I
find Alan's interest and dedication to food and cooking
fascinating. I have been after him for some time to
let us have his biography. This is what he had to
say:
I
have been interested in food for around twelve years
now. I got started after a visit to the famous Sharrow
Bay Hotel at Ullswater here in the Lake District.
A trip out for a birthday meal turned into a night
of gastronomic heaven and I went back out through
the gates that night a converted man. How anyone could
cook to that standard was beyond me, I was hooked
and decided that I had to learn to create the dishes
that I had eaten for myself. The next day I ventured
into my local bookstore, bought my first cookery book
and as they say "the rest is history".
Shortly
after that, my wife entered me, without my knowledge
for the BBC's Masterchef. I had to practise quite
a lot quite quickly and ended up qualifying for the
televised finals with Michel Roux as the judge. That
was followed by a behind the scenes stint at Michel's
restaurant "The Waterside" at Bray, alongside
the Thames and shortly after that I spent working
visits with Anton Mosimann, Michel Roux jnr. And a
week at the Manoir Aux Quat Saisons with Raymond Blanc
learning the arts of the masterchefs, quite an adventure
for a construction electrician.
I
have since had the wonderful opportunity to cook on
ITVs "This morning" as the family cook of
the year. Taken a friend along to cook with Ainsley
on "Can't Cook, Won't Cook", had a spell
on Channel 4s "Chef for a Night" where I
was basically thrown in at the deep end and had to
cook a seven course meal for forty-five people in
an alien environment . . . lucky me!
At
the moment I am still working in the electrical safety
department at Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria,
still passionate about food, as a hobby only with
absolutely no desire to go in as a pro.
To
visit Alan's website - click
here (site not updated for a long time)
Hub-UK
comment:
One
of the first recipes that Alan sent in was Chicken
with Wild Mushroom Cream - I was impressed
with how easy this recipe was to prepare and I have
to tell you I have eaten variations of this using
fresh mushrooms (whatever is available) instead of
dried every week since. If you don't try any other
recipes from Hub-UK
you must try this one!
This
is a very short biography and if you want more information
you can visit the contributor's website where you will
usually find contact details. If you wish us to pass
a message on 
