I have been treating myself to some new chef gear recently. It dawned on me that some of my whites were older than I'd like to mention. It's never nice spending your own hard warned cash of clothes for work. But I thought that it was time to freshen up my look.
I originally ordered some jackets from Russums. Inwas happy with the discounted gear they were offering. Then, while scrolling through instagram looking for dish inspiration, I came across Oliver Harvey Chef wear. I thought they looked worth a shout. British and stylish. Just like me ;-)
I'll follow up with another review blog after I've test driven the new stuff, but my initial thoughts are... #IMPRESSED!
I'm a sucker for good packaging and companies that do extras. So the little air freshener thing and the pen...genius!
Oh and check out my new Orange clogs. They're from Russums. I do love orange.
Stylin' it out.
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Just a few photos I thought i'd share from last week's wedding hog roast I served out at Pin Mill, on the Orwell river, Ipswich. Cracking view eh??

Last week I made my event catering debut at the Suffolk Show at trinity Park in Ipswich. This was quite possibly the biggest event of my professional career so far. By sheer scale and volume of people attending, I was a little intimidated to say the least.
Never before had I been so in the spotlight by my peers, friends and family. There were a lot of people I did not want to let down. Especially the team I had working with me on the day. I pride myself on working only with the best ingredients and this goes for people too. I had Claire working on the front of house with my brother Adi. Claire has a wealth of experience from around the globe and is a logistics goddess. Adi is a food service manager with an incredible CV. Specialising in high volume units but also a charmer. If he can’t pull in customers, then no one can. Finally, Stuart. Stuart and I have worked together on and off for the last 12 years. We work so well together and he is without doubt the best chef I know.
I did not want to let these guys down with my poor planning or by getting my product wrong! I was feeling the pressure in the weeks running up to the show. My bank account was spiralling downwards with every trip to the wholesalers for bin bags, spices, rice, cutlery, gas bottles, charcoal…. the list goes on!
I’m not going to give a blow by blow account of the two days. That would be boring and pointless. What I will do is share my observations.
Firstly, I was set up in the Adnams Beach Eats area. This area had a bar, beach huts and a sandy area. What it didn’t have was sunshine. Both days were cold, windy and we had a torrential downpour on day one which nearly collapsed our gazebo. The catering outlets were set to the edge of this plot and the Knife of Brian Barbecue was in the corner. At first we thought this was perfect but as the crowds arrived and started queuing for the Pizza and hot dog/burger stands which were either side of us, we were soon blocked in and invisible to any newer arrivals.
I soon realised that my signage was too low. A schoolboy error. I’d focussed so much on getting my food right that I had not spent enough time on making my unit more visible. I suppose I was relying on my food to be the attraction.
A few friends have since said to me that they struggled to find the area I was in. I think there was a bit of confusion between Adnams areas and the numerous other food sites.
We were busy between 11.30am and 2pm on both days. The Thursday more so. We took around 20% more cash on day two due to the slightly better weather I think.
As I was saying, we were sandwiched between a Pizza and a hot dog stand. These both had consistent queues. In our tent we were discussing what to do, how could we convince people that our food was better! People were being driven by what their children wanted. People are still obsessed with bread. Even though I was offering free range, high quality meat. People would still rather eat a pink “mystery meat” hot dog.
I won’t rant too much about my food values but I realise that this type of event may not be for me. If I can find the right sort of bread that I’d be happy to serve with my meats, then maybe I’ll try it next year. I know for a fact that I could turn up next year with cheaper pork and cheap bread, sell 1000 rolls at £6 a pop and skip away to the bank. Is it wrong that I don’t want that? Not with my name on it anyway.
Some of you may call me a fool, but I know what I want Knife Of Brian to be. I just ask you to respect that.
All in all, I did enjoy the experience and I learned so much. I hope I didn’t let anyone down. I hope that maybe I’ve inspired someone else to have a go at something they’ve wanted to try.
My wife said to me “Don’t change your product to suit the event, find the event that suits your food” and that has resonated with me. I know my food is good and I’m not keen to shove it in some bread to make a fast buck! I will be looking at food festivals but I am also going to be focussing on the other parts of my business. The cookery workshops and the wedding/party packages.
Thanks for reading my waffle. Have a super week!

After reading several post about how crap it is to be a chef. I thought I’d share my views on the great things about being a chef. Feel free to add more positives in the comments below.
 
Great things about being a chef.

1. Chefs are sexy as hell. Nothing more attractive than someone who is confident in the kitchen.
2. They know how to chill. Days off are days off.  They deserve their down time.
3. Chefs are easy to feed. We always appreciate when someone else cooks for us
4. Chefs have a very basic and low level sense of humour. Just saying “boobs” is hilarious
5. A chef can make a meal out of pretty much anything
6. Chefs know a little bit about everything. From quantum physics to celebrity gossip.
7. A good chef will never be unemployed. Unless they want to be.
8. Chefs can do the washing up faster than your mother
9. Chefs can out drink most humans... and still turn up for work the next day.
10. Chefs don’t get phased by general life stresses. A chef will just get on with it.
11. You’ll know if a chef doesn’t like you. They’ll either tell you to your face or you’ll just get that vibe.
12. Chefs love to be told what they should put on their menu. Lol. No they really don’t.
13. Marco Pierre White is a god among us
14. Keith Floyd was a bad ass
15. Chefs are born, not trained
16. What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. After all the rage and swearing during service, we all share a beer after
17. There is no sexism in the kitchen. A chef is a chef. Boobs or balls? You get the job done with respect and banter
18. Kitchen jokes will never be understood by the general public. It’s very non PC. There is a line but it’s covered with vegetable peelings
19. A chef can prepare a family Christmas meal (if not working) in just a few hours. Not the all-day event you endured as a child.
20. A chef can see through bullshit, walls and around corners. They know what’s going on everywhere
21. A chef can identify an item by how it smells as it starts to burn. Plastic, wooden spoon or pine nuts. I’m sure that’s a skill J
22. Chefs are loyal friends
23. Chefs are almost unrecognisable when not in chef whites
24. A chefs significant other will be way more attractive than expected. They always punch above their weight in the looks department. (See point 1)
25. Chefs know when to shut the **** up!