Thursday 14 October 2010

A Collation Of Celebrity Chefs

This evening Bob and I actually sat down and relaxed together – and caught up with various cookery programmes [we rarely watch anything in ‘real’ time these days – and tend to ‘speedwatch’ recorded stuff, hurtling through the advert breaks and credits]

We watched Jamie…

jamie 30

…and Hugh…

river cottage evry day

…and Nigella…

nigella kitchen

…but I have to say that interesting as they all were, I caught up with my Favourite Celebrity Chef this morning on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

He interviewed the wonderful Marguerite Patten [CBE]…

marguerite patten

She is 85 next month – and will be going to the Palace shortly to collect her honour from the Queen.

Chris asked her about the changes she has seen in home cooking over the past 70 years since she first trained as a Home Economist. She mentioned the revolution brought about by fridges and freezers – but then said that that she felt that it was time we rediscovered the Pressure Cooker.

“Did you know, Chris, you can produce a wonderful stew in just 25 minutes?” she asked him [and also politely asked after his family – what a lovely lady she is!]

chris evans family

I was especially pleased she mentioned PCs [now that is an abbreviation which has many interpretations!] as I have just acquired a new one.

“Aha!” I hear people saying – “why get a new one when your old one is fine? you said so only a few days ago on the blog” Well – I happened to win a CSN Voucher giveaway on “French Village Life” – one of my favourite blogs. And Bob suggested we got a PC for Cornerstones. After all, by the time I come to retire, my original one will be nearly 50 years old – and it is rather a large piece of equipment to carry back and forth to Norfolk.

So I chose another Prestige 6 litre model – but this one is not a “Hi-Dome” type – this is their “Smart Plus” model.

pressure cooker

I actually met MP a few years ago when Liz and Steph arranged tickets for us to attend her cookery lecture in the Cabinet War Rooms. She stood and spoke for a whole hour, without notes- in a sparkling, entertaining way – and she was 80 then. What a wonderful woman – hope I have her vitality when I am her age.

Had a conversation with some pupils about age at lunchtime today

“That’s a lovely necklace Miss”

“Bob gave it to me when we had been married 25 years”

“Are you still married to him”

“Yes- over 31 years now”

“Wow! How old are you Miss?”

“Not saying!”

“I think if you have been married about thirty years, you’re probably forty something”

“Are you 47 Miss?”

“No, she’s about 42", aren’t you Miss?”

“That’s kind of you, but I am a bit older than 42!”

[I didn’t point out that I would have married Bob at age 11 for that to be true. Maths isn’t their strong point, obviously]

6 comments:

  1. I am trying to choose between a slow cooker and a pressure cooker, I've read a lot about what people could in their slow cooker but was wondering if you could share what you cook in your pressure cooker

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe maths isn't their strong point but youthful looks must be yours :)

    I have never had a pressure cooker - be interested , like Mrs B, about any tips you might share.
    L.x.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I couldn't work out why you were suddenly talking about computers....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don'y you love lunchtime converstaions- one of my break duty ones today went: Nice tights, Miss. Thank you, Frank. Very snazzy. (Spoken whilst Frank leaned in conspiratorially.) Have been paranoid about tights ever since! Still liking my version of PC best!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How old is Frank?
    And what colour were the tights?
    Are you sure black fishnets are altogethr appropriate for the classroom?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Eating foods that are good for your heart doesn’t have to be a punishment. Some of America’s top chefs are cutting down on fat, cholesterol, and salt without skimping on flavor and fun

    ReplyDelete

Always glad to hear from you - thanks for stopping by!
I am blocking anonymous comments now, due to excessive spam!