Tervetuloa-Welcome

As Chef Gusteau said in Ratatouille ‘Anyone can cook’ and it is very true, anyone can cook. However in this day and age where microwave dinners are marketed as quicker, fast food is pushed as cheaper and many families have both parents working; many people do not have the ability to make good, nutritious food. I unfortunately know many people who cannot cook something as simple as boiled rice, food education in schools is very lacking. This is why we have many health problems that can be traced to what we eat. We all need food to live but many think they do not have the time to make good, wholesome food and will stick to so-called convenience foods like ready meals, processed frozen products or fried foods.

There are three important things you need though to become a good cook;

Fearlessness:- Don’t be afraid to try new things. Ever wanted to know what rabbit tastes like? Go for it. Ever wondered how dark chocolate in a jus goes? Go for it. Don’t be afraid, be open minded. Try anything offered to you or comes to mind.

Determination:- Don’t get disheartened if one of your dishes turns out to be the new door stop or poisons your neighbors’ cat.  Just dust yourself off and learn from your mistakes. Every Chef has made a disaster, no matter what they say. Yes, your soufflé will sink, your bread will not be nice and fluffy or your casserole will catch but with every mistake you learn ten times more than from every success. I know I still have cooking disasters and yes I get a little upset about it but I do sit down and figure out what went wrong and try again.

Enjoy yourself:- Have fun! If you find yourself getting stressed because your recipe isn’t working out, stop what you are doing, get out of the kitchen, take a walk (but don’t leave the stove on!), read a book or something. Cooking is a joy. If it isn’t working out, maybe it is because you are tired or too het up to concentrate. Don’t let your cooking experience turn into a chore, make it enjoyable.

The photos on here are all mine (unless otherwise stated), please feel free to share any recipes on here, just please link to the original source. 

About Me

I was born on a August Sunday morning in 1987 at Dover, England, my father was a Northern Irish Soldier in the British Army and my mother was a Manx stay-at-home mum. We lived in a few places in the UK and even had a stay for a few years in Germany before my father was invalided out of the services. We then settled in my mother’s childhood home of the Isle of Man. I was brought up by my mother and her Manx Parents (well my Gaga was born in Nottingham but lived on the Island most of his life and adapted to Manx culture better than most) and as such, was blessed to hear many folktales and eat many traditional Manx foods. My mother (and her parents) believed in home cooking, good wholesome foods, and I developed a fondness for food from an early age.

I got my first job in a kitchen at 12 in the Ye Olde Bakery as a kitchen porter, it was sold a couple of years later and turned into a Malay-Cantonese Take-away and Restaurant, I stayed on as a Kitchen porter. At 15 I started to help them do food prep on Saturdays, then I soon took on a summer job in a local tourist attraction. When I got turned down from my lifelong dream of serving in the Regular British Army, I went to the Isle of Man College to take catering. After not agreeing with the course (having an entire section of Microwave cooking and other various things I did not agree with) I moved to Belfast (where my father had lived since I was 7) and went to study there. During my studies I had the opportunity to work in various kitchens in many different areas of the hospitality industry. I graduated in 2005.

I then worked in many places in the UK and the Isle of Man before moving to Finland in 2012 to marry. I have just finished studying Finnish and have started work at a well known restaurant in Oulu. I am also an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Purpose of this Blog

There are many blogs out there in the World Wide Web that are food/recipe related, so what can I do that is different or new? Well I thought about this for a while and here is a quick summary of what I feel is different from the vast majority of food/recipe blogs. I will try, on a weekly basis, to post an article on a various array of food related topics. Some will be recipes, some will be information about certain foods and others will be skill sets that will benefit anyone in the kitchen.  Also my recipes will be mostly designed to be quick, easy and cheap without compromising the flavour or nutrients.

Most of my recipes will be inspired by my background, British foods, which are straight forward, warming and filling dishes accompanied with simple, tasty sauces used to accentuate the flavor. British Cuisine has many influences in it due to its colonial past. Some famous dishes, like Kedgeree came from soldiers returning from India, Fish and Chips (the national Dish) came from Jewish immigrants from Portugal and Spain in the 17^th century. Many regions have their own dishes, like Cornish Pasties, Yorkshire Puddings and Welsh Cakes.

Finnish cuisine (Kotiruoka, translates to home food) is very simple, full of protein and designed to help the body defend itself against the cold, dark nights.  Finns use a lot of wholemeal products like Rye and Oats combining it with fish and red meats, making most of their dishes nutritious on many levels. They also love to use wild picked produce like lingonberries, cloudberries, bilberries and various mushrooms.

Also being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (known more commonly as Mormons) means my recipes will be tailored to encompass the edicts given in Doctrine and Covenants 89, known more commonly as The Words of Wisdom.

I also will never use titles like Best, Greatest etc because I believe that as we all have unique tastes, what is greatest or best to me might not be for you. However I will words like Simple, easiest etc and I will base this on experience and my professional opinion.

Also I will happily answer any questions that are posted by anyone and will also try to fulfill any requests for certain recipes. You can also send questions to my email:- Manxboz@yahoo.co.uk

The scale

My recipes will have a scale system included ranging from 1-4:-

1. Easy, simple. Uses very little ingredients and is a great starter recipe for those who are not use to cooking.
2. Moderate. Needs some basic kitchen skills. More attention needs to be paid.
3.  Getting harder. For those confident in the kitchen, has many stages and may require some trying and experimenting beforehand.
4.   Professional. For those who are kitchen deities. Will need self-confidence and a good knowledge of kitchen skills. Most of these recipes will be the same or similar to those served in restaurants.

I hope you enjoy this blog and I look forward to some good feedbacks and comments.

Laurance Robinson