Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

June 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 169

‘Icookeveryday,it’s

justpartofthenatural

rhythmoflife,the

kitcheniswhere

I’mhappiest’

“IknowthatIhavethisknowledgebecauseI

amachef,”sheadmits.“Iknowhowtomake

stockandarisottofromthestock,butit’s

knowledgethat’seasilypushedout.”

She’sadamantit’spossibletogetadecent,

home-cookeddinneronthetablein 20

minutes,regardlessofyourkitchenskilllevel.

“It’sjustfood,attheendoftheday.Icook

everyday,it’sjustpartofthenaturalrhythm

oflife,thekitcheniswhereI’mhappiest,”

shesays,explainingthatthefoodworldoften

does,butreallyshouldn’t,feelunattainable.

‘I

fyouparebacktousinggood

qualityingredientsandcook

themwiththeknowledgeof

howtheyperform,food’sreally

easy,”Thomsonadds,noting

thatseasonalvegetables,pulses,grains,rice

andpastaareallaffordableforthemajority

offamilies,too.“Theseareallreallycheap,if

notcheaperthanhigherpricedbigchunksof

proteinandcheese.”

Thomsonhasbeencookingsince

adolescence,whenshe’dmake“quite

ambitious”dishes,attheexpenseofmasses

ofwashingup.Hermumwouldcomeback

fromworkto“lotsandlotsofdirtypans–

mysaucewouldgolumpyandthenI’dsieve

itagain!”(Yes,shereallywasthekindof

teenwho’dsieveherbechamelsaucebefore

sloppingitinlasagne).

InspiredbyfoodwriterslikeElizabeth

David,JaneGrigson,andSimonHopkinson,

shestudiedjournalismwithaviewtogointo

foodwriting,butgotside-trackedbycheffing

(tobefair,shedidgetthereintheend).

”Ilovedbeinginkitchensinmy 20 sand

early- 30 s.Ireallylovedthemachismoand

dynamo,thepace.I’mquitecompetitive–

thelaterandlongertheshifts,thebetter,”

sherecalls.“Mymumwaslike,‘Whatare

youdoing?You’vegotadegreeandyou’re

workingwithalltheseboysinsweaty

kitchens!’ButIlovedit.Andthenofcourse,[I

had]babies,andthetwodon’treallymatch.”

Shesaysherexperiencesofkitchenculture

andcheffyattitudeshasbeenoverwhelmingly

positive;parenthoodandlate-nightrestaurant

servicearen’tallthatcompatible.

“Fundamentally,whenmybabieswere

little,Iwouldn’thavewantedtobeonthe

passplatingfoodat 8. 30 pm,I’dratherbe

cuddlingtheminbed.Butnowthey’rebigger,

thereneedstobeawaywecangobackinto

theworkforce,”shemuses.“Whetherthat’s,

youworkthedayshiftwhenyourkidsare

atschoolandyoudon’tworknightshifts,I

don’tknow.”

Whatevertheanswer,it’ssomething

theindustryneedstograpplewithifthey

wanttalentedchefs,whohappentohave

kids,fillingjobs.Thatsaid,Zimbabwe-born

Thomsongenuinelytruststhatyou“don’t

needsomeflashkitchenwithabiggreat

islandinthemiddletomakegoodfood”.

“I’drathermakesomethingnicethat’s

tasty,fromhumbleingredients,thango

andbuyDeliveroo,”shesayswithagrin.

It’ssimplyamatterofapproachingdinner

withconfidence.“Knowyourwayaround

flavours,”shesaysencouragingly.“Ijustwant

peopletobeabletocooklikeIcan.”

Thekey,shesays,ishavingwhatyou

needinthecupboards(shewroteatlength

aboutthisinherlastbook,TheArtofthe

Larder)andhavingaplan.Afterall,ifyou’ve

gotarborioriceinthepantry,andsomepeas

andchickenstockinthefreezer,youcanbe

eatingrisottowithin 17 minutes.“Asachef,

youwouldn’tevenconsidergoingintoservice

withoutyourmis-en-placeready,andthat’sset

meinrealgoodsteadformotherhood,”says

Thomson.“You’vejustgottobeorganised.”

Notconvinced?“Peoplecancheckupon

meonInstagram,iftheydon’tthinkIcookit

all!”saysThomsonwithalaugh.“Iamthere

doingitinareal-timezone,amongthenormal

mayhemoffamilylife.”Andifshecandoit,

youcantoo–oryoucanatleasthaveNew

KitchenBasicscajolingyouintoit.

NewKitchenBasicsbyClaireThomson,

photographybySamFolan,ispublished

byQuadrille,priced£ 25 .Availablenow.

FOOD DRINK

L