12 years and over Making your own pancakes is such fun. We will teach you how to make the perfect pancake and then we will fill them with loads of savoury and sweet   Read More

 As the first signs of settled, not to say summery weather arrives, something quite extraordinary happens in our dwellings. A rush of primeval instinct sweeps through our homes. No garden large or small, balcony or terrace escapes the urge of grilling over hot charcoals if there is a man in the house.  

This is of course very good news for us girls. There is an unspoken well established rule, call it inherited memory- from the caves- if you like, that the man is firmly in charge. Meanwhile, we can paint our nails, after putting the potatoes in the oven to bake, of course.

To illustrate this phenomenon, last Saturday at the cookery school our Hazel and Liberty gave a very informative full day BBQ class, covering marinades, saladsand techniques on handling different cuts of meat and fish. And guess what? Hazel brought along her husband, brilliant chef Neil Mc Fadden; although her hand does not need to be held in any culinary matter, even Hazel, knew there was something to be gained by the presence and quiet strength of her man when charcoals are involved.   

With the sun streaming into our courtyard, the trio produced a dazzling array of carnivore's goodies and salads to match,to the delight of the participants who didn't go home hungry, standby for recipe.
Still on the subject of outdoor cooking and men; that same Saturday morning, I saw a column of smoke from my bedroom window clearly coming from the garden. Quite alarmed, I rushed downstairs to find Julian in his dressing gown, juggling with a very well stuffed chicken and a smoker I gave him a long time ago. The operation consisted of lighting charcoals as for a BBQ, putting a bowl of water with aromatics over, placing the chicken on the grill, closing the lid and after 4 to 5 hours we got the moistest and tender chicken ever, delicious with a herby mayonnaise. As you see, dear readers, the rush can strike at any time and you don't even have to get dressed for it...