Thanks to all of you who sent in your cookery questions. Here are my answers to some that were sent in, check to see if yours is included. Sorry I couldn’t answer them all, but keep them coming in.
Jonathan from Seaham asked:
At 47 years old I am thinking of a complete career change from owning my own decommissioning business. I have always had a passion for cooking, but during lockdown, I have really enjoyed cooking for my family using fresh ingredients and also some foraged ingredients. I am looking at starting my own restaurant business, if you were to start over, where should I start with training? what are the pitfalls? how do you choose your premises? Would you do it all over again and choose the same career?
I wouldn’t change anything in my career, I’ve loved it from the beginning and still love it today. You will certainly have some exciting and crazy times ahead, with a lot of hard work.
Training wise, I would do this in stages, start by finding somewhere to work – a place or chef you can relate to, as well as their food styles and temperament.
Starting off in the kitchen is pretty tough at any age, but as we get a little older its even harder. You will need to be proper driven, mentally and physically strong to be able to do so.
Brace yourself for possibly the hardest but most rewarding jobs ever.
When starting off the outlay is huge, whether financial or your personal time. The commitment will push you to the limit but if you can get though the first six months, you may stand a chance.
Staffing will be a challenge as will food costs. With the current climate, there is a real challenge to maintain an established restaurant, let alone a new one.
I wish you loads of luck with you new venture.
Sandra from Cambridge asked:
Balsamic vinegar, why are some thicker than others and which is the best to cook with?
Basically, the thin vinegars are not really balsamic, they should be a minimum of 8 years old to be considered balsamic. The thicker the balsamic, generally the better the quality, but also the higher the price!
Thin balsamic should be used for cooking and the richer thicker should be used for dressings and finishing.
Michelle from Shaftesbury asked:
Hi Tom, I will be starting a low carb diet soon and find it difficult with breakfasts and I’m very fussy!! Can you recommend a very quick and easy keto breakfast for me?
That’s an easy one, my absolute favourite is an omelette. Add any fillings you like, I love chorizo, chilli and loads of cheese. Lush!
Pete from Santa Cruz, California asked:
Hi Tom, I’ve read your Cote De Boeuf recipe and wanted to double check the oven temperature. It says 55C. I’m in the USA so that converts to 131F which seems awfully low so just double checking since this is a pretty expensive cut of meat.
That’s the correct temperature, just ensure the core temp of the beef reaches 131F or 55cC, which is medium rare.
Diane from Wigton asked:
I recently ate at the Bull and Bear and had the most delicious egg custard tart. How do your chefs get it to be so light, as It was like eating clouds?
We achieve this by partly cooking out the custard in a thermo mix, which aerates the mix slightly when it goes in the tart case.
Deb from Wirral asked:
I make lovely pastry, but no matter what I do I can’t make choux pastry. My choux pastry is always doughy inside. What am I doing wrong?
When mixing, make sure the base is glossy and coming away from the pan, before you beat in the eggs, ensure that the base is cool enough so that the eggs don’t scramble.
Make sure to use enough eggs that will allow the pastry to puff up but be careful not to add to much as you don’t want it to become too loose.
Yvonne from Basingstoke asked:
Hi Tom, Your lamb Koftas have made my mouth water, but we don’t have a barbecue, can we cook them in the oven? If so what gas setting and for how long, please?
Absolutely, cook in the oven as you would for sausages.
Wai-Lin from Burley in Wharfedale asked:
We’ve made cauliflower cheese or dauphinois potatoes from scratch and to honest hit and miss as the sauce sometimes splits even though we follow the same instructions for each. Some help here would be very much appreciated to stop so much liquid from appearing and splitting the sauce.
Make sure you use good double cream, if it looks like its splitting out, pour a little bit of extra cream on top to balance out the fat to liquid ratio.
