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Celebrate British Food in Your Kitchen

Two recent cookbook releases celebrate the best of British food and both accompany a BBC television series. I must say I haven’t seen the programmes as I don’t watch much television these days, but the books stand alone so that really doesn’t matter.

The first book is the Great British Menu cookbook, a celebration of regional food with dishes from top chefs across the country. The idea of the television series was for the nations finest chefs to compete to represent their region and cook for the Queen so, as you may imagine, the recipes are among the finest the country has to offer and really wave the flag for British food.

Next we have James Martin, the loveable Yorkshireman, back with another in a long line of cookbooks, ‘The Great British Village Show’. The book is jam-packed with recipes from village show contestants up and down the country. As you would expect, British produce is much celebrated in the recipes and there’s something for everyone from home-made tomato ketchup and strawberry jam to whole poached salmon and rump of lamb with little gem and buttered peas. Scattered throughout the book are interesting titbits about some of the classes, with category details and tips such as how to test for the freshest runner beans and the best conditions for growing leaks for budding vegetable gardeners.

Roast Chicken, Cheesy New Potatoes and Broad Beans

I simply adore a good roast chicken dinner and as much as it really is a dish for the colder months I couldn’t possibly go through summer without it. It really needs some adaptation for the hotter days though and whilst roast chicken salad is the obvious choice it can get repetitive. The Mediterranean-influenced chicken dish I made back in May was good for something different, as was this one I put together a few weeks ago.



There’s nothing to this dish and it’s very simple, but it all goes together well and left me licking my lips long after I’d eaten it! The chicken was roasted, the broad beans were simmered, the new potatoes boiled, lightly crushed with a fork and generously sprinkled with strong, grated cheddar, then popped under the grill. Voila!

Whitstable Oyster Festival

This week sees the annual Whitstable Oyster Festival, a celebration of this Historic town and its famous native oysters.

Rob and I often visit Whitstable Harbour for the freshest, tastiest fish, and the oysters are a treat I really look forward to. I haven’t been to the festival before but I’m sure it will be well worth a visit.