me and the very lovely Penny Smith
… today I had my TV debut and it was OK… if I don’t sound overly enthusiastic about it it’s because I feel like crap with a stinking cold… which made it a little hard to sparkle… we’re also really busy at work at the moment and my mind is elsewhere.
also, it’s a funny, soulless business… all the staff are running around frantically working to deadlines and so they kind of throw you in and chuck you out and before you know it they’ve turned the spotlights off and you’re left standing on a dark TV set wondering where the green room is, which they won’t let you in to anyway because the assistants assistant might get fired if you catch a glimpse of Penny Smiths’ elbow…
… I don’t want to sound completely ungrateful… they were a lovely bunch really, the food was excellent and I got to meet one of my blog heroes Simon Majumdar from Dos Hermanos… who seemed to know EVERYTHING and anything about food and was full of wonderful words of encouragement about my blog.
Simon Majumdar from Dos Hermanos and Mark the chef
I also do really love the premise of the show, which is all about hi-lighting locally grown food and producers; the idea is that the 2 chefs travel around the UK and talk to growers and bakers and then come back to the studio to cook the food… the two episodes I shot were all about South Wales…
… I asked if they were planning to do one about Lincolnshire but all I got was blank stares…
Maria, cooking her neck of lamb
… Mark and Maria cooked up some amazing seafood and shellfish in the first program followed by some incredible salt-marsh lamb and puddings made with Welsh whisky in the second… we also met an incredible cake baker who had produced a stunning decorated cake in the shape of a bag of Welsh produce… all in all an interesting day and a fascinating insight into the world of TV cookery… and I would love to go back and talk more passionately about my local food.
Mark’s delicious whisky pecan brownie in a pan with whisky and vanilla cream
Maria’s spicy neck of lamb with Baba Ganoush
lamb chop with pan-fried kidneys and sweet potato mash
the fruitcake masterpiece
… I believe the show airs sometime in November and I’ll keep you all updated as to when and where… until then its back to the kitchen…
Dom – very proud of you – that's a wonderful achievement t x
Hurray! Media coverage is a fast and furious business … I'm glad you you were able to be analytic and pragmatic about the experience and not star-struck … welcome back to the kitchen! The compliment of being included in the program is really the thing … congrats, again!
Dom, how exciting, I'm sorry you were feeling “tip-top” for your television debut! I'm sure you were great! Hope you can post the video on your blog so we can see it in the States! Check out this blog http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ these ladies just signed a cook book deal because of their blog! Keep up the good work!
Mary
Well Dom the hard part is over and now its just a little waiting game until the debut. I bet you were fantastic!!
Susan
I have such a crush on Penny Smith.
Love the idea of referring to Mark Sargeant as 'Mark the Chef'…bet he'll love that.
thanks guys… did have a nice day even though in the above post I sound like a miserable old sod!
@ James – Penny was lovely… and I shamefully forgot Mark's surname… and even some internet research wouldn't pull it up for me… so 'Mark the chef' he became!… good luck with finishing your book… i'll be first in line x
Can't wait to see it!
Hi Dom
Thanks for the lovely post on my blog and how great to have discovered your blog – loved the Market Kitchen story – well done you
Hannah
xxx
Hi Dom, thank you for the nice comments on my blog! Yes, it's all cooked in one pot! I cook it in stages, start with the beef, then a few hrs. later start adding the veggies, I like to put them in according to how long it will take them to cook based on density – does that make sense? So every 5 – 10 minutes I'm dropping in a veggie until they're all in the pot! The flavors are unbelievable! It can be very salty depending on the corned beef. I buy a low-salt version of the beef, and it still has lots of flavor. Top with a little pepper and butter – yum!
CONGRATULATIONS, DOM!! You are beautiful!
Thank you for dropping by my space 🙂 xo
Great experience – look forward to seeing it. Keep us posted.
Its always strange to see things from a new perspective. Sounds like an adventure though and I can't wait to see the show ;0)
Looks fun! My boyfriend is British and hopefully I could surprise him with one of your recipes 🙂
xx
Nicole
http://nicolefranzen.blogspot.com/