The Food Bucket List

Kenwood, those creators of wonderful kitchen equipment, have published a Food Bucket List: the top 50 do-before-you-die food experiences.

In order to create this list, they pulled together a panel of 6 people I guess they respect in the food world:

– Simon Rimmer

– William Sitwell

– Giles Coren

– Richard Bertinet

– Miranda Gore Browne

– Danny Kingston

The success of output always depends on the quality of input and this certainly would not be my collection of people to comment on such things, which is why I am somewhat bemused by this confused list, leaving me wanting to pop my clogs rather than embracing most of the suggestions.

Some were rather predictable, if a little dull, such as taking tea at Betty’s tea rooms in Harrogate, blackberry picking or cooking a perfectly timed Sunday roast. And then there was this strange list of make your owns: home-cured fish, homemade mayo, bake your own bread, make your own ice cream, marmalade and soup!…need I go on?

Others I would on the whole probably agree with: breakfast at The Wolseley, freshly baked croissants in a Parisian cafe, tapas in Madrid (my preference would be Barcelona), street food in Asia, sushi at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo etc.

Stuck in the middle is this weird set of UK restaurants they have as places to eat: Racine, set lunch at Le Gavroche (if I was about to die I would rather do dinner a la carte!), The Seahorse, The Walnut Tree and L’Enclume… plus a random few places around the world, some of which are not to be disagreed with, but truly a very random list if they are meant to be the ultimate….. Chez Panisse (yes), hotdogs at a baseball game (really?!), Carnegie deli in NYC, Guinness at the Stag’s Head in Dublin and visiting the Jemaa al Fna in Marrakech.

I would endorse experiencing some of those quintessentially British foods which are iconic to us and our environment. Authentic fish & chips out of the newspaper really can’t be matched and most visitors to this country ask me where they can get that. Or shellfish by the UK coastline for that matter, and a great British picnic (in the Yorkshire Dales, with pork pie and scotch egg of course). Plus a Cornish afternoon tea with fluffy scones, homemade jam and a dollop of clotted cream really is something that every Brit should partake in at one time or another.

As ever, it is the experience shared rather than the absolute that ensures something achieves a higher impact and deserves food bucket list status. Think a celebratory meal at a world class restaurant, a perfect Winter Sunday lunch at a country pub or simply a naughty breakfast in bed with that perfect someone, never mind the crumbs.

Touring around Blue Hill at Stone Barns Farm before a superb dinner

Theodore Kyriakou demonstrates authentic Greek cooking on board the Tussock cruise

Afternoon tea Marrakech style

I have been lucky enough to have had some of the most incredible food experiences but I can honestly say that the best food memories were captured because of the people I shared it with as much as the food we ate: Blue Hill at Stone Barns, fresh Maine lobster in Rockport, Theodore’s cooking on the Tussock cruise, tea & cake on a Marrakech rooftop, lunch in Ragusa, taking my nephew to the Fat Duck, Jose Andres at the SLS hotel, El Bulli (thank you Jane) and my favourite food memories of all….family meals at Los Duendes, Spain (now closed).

Stunning Chaucer Barn in Norfolk – home for my birthday weekend with great friends

For me special mention has to go to my birthday weekend dinner in Chaucer Barn, Norfolk;  many home cooked meals chez Wildish (especially that weekend in Citrusdal cooking by candlelight); making cheese in the dairy with M, lunch with the M&M boys and of course Mr.B’s chocolate fondant.

Dragon’s breath popcorn created by the clever Snr Jose Andres