Rachel's Diary - inspirations
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Friday, 26 September
Inspiration for me is always seasonal. That’s the biggest thing. I often go over to the glass houses at the cookery school next door to see what’s growing at the moment.
But I’m also a very indecisive person. One day I could want something Italian, and the next day I might want something more traditional. We had a great Mexican supper recently. The other night we had a lovely, hearty Irish stew.
Cooking at home is always simple simple simple! Tonight it might be some smoked salmon that we have in the fridge with a gratin of potatoes and some fresh herbs. We’ve got a fantastic lady fishmonger near us. She texts us to say what she has fresh that day. It’s part of her service. She might say, today I’ve got sole or some lovely brill or prawns. It’s always what’s available seasonally.
Also, Isaac and I cook a lot together. We always ring each other during the day to say, what would you like? Isaac might say, Brenda rang and she has prawns; let’s make an Irish soda bread and have it with prawns.
For the books, a lot of the time if I’ve tasted something, I might think I’d prefer it a different way. I might want to add raspberries or think a rhubarb fool would be great with cake. It’s all around me! And any time I think of something, I have a notebook in my bag to take notes. For research I love Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food.
Travel is also always a great source of inspiration. I love New York City for the variety—the cheap, amazing neighbourhood places and then, at the other end of the spectrum, the fine dining. It’s such a fantastic variety. When I was there most recently, we went to Eleven Madison Park, a modern Greek place called Anthos and then some great little local Mexican place.
Cooking at home is always simple simple simple! Tonight it might be some smoked salmon that we have in the fridge with a gratin of potatoes and some fresh herbs. We’ve got a fantastic lady fishmonger near us. She texts us to say what she has fresh that day. It’s part of her service. She might say, today I’ve got sole or some lovely brill or prawns. It’s always what’s available seasonally.
Also, Isaac and I cook a lot together. We always ring each other during the day to say, what would you like? Isaac might say, Brenda rang and she has prawns; let’s make an Irish soda bread and have it with prawns.
For the books, a lot of the time if I’ve tasted something, I might think I’d prefer it a different way. I might want to add raspberries or think a rhubarb fool would be great with cake. It’s all around me! And any time I think of something, I have a notebook in my bag to take notes. For research I love Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food.
Travel is also always a great source of inspiration. I love New York City for the variety—the cheap, amazing neighbourhood places and then, at the other end of the spectrum, the fine dining. It’s such a fantastic variety. When I was there most recently, we went to Eleven Madison Park, a modern Greek place called Anthos and then some great little local Mexican place.
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