Great Ocean Food: Giants, an alien kitchen and preparing dinner for 20 in the USA is all in a day’s work

People have often made the comment to me they find it daunting to cook for someone involved in the food industry. My experience has been quite the reverse.

Most chefs and food professionals are happy to eat anything they do not prepare themselves and are rarely judgemental.

When it comes to cooking for others, I do enjoy the task, but experience a certain amount of pressure. Having worked in
the business for so long, some guests’ expectations are high. Never more so than a recent dinner I prepared while away in
the USA.

We were staying with a dear family friend, who jumped at the opportunity when I suggested I would cook dinner.

I didn’t quite realise at the time, how many friends she had. In the end there were about 20 including a couple of basketballers aged in their mid-twenties who could eat like there was no tomorrow.

I decided to keep it fairly simple and make sure we had plenty of food. The menu was ricotta meatballs, mustardy
cauliflower, braised cabbage, potatoes dauphinoise, grilled asparagus with pecorino and a green salad.

For dessert, a rhubarb and apple crumble. I started preparation the day before.

First, I had to shop for ingredients.

That in itself can be challenging in a foreign country. Brands are unfamiliar and you never quite know if you are buying the right cheese or cream or mustard. The produce and meat were easily recognisable and bountiful but rather expensive. I kept
thinking of the seven-foot-tall basketballer, so probably went a little overboard with quantity. It was then time to commence preparation. An alien kitchen no matter how well set up, can pose problems, particularly when catering for 20.

I couldn’t quite work out the oven and didn’t have the utensils and cookware with which I was familiar. That said, it was a beautiful kitchen and I had plenty of time, as we were on holidays.

So, for the following 24 hours I prepared the meal interposed with lots of walking, swimming, wine, conversation and rest; my kind of holiday indeed.

I had everything done and dusted by 5pm in the afternoon of the next day.

Guests were arriving at 7pm with the meal to be served at 8pm. I was feeling well organised, so I placed the meat and potato dishes in an oven set to low and went for a quick swim before dinner. An hour or so later I discovered the oven was not so much low, as off!

Panic stations set in and the usual tension and adrenaline pre service were now upon me. This situation is almost always the same and reminds me of nervousness before a football game or going on stage – it’s almost unavoidable.

The meal was a success and the wine and discussion went long into the night. There was so much food even the basketballers were satisfied and we ate leftovers for the next couple of days. Following is a potato dauphinoise recipe I have used a thousand times from Guillaume Brahimi. When I am short on time (often), I simply layer the dish as described with less milk and more cream, place in a hot oven for 45 minutes and it’s done.