Matt Wilkinson's Blog

Say it again... I'm not a rubbish cook

“Fill until the rinse aid indicator is dark”... what bloody INDICATOR?!

This is a brief glimpse into my afternoon of domestic engineering in my new flat. OK, so I moved in like 3 weeks ago, you’d think I’d have tackled this by now but I kept putting the thing off. Anyway, the last thing you want to be doing with your spare time is reading a blog entry about some guy who can’t find a light on his new dishwasher (it’s number 30 on the diagram but all I can see is a plain bit of plastic. AHHHH!!).

Shall we move on…

This weekend I decided to take things easy. Sleep was one objective.

Did lots of that.

Cooking a massive roast dinner for a few friends was another.

I’ll be honest - and I kind of hope my friends won’t read this - but I used to be a bit of a rubbish cook. I always liked donning an apron and sautéing away (I have no idea what sauté actually means but Gordon Ramsey says it all the time) but perhaps through lack of practice I’d burn things and generally, unless it was the easiest stew in the world, my concoctions wouldn’t really present themselves how I hoped.

Anyway the reason I say all of this is that I hate the fact that people still think of me as being a bit of a rubbish cook. My burning days were about 3-4 years ago. In that time I have lived in various parts of the UK and in my spare time I have become fond of trying out new things, buying shiny new equipment and unashamedly watching every type of cookery programme on TV (Saturday Kitchen, Something For The Weekend, Kitchen Nightmares, Jamie At Home, etc…). Furthermore I have consulted their writings so many times that I now think of Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver as close friends. I am by no means a pro but I enjoying being in the kitchen and cooking up some tasty stuff.

Three of my friends came round yesterday afternoon for a roast. I have known them now for about seven years but have seen them infrequently in the last 3-4 years while I have lived away from London - so in my mind it was a great opportunity to prove to them that I now know the difference between a spatula and a spoon.

I cooked a lemon herb roasted chicken with all the trimmings followed by homemade spotted dick and fresh custard (I’m beginning to sound like a dinner lady aren’t I?). It was spot on (sorry…). So, I think I convinced them. The only down side of the afternoon was that I spent all the time in the kitchen and hardly anytime round the dinner table talking to them. 

I now have a plenty of glorious leftovers for the week ahead. THAT is the beauty of a good Sunday lunch!

M x

Posted by Matt Wilkinson on March 17, 2008 at 17:48PM

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