A time for change

A good friend of mine once said to me, ‘Amy, you are the only person I know who looks better with no clothes on’. I am certain that there was nothing sapphic behind this comment, although, on reflection it might have been a kind way of saying that she thought I dressed badly. Either way, it was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Now however, I most certainly do not (look better without any clothes on). Having had an amazing week on holiday, working every hour of the day (and as a result eating anything and anything I can at strange times of the day) and getting into the full swing of BBQ season, it is fair to say that I could seriously do with getting back on the salads.

As it happens, a girl has just started working in the kitchen who will be with us for the summer, has just graduated from Durham (Hatfield college, shame – Durham based joke, apologies everyone else), and is a vegan. Yep, a vegan. No meat, no fish, no dairy, no eggs.....no fun (as far as my opinion currently stands), and she wants to be a chef (!) It does however make it very easy to be generous in the kitchen (it's easy to sneak someone a bit of cucumber without arousing any jealousy). This morning I offered her some pieces of carrot that I had left over from a tagine I was preparing, and her eyes lit up, the way I imagine mine would have done if someone had offered me a piece of fillet steak. I passed some hilarious comment about it being like working next to a  rabbit (nice work Wiseman) and she said that is one of the nicer things people usually say to her. One of the not so nice is that everyone assumes that she is a lesbian. I take this to mean that she is not, although she does have a nose piercing...Anyway, in an effort to make her life a bit easier, and in the vain hope of one again recieving the comment about looking better naked, I’m considering eating with her at lunch (a ‘nine to five vegan’ if you will). I’m not sure how everyone else will take this (if you mention either of the V words to most chefs, you’re lucky if you don’t get a filthy look and a punch in the mouth), but it will certainly be an eye opener because I’ve always wondered what on earth vegans actually eat on a daily basis - after salad and baked potatoes with baked beans, I’m at a bit of a loss.

 

In other exciting news, I think we’re going to spend a week in the south of France in September. I’m so excited about it, I think tonight I’ll be dreaming of foie gras and boules. Bon nuit!