TheChef

  • Gochujang cauli wings & dol-namul ~ 6th May

    I haven’t written in a while. Sorry about that. It’s alright, no-one’s still reading anyway. It’s been a busy few months with moving house, and uni. The new garden’s great though – I call it my experiment in productive rewilding, which just means don’t worry about the weeds. Don’t mind the weeds, we’re feeding…

  • Orchard pancakes with walnuts & honey – 17th February

    Orchard pancakes with walnuts & honey – 17th February

    Paul circles his target like a seasoned hunter, searching for an opening. Eyeing the tangled thicket of apple and blackthorn, he fixes on his prey: the root stock from this fruit tree has grown into another tree competing with the quince in the same spot. Look at that, those trees are so close together…

  • Kabocha squash & venison sausages – 14th February

    Kabocha squash & venison sausages – 14th February

    While plant-based diets offer all the necessary fats, proteins, carbohydrates and most vitamins, as well as protecting against diabetes and coronary heart disease later in life (American Association for Nutrition, 2018) and are absolutely critical for the future of our climate and soil, they crucially lack the essential B12, as well as some longer-chain…

  • Leftover potato tacos & ‘cheesy’ bean quesadillas – 13th February

    Leftover potato tacos & ‘cheesy’ bean quesadillas – 13th February

    Yesterday I shared my various riffs on a British classic, mashed potato. Today I’m going to talk about repurposing leftover cooked potato and the all-important baked potato skins – lowkey it’s the best bit, the perfect potato ‘spoon’ to be filled with whatever extra-curricular delights you fancy. In the food truck I used to…

  • Baked mash, 3 ways – 12th February

    Potatoes are the forgotten middle child of the supermarket veg isle, huddled together in their pointless plastic wrapper plastered with bucolic pictures of grass, tractors and Union Jacks. How did we stray so far from the humble yet mighty workhorse of carbs, as cheap and easy to cook as it is? Almost every culture…

  • Martock bean colcannon & crispy potato skins – 11th February

    If you’ve ever driven through the Irish countryside, you’ve likely passed fields bursting with fava beans—though most of them aren’t destined for our plates. Instead, they’re grown for industrial livestock mega-farms, a crying shame because they’re one of the easiest, most climate-friendly, and downright delicious crops we produce. How did we get it so…

  • Lentil and fava bean ‘lasagne’ – 10th February

    The theme for World Pulses Day 2026 is “Pulses of the World: From Modesty to Excellence”. Beans are nutrient-dense, rich in protein and dietary fibre, which is great for gut health. They have no cholesterol, are low in fat and rich in micronutrients including iron, potassium and B vitamins like folate. They also cost…

  • Chocolate & black bean muffins and aquafaba meringues – 9th February

    Chocolate & black bean muffins and aquafaba meringues – 9th February

    I call this little experiment the cocoa coefficient, or the cocoafficient, if you like. Just a little thought exercise in exploring the biodiversity and growing conditions of a plant changing its flavour, nutrition, aroma, even appearance. Chocolate, coffee, hops, olive oil and wine are all perfect examples of how biodiversity is expressed in taste.…

  • Musabaha toast with winter roots – 4th February

    Musabaha toast with winter roots – 4th February

    Musabaha is the original, more rustic, hummus – a protein-packed, creamy spread then becomes a heavyweight of the brunch table when combined with a good, crusty sourdough. Inspired by Beans Is How, an SDG2 campaign to double global bean consumption, I’m taking up the #BeansOnTheMenu challenge and adapting one meal every day to include…

  • Hempfu and flaxfu – 2nd February

    Sipping our black coffee from unmatching chipped mugs in the cluttered kitchen of number 97, we discuss the many connected issues of affordable housing, felt particularly sorely by land workers where Big Food has them over a barrel. How can you expect someone to feed the country when they have to pay rent while…