The smell of Sunday lunch transports me straight away. One of my fondest childhood memories is of being in the bath after football and smelling the different stages of my mum’s roast: the chicken starting to caramelise, the potatoes going in – boiled, fluffy and salty – the simmering cabbage ...
Sunday roasts pull at my heartstrings a bit. My parents separated when I was 13, and my memories of being together as a family are really connected to those meals. This last meal would honour that.
In mum’s kitchen, there was no slow cooking this or braising that. It was simple roast chicken and boiled greens. It was always 20C too hot in there. The windows would steam up and my mum would get ratty, because everyone would be in the way.
My ideal day before my last meal would involve a dog walk (with a dog I don’t have). It would be cold, we’d be wrapped up warm, we’d go to the pub for a pint, then home to Mum’s roast (yes, she’d do the cooking!)
These are my rules for a roast lunch for two: potatoes for six, meat for four and everything else (vegetables) for two. You just have to accept that the potatoes take centre stage! My stuffing is sausage meat-based, baked flat in a tart dish, with crispy bits at the side, and loads of breadcrumbs and sage. Oh, and I always do gravy for 20. A roast dinner should be a quarter gravy.
Before the roast, I’d want langoustine. Boiled, on ice, with mayonnaise. For pudding, we’d have a steamed treacle sponge. This is essential. It’s something I grew up with, and I think my last meal should include dishes that make me smile. Then a cheese board with a really good cheddar, Sainte-Maure (the ash covered goat’s cheese), an oozing brie or camembert, and a pile of crackers. Nothing too poncey.
I’d love a nice Chablis-type wine with the langoustines – a white with a bit of body. Then an Argentinian Malbec to follow – is that a cop out? I always feel drawn back to these wines.
The meal would end in the living room of my family home in Shropshire. My family have all moved away from the area, but the homing pigeon in me still feels drawn back. We’d end with family games – Pictionary, maybe – to a soundtrack of Motown and Michael Bolton.
- Dan Doherty is the executive chef of Duck and Waffle. His new book, Toast, Hash, Roast, Mash (Octopus) is out this August
