Rachel's Diary - Rachel rocks

It’s such a funny concept because we cooks and chefs just do what we’ve always been doing. Though, it does seem that a greater variety of people are now taking an interest in food and cooking, which is fantastic.

I did get to play a rock star just a few weeks ago when I headlined the cooking stage at Ireland’s Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally, Co. Laois. We had a huge stage with giant screens and even smoke machines and dramatic lighting. It was everything a rock star would want, except I was cooking. I made a gazpacho soup with crab and avocado, then a simple pan-fried fillet steak with chanterelles and cream, flamed in brandy. To finish we had some cocktail demos. We nicked some of the Bacardi bar tenders from the big Bacardi tent. They performed some very dramatic mixology, and the crowd loved it. We also had two people on stage for a cookery competition. Then everyone was dancing. I was a bit terrified about performing at a music festival, but, actually, it went really well and was great fun!

At the festival, I also caught up with some of my favourite Irish chefs—Dylan McGrath, Kevin Thornton and Derry Clarke, who were all enjoying the weekend. I’ve been meaning to get to L’Ecrivain, Derry’s restaurant that everyone raves about. That is at the top of my to-do list this autumn, when I am next in Dublin.

I must admit that I felt quite old at the festival as there were loads of bands playing that I had not ever heard of. I did get to see Franz Ferdinand, Grace Jones and, of course, the Sex Pistols! They were all amazing, and Grace Jones looked just as incredible as I thought she would.