Inspiration is hard. How often are you desperate to cook something fun and different, but just can’t figure out what? Chef’s block happens to the best of us, but I’ve developed a 2-step system that generally works to get out of it, by combining one of my favourite websites with one of my favourite cookbooks.
Step 1: Go to Eat The Seasons.co.uk
Even seasoned chefs (get it?) don’t have perfect knowledge of everything that’s coming in and out of season, especially during the madness of summer. I find Eat the Seasons to be a great tool to get the juices flowing and make sure I’m not missing out on anything.
Step 2: Read The Flavour Bible
This amazing book genuinely is a bible in restaurant circles and I couldn’t recommend getting it enough. It is essentially a food thesaurus; an alphabetical list of every ingredient, matched with everything it pairs well with. There is also tons of helpful tips and recipe suggestions dotted throughout.
An example
It’s August. Go to Eat the Seasons, read through August. You remember courgettes are in season, you love courgettes. Go to The Flavour Bible, flip to courgettes. Get frustrated you can’t find courgettes, eventually remember the book is American and flip to zucchini (sorry). In bold, capital letters you see basil, cheese, eggplant (sorry), thyme, tomatoes.
Are the cogs starting to turn? All that’s left to do is decide on a cooking method, a carb and possibly a protein. Maybe you could make a babaganoush, spread that on toast and top with grilled courgettes and roasted tomatoes, and serve that on the side of grilled sea bass. If you’re lucky and early enough to get those beautifully young courgettes, why not slice them thinly and serve raw in a salad with walnuts and marjoram (other noted flavour affinities)?
The possibilities of cooking are endless, and this is both the most daunting and most amazing thing about being a chef. Hopefully this quick hack makes cooking a bit less daunting and a bit more amazing.
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