10 questions for Raymond Blanc - so many answers!
The fabulous French celebrity chef talks and talks to Carol Muskoron about his ‘papa', different milks and digging your own dinner
Q What do you eat for breakfast?
This morning I had a bit of smoked salmon, a live yoghurt and, as a Frenchman, I had to have a nice bit of crusty bread and butter. Simple, but very nice. You should be creative with your breakfast. Did you know there are 25 different types of milk - ewes milk, rice milk and so on. Each one is a different experience and, of course, gives different nutrients...
Q Who's your favourite celebrity chef?
Rick Stein. And Jamie Oliver - a great young man. It used to be Delia - but I'll give her a pass mark. You know, we talk a lot about food but do we truly cook? The fact is we're cooking less and less. Cooking is an effort...
Q So is Delia your least favourite celebrity chef?
Well, we all love Delia but she's not very much in favour now. But she did have mega impact on the nation in the past.
Q If you hadn't become a chef, what would you have been?
[Without hesitation] A gardener. [With hesitation] I would have loved to be a writer but I'm not very good at writing. [Without hesitation] I believe produce to be the most important part of cooking. Chefs have disassociated with where food comes from...
Q What's your favourite convenience food?
Well, late at night I might have some spaghetti and tomato sauce...
Q Tinned spaghetti?
No! No! No! Not tinned spaghetti! I mean spaghetti with a little canned tomato sauce. There is nothing wrong with a little canned tomato in a sauce. But it is not good to have convenience food every day. You know, my papa told me the seed can be so important. You know about the Seeds of Change Dig Your Dinner Campaign?
Q I do, Seeds of Change are encouraging people to grow their own veg aren't they. Is that something you feel passionate about?
Always have. For a meal at home in France, everything was homegrown. Organically. We knew no other way. My restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxford has a large organic garden. We're planning a farm nearby. We also have a huge orchard. We're reinventing the Oxfordshire apple. It was the very best apple - there were 50 varieties of it. Our orchard is surrounded by a seventeenth century hedge with edible berries. Do you know about heritage seeds and the Heritage Seed Library? They have seeds that you can't buy in the shops. You need diversity in the garden.
Q What do you grow in your gardens?
Purple sprout, baby spinach, King Henry cabbage, all salad leaves, pea shoots. Anybody can grow these things. It is great for children to reconnect with the garden, to discover the role of water, the role of seeds, the fun! A little seed can grow into beautiful food...
Q What's your favourite kitchen gadget?
I'm not very much interested in gadgets - it would have to be my oldest knife. I have had it 35 years. The blade has changed shape completely over the years. It is so familiar in my hand. I love my bottle opener too...
Q Is there any food you can't stomach?
Yes. I discovered it in England. My pet hate is fish and chips with the fish covered in malt vinegar. I hate malt vinegar. I don't use it. I know it is good for pickling though...
* The Seeds of Change Dig Your Dinner Campaign is, as you might have guessed, very much supported by Raymond! Find out more about growing your own wonderful veg oh-so-easily here. And to find out more about heritage seeds which some say are more in danger of extinction than pandas, click here - you can become a seed guardian by joining www.gardenorganic.org. Happy planting and happy eating!
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By Carol_Muskoron:
25/7/2008 2:14 PM GDT
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