MasterClass

I've been enjoying watching MasterChef on the TV lately. I've never realised how much thought goes into a restaurant meal, but then I don't think we're talking about McDonald's-type restaurants here, and lets face it, I haven't been to the other sorts for a while.

Anyway, back to MasterChef. Most of the contestants seem to be good cooks who think they'd like to be a chef. I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I've been learning a lot from this program. Their contestants have to think about the ambiance and environment that they serve their meal in, then there's the way the 'plate' their meal. They have to be careful to put vegetables from the same season together, so a chef doesn't seem to be able to gather up the least lively veges from the fridge and throw them together into a new dish. Every dish needs a name too, and not some lame name like Sausages and Potato and Withering Veges. It needs to sound impressive, like Venetian Sausages or Beef and Vegetable Hot Pot. There also needs to be plenty of thought about what herbs and sauces are added, so the taste and 'aromatics' are perfect.

I've been getting a box of veges delivered each week to make my shopping easier. I have to say these veges are always really fresh, but it's a bit of a lucky dip, because it depends what's in season. So this week, we've had garlic in everything, because I got about 30 cloves of garlic. We've had lots of potatoes, onions, gem squash (yes that was new to me too) and carrots, lettuce and tomatoes which come every week.

This has made me realise that the art of cooking isn't just about shoving plates of food on the table as quickly as possible. Cooking is about the whole meal - the conversation, the pace, the connection and the food. Throughout history food has been used as a reason to gather and as part of celebrations, both within families and communities. A good cook (as compared to a chef) probably works with what they have available, but the process should still be the same. We should be thinking about how we present food, what ambiance our meal is creating and what smells and tastes people can experience from our food. The modern notion of preparing simple meals as quickly as possible has probably taken the focus off this, to the detriment of our home-dining experience.

Well that's all I have time for, I've just got the sausages and mashed potato ready, so if we hurry we can catch tonight's episode of MasterChef. Some things are hard to overcome, aren't they?