Delicious UK - (05)May 2020

Dear Gary

It feelsa bitweirdcallingyouGary;

I stillthinkofyouasTheCockatiel,an

affectionatefamilynicknameinspiredby

yourtrademarkspikyhair,whichseemed

thrillinglyexoticwhenit firstpoppedup

onTVinthelate1980s.Howdelighted

youlookedtohearthelegendaryFrench

chefAlbertRouxadmit,“WhenI firstmet

you,thehairdothatyouhad,I thought,

he’llnevermakea goodchefthis

one.ButhowwrongI was!”That

wasduringyourratherpremature

episodeofThisis YourLifea

decadelater.

Formypart,I wasonlysix,so

I hopeyouwouldn’thaveminded

• yourexcitablepresenceon
  screencapturedmychildishimagination.
  Youmadefoodlooklikefun;asPrue
  Leithputit,youwereperhapsthefirst
  rockstarofcooking,yourinfectious
  enthusiasmtheantithesisofmoody
  contemporarieslikeMarcoPierreWhite.
  I wasdelightedtofindyourtwinkly
  eyesonthebagofsugarinthecupboard;
  howI badgeredmymumtomakethe
  gloriouslystickysyrupspongesand
  treacletartsyoudangledsotemptinglyin
  frontofmyfaceaspartofyourcampaign
  withTateandLyle.Sadly,however,I had

towaituntilI hada kitchenofmyownto

tastethemasmymum’sideaofa pudding

was,andremains,a fruitsalad.

Stuckatboardingschoolduringyour

peaktelevisionyearsinthelate1990s,

I missedoutonserieslikeRhodesAround

Britain, butthen,inthemid-Noughties,

whenI wasbeginningtothinkabout

cookingmorethanpastaandpestofor

myself,I struckgoldina secondhand

bookshopintheformofa pristine

hardbackcopyofyourNewBritishClassics.

I canonlythinktheownermusthave

died;whyelsewouldanyonehave

partedwithsucha treasure?

Atthetime,feelinglikeanadult,with

tastes,if notmuchmoney,ofmyown,

I didmostofmylimitedeatingoutin

gastropubs,placesproudlyservingup

theBritishdishesthathadlanguished

sofirmlyinthedoldrumsthroughoutmy

childhood– a timewhenfirstFrenchand

thenItalianfoodruledtheroost.Going

outtoeatsausageandmashfeltlike

a rebellionagainstmyparentsandtheir

obsessionwithsun-driedtomatoesand

goat’scheese.Yourbook,withitsrecipes

forbubbleandsqueakandporkpies,

syllabubandIrishstew,seemedsimilarly

subversive– a rediscoveryofa culinary

heritageI’dnevergrownupwith.

Tomygreedyeyesyourbook

readlikea lovelettertothebest

thingsaboutBritishcooking,so

longtheobjectof

derisionbutfinally

treatedwiththecare

andloveit deservedby

someonewithserious

talent.Yourwordsontheback

coverspoketome:“Though

I admittoa passionforthe

classics,I haveanotherwhichis toexplore

themfurtherandtakeestablishedideas as

farastheywillgo.I wanttoputthose

classicsona newplane,withmore

refinementandmoreexactflavours.”

Althoughyouleftschoolat 16 for

cateringcollege,youdidyourhomework

here:themeticulouslyresearchedessays

onthelikesoftheGreatBritishbreakfast

area joytoread,whiletherecipesare

ItwashisfunapproachtocookingthatfirstcapturedFelicity’s

attention.Here,theGuardianfoodwriterfondlyremembersthe

brilliant,groundbreakingchefwhoinspiredherownkitchen

experimentationthroughhisenthusiasm,hisalmostsubversive

championingofBritishcookingandhissignaturespikyhairdo

RECIPEFELICITYCLOAKEPHOTOGRAPHSMAJASMEND

FOODST YLINGSOPHIEAUSTEN-SMITHST YLINGTONYHUTCHINSON

LETTER TO MY FOOD HERO

Felicity Cloake writes

to Gary Rhodes

“ You made food look like

fun ; as Prue L eith put it,

you were perhaps the

first rock star of cooking”

92 deliciousmagazine.co.uk