John Bennett | Print |  E-mail

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John Bennet
I didn't enter a kitchen until I left home. My mother - a trained chef - had her boundaries. For 18 years I watched a classically trained chef make a chicken stretch to four meals for four people. It was a lesson in culinary depth. After an eclectic mix of time spent in a professional kitchen, observing passing fads in cuisine and now a parent with a school meal duty every week I have gained some personal perspective on food trends and recipe writing. Ceremony and flair have their place but not at the expense of honesty and taste. The ability to give any ingredient or combination of ingredients justice in a dish is paramount to achieving good results and personal satisfaction from cooking.

Last week, I was in a local butcher buying some beef. Fillet, sirloin,rib-eye, rump steak, top rump? All good cuts and great to cook with. However, the cut that grabbed my attention was the shin-you never see it labelled 'shin' in a supermarket - it's called 'stewing steak'.  I bought a kilo and was asked by the butcher what was on the menu. How many times does your butcher ask you what you are cooking with rump steak? Slow-cooked shin of beef with Barolo and shallots, grain mustard mash and curly kale. The price was significantly different to the fillet - the taste undeniably more complete and satisfying.

Doing an ingredient justice requires attention and care. It doesn't need great knife technique, expensive tastes or best cuts. My advice is to source produce locally and understand seasonal variety. Use a local butcher and greengrocer who will recognise your value and interest and point you to the best products for sale. Recipes well practiced will hone your skills and reward you with great tastes. Increase confidence with a small number of dishes and then apply your intuition and imagination.

You don't need to impress your mates with a new dish at every visit. I still cook the same dish with one friend in our attempts to improve it at its margins. It has become a standing joke!

By using good ingredients and in many cases some of the cheapest; my philosopy is that recipes should be used as a base to work from and you will enjoy the process of sourcing, cooking and eating food.

Relax and have fun!
 

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