Fully-equipped kitchens and

....well stocked larders can turn even those whose thumbs are bonded together into a Cordon Bleu cook. And it was in one such kitchen with one such larder that I found myself that fateful summer when I wasn't even 21.

At Lord n Lady Masham's home in a small village near Swinton, in Yorkshire, the kicten and larder are every celebrity cook's dream. From oven to kitchen sink, to the sheer spaciousness and plentiful of light (natural and artificial), it was something out of House and Home.

The cooking utensils, pots, pans, knives, crockery, cutlery and glasses: it was like Aladdin's cave after a make-over by Martha Stewart.

If the equipment was something to die for, then what was available by way of ingredients was definitely something to live for, and a long life at that.

Every ingredient that would make a qualified cook's dream come true was available, in the larder or in the freezer. My dear, industrial freezer, not some little compartment tucked into a family sized refrigerator.

I had learned some basic cooking after two years with the Jansens at 108 Burdon Lane. Fried egg, fried bread, bacon etc. Meat patties or what the world now calls hamburgers, although actually a hamburger isn't made of ham or burger. It should be made with minced beef but I digress.

Raison d'etre

People make tons of money cooking for those who think they can't cook. But believe me, cooking is a breeze. A stroll in the park.

When I left Singapore for England in January 19XX, I couldn't boil water, let alone an egg. Two summers later, I was cooking for a living, albeit temporarily, in the household of a real-lfe lord and lady.

Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner were all under my single-handed charge. Perhaps everyone was kind but I don't think anyone would be so kind as to eat the meals I dished out for all of six weeks, if they were inedible.

Armed with this cooking experience, I know I can -- and indeed I have -- make a good meal out of all the ingredients which life throws at me. For this blog however, I'll stick strictly to stuff that can be eaten or drunk. And show that well, if you've a certificate that says you can cook, good for you. If not, you can cook just as well.
I'll show you how. And bon apetite!