To be a good cook, you need to make food you like; to be a great cook you need to make food that other people like. I don't know where I read that, or even who told me, but whoever said it has probably forgotten more about cooking than I know. It's something I always think of when I close myself in the kitchen to create a new masterpiece or preside over a disaster. 

Most chefs will come across as the all-knowing and seeing. If you do this then that will happen and everything goes to plan. Well yes, it is true after many years of cooking the same recipes, you learn how it blends, how it lives and how it breathes. But how do you get there? How do you get to that point? 

I don't promise to provide you with endless recipes or even turn you into the next celebrity chef. Spending time with me in the kitchen will introduce you to a love of all things food, from what grows in my weed-ridden veg patch to how you feel massaging the meat as you prepare it for the oven. A course in this most beautiful of places will help you feel more relaxed in your own kitchen. More comfortable to think, at the point of eating your creations, mmmm, but next time I am going to add a bit more of this or that...

Because, in reality, is there a perfect recipe or are they only as good as the love we are prepared to put into them?

Every morning, I take out the remnants of coffee, vegetables and other organic matter to the compost heap. Our compost heap is the heart of our Potage (Veg Patch!). In a few months, my offering turns itself into Organic feed for my future table.

Now, I don’t claim to be green-fingered in any way shape or form. For that, I leave it to my wife. Her vision has allowed a patch of earth to change into something which provides us with an endless crop of wonderful fruits and vegetables. You will be more than welcome to share in our bounty should you like to visit and I can promise you a taste you will not easily forget.