Thursday 30 April 2009

Packing up my knives

All packed up...

Like any true food obsessive, I often let my stomach pick my holiday destinations. Aldeburgh? Fresh seafood straight off the beach. The Cotswolds in Spring? Bunches of pencil-thin asparagus. Wales? Salt marsh lamb.

But my epicurean adventures are often thwarted. I spend weeks combing the internet for the perfect COD (Cottage of Dreams), ticking off the list of log fires, oak beams, large table for lazy breakfasts and five-hour lunches, pub within stumbling distance. I get there to find I may be in the middle of Britain’s overflowing larder, but the kitchen has been stocked by some Spartan soul who seems to think that a desire for anything other than a knife too blunt to open a paint tin is a sign of moral weakness. It’s enough to make you want to commit assault and baterie de cuisine.

Too often, rented holiday houses are where old kitchen equipment goes to die. Ovens struggle to generate enough heat to warm butter. Chopping boards the size of beer mats languish in cupboards alongside charcoal-encrusted roasting tins which last saw meat when it was on ration. You could spend the best part of your holiday trying to match up the festival of aluminium pans with a host of wobbly-handled lids. When you do, the largest one will hold just enough potatoes to feed a Hobbit on Atkins.

So here’s a plea to Britain’s COD owners. Log on to ebay. There’s a category called Kitchenalia (Kitschenalia?) where people seem to be prepared to buy all manner of geriatric rubbish in the name of ‘shabby chic’. Flog all that stuff and invest in: a decent knife, three good, heavy pans, a chopping board and a roasting tin.

Mercifully, it’s not always so. Tomorrow we’re off to France. (Dear God, where’s my passport? In the spot where I was sure it was lies only my Arsenal season ticket which, while it may open the doors of heaven, will not open the doors to France.) We rent from a woman who knows the importance of oyster shuckers, lobster crackers, champagne flutes. This is wonderful, as it means my baggage allowance won’t be taken up with half of John Lewis’s basement - I have been known to take my food processor on holiday; it needed a change of scene. But still, I’ll be taking my own knives. And a couple of cookbooks. Just the essentials.

8 comments:

  1. Hoorah! Someone else who packs knives when they go on holiday! Have a great time.
    Fran

    ReplyDelete
  2. I bring knitting needles, yarn for projects in case I am stranded for goodness knows how long, books so that I can feel free to "choose" the next read and too many tops! But I have never carried "kitchenalia". Having said that, I have traveled with a sewing machine (twice) and sewn lovely and intricate throw pillows for my hosts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fran - Thanks, and it lovely to know I'm not alone...

    Lady P - I want to go on a trip with you! What fun! I used to do needlepoint on long flights until they made it impossible to take on board anything sharper than a lolly stick. But reading matter is a BIG issue. I put as much time into planning that as I do into the clothes I'm going to take. I need something for every possible mood. Oh, how wonderful it must have been to live in the days of steamer trunks, hat boxes and cheery porters...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this post! As a poor backpacker, I packed a knife for the wonderful breads and cheese I found. May your time in France be grand and you use your knives well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Finally got around to following the link & reading your blog & will not wait long to check back! Your writing and your cooking are both inspirational. Now to choose a recipe to try... Big hugs from salmon, halibut, prawn, crab, etc country (tempted to visit yet!) Dupree & Nick

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope you have a fabulous gastronomic time in France. I look forward to tasting the fruit of your endeavours!

    Clare xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Where are you in France? Funny because I carry my favorite knife and food processor back and forth between Fla. and Lake Lure. We are back in Lake Lure now, but I have yet to do any hearth cooking. Will let you know when I do.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Penny,

    I'm in the Languedoc, my favourite part of France. We come at least once a year, so it feels quite like home.

    I'm so pleased I'm not the only one who carts kitchen equipment around with them. Keep me posted on your fireplace cooking!

    Debora

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now closed.
This site has migrated to http://www.deborarobertson.com

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...