My last meal would be an exceptionally difficult thing to decide – so many different memories. What I do know is that it would have to be something cooked simply.
I like the idea of an early evening barbecue. I would start with scallops, cooked on an open fire with lots of thyme, olive oil and lemon, and then follow it with a ribeye steak and chips cooked in beef dripping.
As for dessert? It’d be creme brulee with raspberries. And I’m pretty fanatical about vanilla ice-cream, too.
As a child, we travelled to Languedoc and Provence in the summer; it sounds strange, but I might even choose to eat my final meal just off one of those rural country roads. I love open spaces, and they are always enhanced by fresh, simple food.
My twin brother is also a chef, so I’d ask him to cook alongside me. It’s always so much nicer to share cooking; it would definitely add a lot to my experience to have him there in my final moments. We’d invite a good mix of our family and friends.
It would be a boozy meal. I’d have a whisky sour before eating, then move on to white burgundy with the scallops. There would be some Pol Roger in there somewhere, too.
For the main, I’d source a bottle of Bordeaux wine made in 1970, the year I was born. My father bought my brother and me a magnum each when we were born, but unsurprisingly they are long gone!
I would invite a few personal heroes; Escoffier would be there for sure, and some sporting greats, such as Bradley Wiggins and Mo Farah.
I’d want someone with a reputation for being a bit reckless there like the Rolling Stones – they’d bring the party. And I’d want The Beatles to play, as well as Michael Jackson. I wish I had seen him perform.
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Tom makes recipes with lactose-free milk. Visit lactofree.co.uk
