WHAT IS CRAFT COOKING?

Craft cooking is the art of creating base foods that we may take for granted in our daily lives. Typically these 'foods' have a history or tradition, and can be part of our everyday lives to such an extent we are invisible to the how or why they appeared. This is the art of making base foods, traditional and artisan foodstuffs such as charcuterie, salumi, sausages, cured meat and fish....And once you have learnt the basics any times you start on your own personal journey.

On a base level, food is just nutrition - essential nutrition. But we live in a heavily populated world where a portion of the population has taken food beyond its functional definition. Regardless if you are professional chef, amateur cook, or a caveman, the way we cook a meat or vegetable becomes a canvass for creative expression, a record of our heritage .....and ingenuity. Recipes and processes can be playful, and sometimes darn right clever. We support and laud great chefs for their creativity.  We value our tastebuds enormously. We have learnt to question food miles and the provenience of our food - but how much do we know about these processes. How and why they originated?  

But did you know you make many of these great foods at home, with everyday ingredients, and through simple process create something more special. How did bacon come about? Can I make it at home? Surely it is difficult to make homemade salami? There has been resurgence of people baking their own breads at home so that now supermarkets now cater for this with vast selections of flours and yeasts...maybe you can join the craft cooking revolution?

It is hugely rewarding sitting in the sun on a summers evening with a glass of chilled white wine, tucking into homemade salumi.....

I hope to keep adding more recipes and processes as I master them and will try to break down the processes into baby steps - ultimately with the aim of giving you more confidence to go and try this yourself. I love to harvest recipes and tips from friends - so will now share these with you too.

Enjoy!

Will xxx