I never really witnessed my grandmother cooking, only the aftermath, when the entire kitchen with its black coal-fired range would be covered with trays of tarts. Little open pies of lemon curd and marmalade, jam and blackberry jelly laid out on every available surface. Christmas gifts for friends, family and neighbours. She brought up her five children on a tight budget and I would loved to have seen how she coped, what she cooked, how she fed those hungry kids.
Others have been luckier, and owe their love of cooking to their grandmothers. Many have memories of cooking with their grandmothers and still cook with them to this day, others hold on to family recipe books written in their grandmother’s hand. I have friends who will respond to my cookery questions with, “Because my gran did it that way.” They talk sense, of course, each line of their conversation rippled with wisdom that comes from years at the stove.
We have a feature on a project celebrating grandmothers and their recipes. Some who cook the same food that their mothers did. Others who have brought their family cooking to Britain from elsewhere, bringing with them so much more than just a recipe. Grandma, we salute you.
Our cover star is Tomos Parry. There are few restaurants I would rather eat at right now than Brat, his newly opened place in Redchurch Street in east London. Rarely has a dish become part of restaurant legend as quickly as his grilled turbot. We have an interview with him and recipes too, including beef with spring onion sauce and grilled peaches and rosemary fool.
We also ask about the changing role of the television cook, discuss abalone poachers in South Africa and take lunch with Jeremy Deller.
Food for thought, indeed.
