Kitchen dreams
Sometimes, I wonder if I might perhaps have enjoyed becoming a chef rather than an editor. While the closest I ever came to it was a short stint in the kitchen of a down-market chain pub, during which time I managed to fully master the controls of the all-important microwave, there are elements of a life behind the pass that would genuinely appeal: that special blend of creativity and perfectionism, the pumping adrenaline, the tightly-bound team dynamic, the giving of pleasure to strangers. Such reverie, though, usually ends with me remembering that I’m far too big a fan of free time and healthy interpersonal relationships for a career in the restaurant world to have ever taken off.

But just because I’m glad I’m not a chef, that doesn’t stop me wishing I could cook like one. I love being in the kitchen, I love good food, and more than anything I love showing off. Most of the time, being a competent home cook is more than sufficient. But, just occasionally, having the ability to impress my friends and family by, for example, whipping up a perfectly silky bearnaise sauce without first watching three YouTube videos and binning four failures would be a glorious thing. The answer, if this issue’s lead feature is anything to go by, is to book a day at the Sauce cookery school, learn to cook three Roux restaurant-standard dishes, then reproduce them for every person I know until someone finally begs me to stop. That, or decades of training and hard graft. It’s an easy choice.

Mark Riddaway
Editor