I’ve met people who have transformed their own lives, and this has come about through agencies like Tearfund. I have learnt that there’s so much good news out there. They have taken me to Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast, and then up and down the UK with our “Cakes, Bakes, and Faith” tour. I was struck by the commitment and desire that Tearfund has, to follow Jesus wherever the need is greatest, besides seeing how, during the past 50 years, they have worked to lift people out of poverty while also ensuring holistic life transformation, through the local church, from a place of love. I love all of them for different reasons, but Chocolate at Home was delightful to put together - especially when testing the recipes. I’ve been lucky enough to write three cookery books: Pâtisserie at Home, Chocolate at Home, and Afternoon Tea at Home. Reducing sugar is a good thing, but taking it out all together is not such a good thing - it’d be like not having salt in something savoury.Īnything with dark chocolate, above 70 per cent, is always going to be better for people on a low-sugar diet. From a scientific and molecular level, the sugar has to be in there for a cake to work, reacting with the other ingredients. The fact is that, when it comes to baking cakes, you can’t just take the sugar out completely. But, when it comes to chocolate, we are now at the forefront of the industry. The sad fact is that chocolate - or confectionery, as it should be referred to in the UK - has become sweeter and sweeter over time, giving it its bad reputation. There are now more craft bean-to-bar chocolate producers in the UK than ever before. Historically, French, Belgians, Swiss, and Italians have generations of chocolate makers but chocolatiers in Britain are challenging this norm, creating some of the world’s finest chocolates and bars. From a personal perspective, it’s got to make you feel good - much like a glass of good wine that you are prepared to spend money on. I sit on the board of the Academy of Chocolate, and we describe fine-flavoured chocolate as containing no vegetable fat other than cocoa butter, with a minimum cocoa content of, dark, 60 per cent, or milk, 30 per cent and where the quality, provenance, and treatment of the cocoa beans and the farmers have been considered. Chocolate is one of my huge passions in life so helping to create chocolate bars, truffles, and more, for customers up and down the country, really does hit the spot.
I also get to work once again with Heston and his team at the Fat Duck. This was where I fell in love with the sweet side of the kitchen, and began to specialise as a pastry chef, learning all manner of techniques, including working with chocolate - my next love affair.įor the past eight years, I have been a consultant pastry chef for Waitrose, where I work with a team of fantastic chefs and product developers to create mouth-watering desserts, chocolates, and other sweet delights.
Once I knew that I wanted to become a chef, I enrolled on a culinary-arts management degree course at the University of West London, where I am now a patron. It was here that I realised the kitchen was for me: the challenge to always think outside the box.
#Cooking academy 2 torrents professional
My first-ever week in a professional kitchen was at the world-renowned restaurant the Fat Duck, in Bray, shadowing the chef Heston Blumenthal. I always had a sweet tooth from a very early age, especially as I always made chocolate fudge cakes with my nan in her kitchen, “trying” to help, probably being more of a hindrance - although they always tasted amazing.
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