Offal day?

23 March 2000 by
Offal day?

I live in Shepherd's Bush and I cycle to work now because I realised I was getting heavy - the exercise is doing me good. Mind you, I have been knocked off twice. You have to concentrate in heavy traffic, but it's a good way to keep your mind off work. I'm up at 7.30am and take my daughter to school for 8.40am.

By about 9.10am, I am in work. The routine is to meet and greet my team and check which parties are coming in for lunch. Then I take the menus up to the secretary to be typed. Normally at about 10am, I have to see someone who wants to book a function and it will usually take up to 40 minutes to discuss the details of what the client wants.

Then it's off to the kitchen to help the lads with the mise en place for lunch. I'll take tea and a Danish for breakfast somewhere in between all this. During the day, I'll snack on fruit but otherwise I won't eat, apart from the usual tastings. I only work up an appetite on my days off.

Service is between noon and 2.30pm. Many of our clients are older business people who are quite traditional in their tastes and what they want. The Cadogan is ideal for them because of its setting and décor. We sell a lot of game when it's in season, as well as shellfish and seafood. I also prepare a lot of dishes featuring offal, which is my favourite type of food. Liver and kidney garnished with brains goes down well.

It's so satisfying to take a different cut of meat and do something inventive with it. It's much more fun to work with some pink kidneys or some pigs' liver rather than the usual prime cut. I try to use earthier products that are often cheaper but tastier than other options. For instance, braised knuckles of veal and ox cheeks are full of flavour.

I grew up in rural Cheshire and things such as black pudding and mustard and liver and bacon were common. I think because of all the food scares, everyone has become far too health-conscious and sanitised.

Starting this month until May, I am hosting a series of gourmet dinners featuring local British produce. I'll be having in guest chefs such as Nigel Haworth from Northcote Manor to demonstrate to guests the best of what's on offer from our countryside.

When you're a hotel restaurant, you have to try that much harder to get noticed, especially in somewhere like London where there is so much competition.

Afternoon tea here is served between 3pm and 6pm, but during that time I head off to pick my daughter up from school and then we'll do something like go to the park and feed the ducks and have a drink. We'll be home for 5pm and then my wife is in by about 5.30pm. The split-shift system works for me because this way I see more of my child than a lot of fathers do.

I'm back at the hotel to do the mise en place for dinner and to be in the kitchen for evening service.

By 11.45pm, I'm doing the orders for the next day. When I get home past midnight, my wife has normally made me something like a jacket potato or a croque monsieur. Then I'll watch some sport on TV and head for bed.

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