera to challenge Nikon’s D90.

There is still no concrete information regarding the replacement of the flagship 1DS Mark Three. Web talk would suggest the new version could have a lower pixel count than the current model but with huge improvements to quality. I would expect this to be a camera aimed squarely at stills and video photographers with a price tag to match. The pixel count will be interesting in as much as Canon have shown their hand somewhat with the G11 compact which has a reduced count from the earlier G10. It’s getting harder to see where camera quality can be fundamently improved in terms of picture quality to the naked eye.

Whatever happens the Canon-Nikon competition is alive and well.