Cutlery Drawer Blog

An acclaimed chef resigned from her restaurant and removed all trace of the Michelin Star is was awarded as it had “become a curse”.

Having run the Petersham Nurseries Cafe since it opened in London in 2004, Skye Gyngell left the venue last week because she felt she could no longer reach the standards that diners expected from a Michelin Star restaurant. According to the Daily Telegraph she said of the accolade: “It’s been a curse. That probably sounds very ungrateful. Since we got the star we’ve been rammed every day, which is really hard for such a small restaurant. And we’ve had lots more complaints.”

It transpires that Miss Gyngell  had recently left the restaurant but that she made the comments last year when interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald. The shabby-chic  restaurant (pictured- website),  that originally started with just one ten-seater table, has since appointed Greg Malouf as guest chef for three months.

I’ve never been, but having read the background of Petersham  it does sound rather pleasant. Have you been yourself …what do you think of place?

East Sussex residents are being warned about door-to-door salespeople selling kitchenware and cutlery.

East Sussex Trading Standards have issued the warning after receiving several complaints about a man selling cutlery and kitchenware claimed to be made by a company called Kaiserbach.

Trading standards officers are concerned that the knives, pans and utensils could be fake and have urged residents to be cautious. They are also concerned residents are being bullied into the sale or not being given the option to change their minds.

There was a similar situation across Oxfordshire in 2008 according to a report by the Herald Series. Nigel Strick, head of the county council’s trading standards team, gave sound advice that should be followed in the current situation in East Sussex: “We would strongly advise all [residents] not to deal with traders who call at their house.”

East Sussex Councillor Carl Maynard said it was thought the salesman was operating across the county. To report a doorstep call the Trading Standards department on 0345 60 80 197

Exercising the brain with activities such as word and number puzzles, conversation and baking can help slow the decline in memory ability in dementia patients according to a recent study.

In research undertaken by Bangor University, led by Prof Bob Woods, dementia patients who received cognitive stimulation treatment scored higher in both memory and thinking ability tests. Patients who stimulated their brains with activities such as gardening and baking bread (loaf pictured) in sessions lasting around an hour twice a week reported an improvement in their quality of life.

Prof Woods says: ”The most striking findings in this review are those related to the positive effects of cognitive stimulation on performance in cognitive tests.” He continues: “These findings are perhaps the most consistent yet for psychological interventions in people with dementia.”

Of course many people also find cooking and baking not only an enjoyable pastime but also a stress release. You’ll hear from many home cooks who say that immersing themselves in a recipe book in the kitchen takes their mind off the worries of work and life in general. There’s also the shared enjoyment that home cooking gives …it’s a great feeling to see everyone’s face light up when you serve up a freshly baked cake or a favourite family dish.

When you think about it, you do actually think quite a bit when cooking or baking:

• choose and read the recipe
• check you have all the ingredients (or substitutions)
• work out your timings
• choose your utensils and pans
• remember to pre-heat the oven if required
• consider if you need any storage space in the fridge or freezer?
• do you have enough worktop space?
• will you need to wash up at all as you’re going along?
• etc

A fire at River Cottage, the HQ location for the televion series presented by chef  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, has severely damaged the main barn used for cookery classes.

The Devon and Somerset Fire Brigade arrived at the scene late on Tuesday evening and required four appliances before getting the fire under control at 01.55 this morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Fire Service and the Police. For a full incident report go here.

The River Cottage team has published a post on their blog, including the before and after photo (pictured), stating that no people or animals were hurt and that in the short term River Cottage events and courses are postponed.

We’ve really enjoyed the recent River Cottage series and had only just caught up on the last episode of Three Hungry Boys on Monday night.

Best wishes to Hugh and everyone at River Cottage.

Owners of an award-winning vineyard in Cornwall aim to become the first winemakers in the UK to apply for protected status for one of its wines.

Camel Valley Vineyard (website) is applying for PDO – Protected Designation of Origin – recognition for its Darnibole white wine. Vineyard owners Bob and Annie Lindo have enjoyed success with some of their other wines and believe that their wine is worthy of PDO status. Bob Lindo says: “All previous vintages of Darnibole Bacchus have won critical acclaim, so there is something special that we consider to be special about the area [of the vineyard]“.

Achieving PDO status would mean that only one type of grape would be allowed to be grown in a particular area of the 24-acre vineyard near Bodmin. The grapes would also have to be hand-picked and made into wine onsite without any artificial additives.

There are some widely recognised foods that have achieved PDO include Parma Ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Clotted cream and Melton Mowbray pork pies. I’ve got plans to produce a list of all the UK foods that have achieved PDO status …so any information from manufacturers would be gratefully received.

Royal butcher Donald Russell (logo pictured) has been bought by a food conglomerate.

Vestey Foods Group, a 115 year old family-owned food company (company history), has bought Donald Russell (website) for a sum in the region of £30m. Donald Russell holds a Royal Warrant to supply meat and poultry to Buckingham Palace. The butchery business started in 1974, supplying upmarket restaurants and today offers an online store selling quality meats.

Vestey, which began as a butchers in Liverpool (not too far away from Hoylake where we’re based) is believed to have beaten off strong competition from some of the supermarkets for the Russell company. Hans Baumann, managing director of Donald Russell, commented: “We are very excited by the opportunities Vestey Foods offers the company. Donald Russell continues to flourish, with its most successful trading year yet in 2011, and the support of Vestey Foods will allow us to further develop and invest in the brand.”

When you order meat online it is delivered in either chilled boxes or frozen vacuum packs. Independent tests indicate that your order will arrive still frozen up to 48 hours from despatch. For a further information watch this video over on youtube.