The Diary of a Neurotic

Void left by Floyd From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (49 days old)

Void left by Floyd TV viewers and amateur cooks everywhere were morning the lose of TV chef Keith Floyd, who died on Monday. He was a trailblazer who took television cookery out of the studio and on l… more

Hi From varshakale in LET US TURN HISTORY INTO HERSTORY! (100 days old)

Hi everybody...how are you… more

Kumquat Meringue Pie with Passion Fruit Couli© Kevin Ashton 2006 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (117 days old)

Lots of chefs use kumquats just for decoration, because they don't seem to know how else to use them which a shame. Originally from China this oval shaped miniature type of orange is eaten who… more

World Championship Cookery From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (169 days old)

I mentioned earlier this year I was writing several articles about the Pastry World Cup and the Bocuse D’or for various magazines on both sides of the Atlantic including the spring edition of Yes CH… more

Google Translator Bug??/ From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in Bugs (174 days old)

In the last several weeks there seems to be some serious bugs involved in the new editor. Whilst trying to cut and paste text into a new article the text appeared not in the edit box/blog but in the … more

Tip Of The Week- Licorice-Liquorice From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (180 days old)

We all have food memories from our childhood; they can be some of our most evocative glimpses of our young lives. I'd like to share one of mine with you; perhaps for some readers it will remind you … more

Monkfish chunks cooked with Onions, Peppers and Sherry by Mitch Tonks From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (191 days old)

As promised here is a sample recipe from Mitch Tonks wonderful new cookbook Fish His recipes are easy to follow and will produce delicious results! I'd like to say a special thank you to Mitch a… more

Book Review: Fish the complete fish & seafood companion by Mitch Tonks From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (194 days old)

In my 30 plus years as a chef I have never found such a useful and interesting seafood book as Fish written by Mitch Tonks. It clearly gives the reader sound advice (with pictures) on how to bu… more

What's it like to be a Chef? part 2 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (229 days old)

Answering the question “What is it like to be a chef? Is one I am asked quite often and a question that is a complex one to answer. I have written on this subject before and will post a link at … more

White Chocolate Cake with Roasted Peaches (serves 6)© Kevin Ashton 2008 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (244 days old)

I wanted to combine peaches and chocolate in a dessert, but felt dark chocolate would be too bitter and milk chocolate would simply not work. I reasoned if I were careful to make sure neither the… more

Chicken with Pasta and Pesto Sauce (serves2-3) © Kevin Ashton 2008 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (254 days old)

During the warmer months I grow 1-2 basil plants in my kitchen window. I just buy a living plant from the supermarket and with a little love it grows and grows and gives me enough basil for most o… more

My Life-Update February 2009 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (261 days old)

My Life-Update The numbers of readers to this blog continue to grow and this week we past the 1,000 visitors mark on three separate days and my daily average now stands at 1,017. With my total page-… more

Bramley Apple Crisp (serves 4) © Kevin Ashton 2009 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (269 days old)

Bramley,the best cooking apple in the world celebrates it’s 200th birthday this year. Throughout the year various chefs and food pundits will be telling you this, but don’t forget where you heard… more

Chocolate Update From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (275 days old)

... With Valentine’s Day just around the corner,I thought it would be a good time to give you my long overdue chocolate update Food Trends in Chocolate You may have read in various magazines… more

Tip of the Week-Valentine's Day From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (279 days old)

Don’t go out to eat on Valentine’s Day, it’s too expensive too crowded and definitely not romantic. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, which is a pet hate for restaurant owners and op… more

Oven Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille with Cheese Parcels(serves3)© Kevin Ashton 2007 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (281 days old)

Still trying to lose those extra pounds from Christmas? I find that cutting back on alcohol and eating vegetarian meals once or twice a week can help. Now you don’t have to be a vegetarian to … more

2009 Pastry World Cup-The Results From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (285 days old)

French Frozen Dessert by Marc Riviere First a big thank you to the Almond Board of California for making it possible for me to go the event. They and their PR company Porter Novelli were most gr… more

Glorious Dutch Cheese From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (289 days old)

If you think you know about cheese have you tried any good Dutch cheeses? I’m not talking about most of the mass produced Netherlands cheese that is sold in our supermarkets, I’m talking about … more

The Pastry World Cup 2009,Lyon France From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (291 days old)

I have been invited to go as a food journalist to perhaps one of the most prestigious food shows in the world. Started in 1989 by French Master Pastry Chef Gabriel Paillasson, the competition… more

Free-range Chicken with Morels and Fava Beans (serves 4)© Kevin Ashton 2007 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (296 days old)

If your going to splurge and buy a free-range chicken as a treat you might as well go the whole hog and make a special sauce to go with it. Normally I only use ingredients available in most super… more

Tip Of The Week-Citrus Flavours From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (299 days old)

Tip of the Week-Citrus Flavours Have you ever added lemon juice to a mayonnaise and by the time you have a nice lemony flavour the dressing or sauce is too thin? Here is a way to get lots of… more

Warm Smoked Duck Salad with Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette(serves4) © Kevin Ashton 1994 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (302 days old)

Thanks to all those people who turned up to watch me cook at The Royal Show on Monday July 2nd. As promised here is the first of four recipes I demonstrated there. Smoked duck is a delicious versatile… more

Food News-Food Banned From Schools Still Served Up To Toddlers In Nurseries From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (309 days old)

*This news item came across my desk recently and I felt that I should retell it to a wider audience. When my (ex) partner and I considered sending our daughter Felicia to nursery we felt it imp… more

Crab Cakes with Thai Curry Sauce © Kevin Ashton 2008 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (310 days old)

I'm sure that lots of you have seen enough turkey for a while so I thought you might like to try some of my crabcakes. It was during my first stint working in the USA in the seaside resort of Oce… more

2009 NEW YEAR NEWS UPDATE 2009 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (311 days old)

by Felicia Ashton aged 6Blog update-a big thank youFirst I would like to say a big thank you to the people from all over the world that read this blog. December finished with over 12,450 visitors in … more

Lemon Roulade with Homemade Lemon Curd (serves 6) © Kevin Ashton 2007 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (319 days old)

In the next day or two lots of us will feel like we overdid it in the food or drinks department. I thought therefore you might appreciate my light lemon roularde. In this recipe I decided to m… more

Cookbook Review: Cooking with a Private Chef by Michael Saxer From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (326 days old)

It's been quite some weeks since I was sent a copy of this cookbook to review. This delay has been partly due to my busy schedule and because of this I wanted not to rush through the book but giv… more

Christmas Holiday Tips of the Week From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (327 days old)

I have put together a series of answers to the questions I get asked most at this time of year about serving a successful Christmas dinner. This is not a guide to cook your turkey because there ar… more

Orange Spice Cake with Chocolate Ganache (serves 8) © Kevin Ashton 2007 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (333 days old)

I have rarely shared any of my cake recipes with my blog readers or the folks who follow my newspaper column so I felt this recipe was overdue. My thoughts took me back to an Arabian tent an… more

Belly of Pork with Roasted Carrots & Cherry Tomatoes (serves4) © Kevin Ashton 2006 From WannabeTVChef ^Pro in wannabeTVchef.blog (336 days old)

I must admit I’ve had a weak spot recently for belly of pork. It’s still relatively cheap and very tasty. My starting point for this recipe was thinking about the classic French dish Cassoulet w… more