Food For a King's interview
Interview by CharlotteWe interviewed Food For a King!
Visit the blog: Food for a King.
Discover Food For a King's favourite recipe: Beetroot, Wild Rice & Herb Salad with Cumin Spiced Grilled Chicken
"Timing is everything."
Hello Food For a King, so tell us...
Your food phtography is amazing! Any tips for our readers?
Natural light is your best friend! Although you can use studio-style lighting to take good food pictures, nothing beats the highlights that natural light gives to your food images. Find the brightest spot at home by a window, and set up a small shooting space alongside.
In your wildest dreams, where is your blog going to take you as it develops?
Rather than focusing on one type of cuisine, I am interested in food from all over the world. Every time I travel my first stop is to the nearest local restaurant or bar to discover what food is on offer. I also love wandering around foreign supermarkets. I always come away inspired after finding new ingredients and cooking techniques. In my wildest dreams I would love to make a career of travel and food review, plus creating recipes for readers from these experiences that are exciting and simple enough to make at home.
How did you decide to start Food for a King?
My main interest outside of work has been food since I was a teenager. A perfect evening for me is reading a cook book and deciding what to make, and then taking as long as I possibly could to prepare the meal before sitting down to eat! I went on a 3 day cooking course in Lake Garda, Italy and this experience was what really finalised for me how happy food made me. I started the food blog as soon as I returned home and it has now pretty much taken over my life! Everyday I look forward to working on it.
What is your secret weapon in the kitchen?
Timing is everything. I think I have a good sense of timing when it comes to my cooking.
What dish or menu could you not live without?
Its a tie between meatballs with spaghetti and roast chicken! Both dishes are such a pleasure to cook and eat. There is something comforting and satisfying about both. I always crave them and literally never get bored of either.
What is your earliest memory involving food?
My mother was an excellent cook. She learnt from her mother who worked in a Russian restaurant in the 30s and 40s. I spent pretty much my whole childhood sitting and watching her make our dinners - a regular favourite which was wiener schnitzel with potato and cabbage. The best thing she ever taught me was to be creative with what you have, its like every meal was a challenge. We had little money growing up so the cupboard was only stocked with basic ingredients. She was the master of creating flavour, making stocks from leftovers and slow cooking techniques. We always ate well - even if it was just fried rice for dinner, it was the tastiest fried rice one could possibly have! My love of cooking definitely comes from her.
What chefs do you admire most and why?
Raymond Blanc for his purity and sharing French cooking traditions. Jamie Oliver for inspiring people all over the world to not be afraid of cooking. Yotam Ottolenghi for his love of spices. Gennaro Contaldo for his passion and really understanding flavour and good ingredients, and Harumi Kurihara for her beautiful and relatable Japanese recipes.
If you could be a contestant or guest on any cooking show, what show would you choose?
It would have to be Masterchef for the pure creative buzz and inventiveness!
Which Gourmandize recipe would you recommend? (if none take your fancy, add your own and share it with us!)
I love the look of lovebeetroot.co.uk
'Beetroot, Wild Rice & Herb Salad with Cumin Spiced Grilled Chicken' ... Delicious!
Any last words or message for our readers?
Cooking should always be enjoyable. Whether you like to prepare fast meals or draw out the cooking process, there are a millions ways to make food taste good so keep exploring!
Thank you Food For a King for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Jill - 11/06/2014
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