Stomachs on legs are proud to present

"He is a self taught cook who is committed and dedicated to good honest food."

"I love home cooking and would visit Julie's restaurant. .... I love real honest food and that is the way Julie cooks."


What is this weird idea that passion and honesty have anything to do with the way food tastes? Is it the way into the idea that anyone with a dream in their hearts and a twinkle in their eye can make a wonderful chef? It's bollocks. Because...

1. Cooking is science, not love.

You experiment. You follow a formula. You use specialised tools. You stray from the formula to produce new results. You test. You fail. You go back to the drawing board. You try something else. You get better at anticipating the results. This is how cooking works and improves. No matter how much 'love' is in your heart, you have to put in the work. Love alone is not some sort of weird food X factor no matter how you spin it.

2. Food is neither honest nor dishonest.

When's the last time you got deceived by a plate of gnocchi? If honest means 'delicious' or 'homestyle' then why not say that?

3. Bloody minded determination beats "passion" 10 out of 10 times.

Passion is better described as drive, ambition, determination, hunger... basically words which sound too mercenary to evoke the floaty dreamy idea that anyone can be a brilliant chef.

In my opinion to be a good cook

1. you have to really like to eat (or failing this you have to have a strong desire to feed people or be praised for your culinary efforts)
2. you have to have a keen palette to distinguish various flavours
3. you can't be easily discouraged
4. you have to have good time management skills
5. you have to be prepared to fail and learn from your mistakes - you get better and make less mistakes as time goes on.

It's so unpalatable to say that you have to work and work and work - better to say that it's a matter of the heart. Almost anyone can be a reasonable cook, but passion, love, honesty are not required. No one ever says Thorpey won five Olympic gold medals because he has a passion for swimming. Because it's idiotic.