Thank you dad and goodbye

I am often asked where my passion for food and wine came from and how my interest in it developed and my automatic answer has always been that it started with helping my mother in the kitchen when I was a boy, followed by heading off to university with some of my mother's recipes tucked in my bag.  In the late 1970's refectory and cafe food in the UK was nowhere near as good as it can be today so my ability to make a spaghetti bolognese or a risotto made me very popular with my fellow students.

Recently, however, I have had cause to think again about that and realise that my father was a huge influence too.  In the last ten years he had little chance to show what he could do in the kitchen as the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis gradually eroded his mobility and eventually forced him into a wheelchair, but actually he was the one that experimented with new and exotic flavours and ever more complicated and grander dishes.  My mother cooked during the week and my father cooked at the weekend when he had the time to do so.  He travelled extensively with his job and brought back exciting food and wine discoveries which he was keen to pass on to us.

All of this is relevant because my father passed away a month ago.  It was an awful year for him.  A kidney infection brought him close to death in April.  Thereafter he was bed bound and in a lot of pain as his body slowly shut down due to the effects of the MS.  He was in and out hospital and all through the Spring and Summer I dreaded a telephone call telling me his condition had worsened again.

It was difficult living in France with my parents on Guernsey with no direct easy route between the two and clients at 42rvh and the kitchen almost every day.  The news of his passing away reached me at about 11.30am on the morning of 4th October.  I was taking a coffee with Carcassonne Kitchen clients in the Place Carnot in the middle of a buzzy market.  No matter how much one is prepared to hear bad news, it's actuality is no less shocking.  I don't know how but I managed to hold it together and finish the tour and cooking day with my clients unaware of what had happened - one of the hardest days of my life.

As Christmas approaches, there is a picture that keeps popping into my head.  It is probably 1976.  We are in the dining room in Guildford around a table laid with the best china and glasses.  The hostess trolley is keeping the vegetables warm.  My father stands at one end of the table wearing a ridiculous paper hat and holding an orange and white electric carving knife in his hand as he contemplates attacking the huge roast turkey before him.  Happy days.

Thank you dad, and goodbye x

Thank you

It has been a fabulous year for Carcassonne Kitchen, with clients from across the globe descending on Carcassonne market and the kitchen at 42rvh.

The year started on 1st March with Helen from California and finished on 28th October with Laurence and Gai from Brisbane and Mike, Jane and Sue from Alaska.

In-between there have been visitors from
South Africa
New Zealand
all over the USA and Canada (Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Boston, Chicago, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ontario and Ottawa)
Holland
Kazhakstan via Denmark!
Germany
all over Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns)
Sweden
Ireland
many many from Scotland (thank you for an interesting and varied debate throughout the year about Scottish independence)
and, of course, England.

Petra and Bruce brought their enthusiastic children - the next generation in the kitchen.

I hope the recipes have been replicated and improved by you all.  I have a vision that a hot chocolate fondant is being served somewhere in the world at all times.

Thank you all for coming and thank you for your wonderful email and trip advisor comments - they are very much appreciated. Here are a few of your lovely comments;

Thanks for the lovely day and recipes, Peter!  I will definitely be making those dishes at home.  I already promised my husband I would make the choc cake! - Helen

It was a wonderful day with you, the beautiful dog Clarky, Carcassonne in the rain, all the spectacular food - Nancy

Thanks so much Peter, for everything. A really lovely weekend and I've already made the pea and broad bean dish for a friend. - Justine

Peter, the visit with you – the market excursion, the cooking in your terrific kitchen and lunch with our men – was a highlight of the trip, no question. - Carol

Thank you for the delightful day of shopping, cooking, and conversation.  It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I have printed the recipes and will soon  be dazzling our friends and family with them. - Holly

We had so much fun, the meal was delicious and the company delightful. I am looking forward to using my new filleting skills. - Belinda and Ross