FoodMad NoMad

22nd February. Dirty pizza; the birthday(s) ends.

After so many days of indulgence, it all had to end some point. Today was a sluggish one, accumulated hangovers finally grinding us to a hault with all the associated guilt of calories consumed and pounds gained. The only question that really matters is was it worth it? And yes, it was. That's the best birthday celebration I think I've ever been a part of. 4 days of brilliant people with food playing the wonderful role it does in bringing people from all over the world together with a common language of deliciousness. I am delighted that I had the opportunity to contribute, and humbled by how well it all landed.

Today's helping of dirty pizza from Little Caesar's was the only thing any of us wanted. Satisfying and depressing at the same time. Exactly as required for a hangover. Healthy eating starts tomorrow.

So that's me sat and plugged in all my historic notes into this app so I'm now up to speed. Through the process of making the updates, I started to notice a specific gap in how I'm approaching the topic. I said I would talk more to people about all things food, and I also referenced that's hard for me in some situations. But what I hadn't realised is that I'm missing quite an easy opportunity to talk to the other travellers I meet. It got me to thinking about how I can start better conversations, likely with quite an explicit interview style, so I spent a little time writing down the kind of questions I think I can start asking to get people to open up and, hopefully, I'll learn lots of information and make stronger connections as a result.

Here's the kind of stuff I'm thinking about. Learning some of them in Spanish will be interesting; not as hard as trying to decipher the answers I get, mind you.

What are your fondest memories of eating?

What was the one dish everyone in your family loved?

Describe your relationship with food

Describe mealtimes with your family. How has that changed through your life?

What matters to you when it comes to eating?

Describe a particular meal/occasion that stands out in your memory

Desert Island scenario. What's that meal or set of ingredients you'd take? 

Who would you most like to dine with? What would the over-the-table conversation be about?

Describe the role that food plays in your family home, with your friends, in your country and culture. What value does that relationship carry?

What's your attitude towards current hot topics, such as sustainability, environmental impact and animal welfare?

How would you rate your cooking skills? Would you like that to be different/what stands in the way?

What is your favourite dish to cook or have cooked for you?

What's your earliest memories of being in the kitchen?

What does the future of food look like for you?

So I suppose I should try answer them for myself to see how well they work. Not bad, I think is my conclusion. We'll see what actually happens when I start asking people such things out of the blue.

What are your fondest memories of eating?

Any time with friends and good times. Particularly ones where I've managed to really deliver some food that blew someone away. Definitely the annual event my parents held to celebrate a poet. It was my opportunity to push myself to please a wider audience with large numbers. It was always stressful, and it would end up with my mum having to do so much help to keep things clean and moving, but the only bit that sticks is how people responded, and those clean plates.

What was the one dish everyone in your family loved?

Sausage pie. My mum's way of getting onions into me- I was a fussy wee bugger. Richmond recipe Irish sausages, chopped into chunks and fried with onions, tomato puree, and a tin of Heinz baked beans. Fired into an oven dish and topped with fluffy mash, maybe cheese as a treat on top, then into the oven to crisp the top. It remains a favourite, and it's an example of how, despite being able to knock out some pretty high end food these days, trying to replicate my mother's dish, no matter how elementary it may seem, is a task beyond me. I'm less able to perfectly burn onions for a start.

Describe your relationship with food

I'm fairly obsessed. It can be unhealthy for me, psychologically at times. If planning a big meal, I'll often start work on the menu design months in advance, and even in those early stages, be waking up with ideas in the middle of the night. My mind is at its worst when it's at its best, creatively. My desire to do everything from scratch means I get good results, but I spend more time than most would going to lengths that aren't always necessary. But I love it. Food and cooking is capable of making me cry with pleasure, so I know that it is truly my 'thing'. I'm a bit more balanced with things right now, because I can't have it dominating a trip that is as much about all the other thrills of travel as it is about being a food nut.

I love to challenge myself with cookery, and the buzz of pushing to execute something exceptional. I put myself through torture sometimes by doing things like cooking in restaurant kitchens- it makes me seriously anxious- but the feeling I get when I finish a shift, working with people I look yo as heroes, is worth all the nerves. I've made friends for life through food. It has changed my life.

Describe mealtimes with your family. How has that changed through your life?

In earlier years we always ate together. That started to change as I got older and, maybe, as society changes in that regard. I always wanted to be with my friends. Sunday dinner was still generally done. It's one thing I miss from being at home. If and when we return, I'll make mote of an effort to be around for that.

What matters to you when it comes to eating?

That whoever made the food cared about what they did. It's everything. Sometimes people close to me don't want to cook for me because they see how critical I am of my own food, but they miss an important point- I just love someone taking their time and being kind enough to serve me a plate of food, because they'll have done it with the care it deserves. I'm happy with scrambled eggs and toast. It's just so nice to sit down and be served something. It's relaxing.

Describe a particular meal/occasion that stands out in your memory

The first time we walked into The Gannet in Glasgow. We were only in for drinks- it had not long opened to the public, and we had other plans for dinner. I saw a plate going past and knew immediately that it was high quality- the colour preserved in the cooking of the spinach, the translucence of the sauce, and how everything sat up on the plate. That moment changed everything, possibly my life, forever. We went in a few days later and it blew my mind. We were in all the time and got super friendly with the staff, particularly Rory, the guy running bar. It turned out he was the brother of the owner, Peter. Eventually I plucked up the balls to ask him if he would ask his brother if I could come into the kitchen to learn.

My first shift, I thought I'd just be picking lettuce and watching, but it was very much hands in and I was given plenty of tasks. My second shift, I expected similar, but I was put on my own station on their second busiest night ever. I didn't have a single dish sent back from being sent to the 'pass'. Since then, I've become extremely close with Peter, and his friends and family; I've stood side by side with him as my food hero, cooking in front of the public at food festivals. I've cooked with him for local charitable causes. He values my opinion on his dishes, perhaps the greatest honour. My food has improved exponentially, and I now dream of a future that involves food in some way.

I've had a several profound meals in my life, not least at Central, in Lima, Peru, which is one of the leading restaurants in the world with particularly inspirational work on sustainability of culture, environment and indigenous people and practice. That made me cry. I couldn't even talk when I got introduced to the kitchen team.

Desert Island scenario. What's that meal or set of ingredients you'd take? 

I can't answer it. My mind changes every day. If I had to take ingredients, likely a handful of core veggies that I can use to make a variety of Mediterranean dishes. I love Italian food.

Who would you most like to dine with? What would the over-the-table conversation be about?

Tough one. Maybe Anthony Bourdain. I'd like to talk to him about some of the crazy stories, but mainly about how to be a great travel and food writer like he was.

Describe the role that food plays in your family home, with your friends, in your country and culture. What value does that relationship carry?

It's still very important in my family home. Everything is home cooked. My mum is a great cook and she's trying many new things all the time, whilst keeping a sense of routine with old favourites which keeps my dad happy. My close friends are pretty much all into food and cooking, so it's integral to our social scene. I love it. As for the country, we've lost connection in many ways to our history with food. That's not all a bad thing as we've a fantastic, vibrant food scene, but there's also a lot of crap, like anywhere, and it was be nice to keep connected. I'm not sure how much families are together around food, these days, so it would be good not to drift any further, but I suspect that's just the way things are going. People are busy and have different priorities.

What's your attitude towards current hot topics, such as sustainability, environmental impact and animal welfare?

It would be tempting, given that I believe it's too late for humans to save themselves, to be apathetic, but these are extremely important topics. I'd love to have a restaurant that had a net positive impact on the world and it's animals. I struggle greatly with the fact I'm eating meat. It used to be that so long as it was reared well l, then I'd be cool with it, but the death of a creature is a serious thing and I don't believe it's my decision to make, yet I am, at the moment, eating meat. I'm not sure what my future will be with it, especially if I ever open a restaurant.

How would you rate your cooking skills? Would you like that to be different/what stands in the way?

I'm good at what I do, sometimes exceptional, given I've no formal training. But I need a much broader knowledge of more of the structural stuff that would give me way more flexibility to produce more varied and interesting food.

What is your favourite dish to cook or have cooked for you?

I love to cook a full tasting menu, and the highlight for me is always trying to nail the meat dish which would ideally be home-based, with a refined sauce and some smartly though-out garnishes. But I'm also just as happy making an epic lasagne.

What's your earliest memories of being in the kitchen?

Licking sponge mix off the mixer blade when my mum was baking, then gradually getting into helping.

What does the future of food look like for you?

Fuck knows. I'd be surprised if I don't do something career-wise with it, but I'm open to whatever at the moment. I know I need to cook for people more often than I do, and that I need to learn more food from more places to make people happy.Read more