Circa 1995. 6am. April. North coast. Stress levels – defcon 5. The Season is just starting…………. It takes exactly 27 minutes for the Kitchen to warm up if I crank on all 12 oven burners now, that’s enough time. I need to change, smoke, get caffeinated, smoke, run the order list, oversee deliveries and start prep…and… Read More The perfect Spatchcocked, Oven-BBQ’d Chicken
“They will be ready…..when they are ready…..com-pree-hendo”? the faux Mexican accent was abit weird…. Chef balled her fist and playfully sunk it knuckles first into my sternum, her play-fighting was most men’s street brawling. That fucking hurt but my 21-year-old ego fueled by plentiful and erratic hormones refused to show the pain of… Read More The 5 hour Pork Shoulder & The Girl from Ipanema’s arse……(go figure)
I wrote this piece quite some time ago – but I recently came across a picture of Paolo and it brought me back to that day spent making pizza with him – a day that is etched into my mind…. Paolo sadly passed away in 2015. Pizza with Paolo The heat is intense –… Read More Pizza with Paolo T.
Tony, Chef, me and about 10 other people had followed the fight all the way and where now jammed in the front door wide eyed and expectant jostling for a view of the final round. To this point at least 12 right crosses, 2 upper cuts and a nose bite had been delivered as the… Read More Little Maggie’s Gambas on Rye
“I fucking hate mussels – fucking, fucking hate them boyo” Tony spat the words at me like he was clearing his throat of some poison then promptly washed away any residue with a fresh gulp of Snake Bite – a lethal mix of Cider, Whisky and Lager – we called it ‘The Chef’s Chimaera’… Read More Parmesan and Herb Mussels with The Chef’s Chimaera
The Bicycle Thief 