One man's trash is another man's treasure, and the by-product from one food can be perfect for making another.
For me, the end of childhood came when the number of candles on my birthday cake no longer reflected my age, around 19 or 20. From then on, each candle came to represent an entire decade.
Fish cakes are perceived as being quite British, and they're always a bit brown and a little dull.
As with lemon juice, the more sorrel you use, the more it has to be balanced with something sweet, starchy or creamy - it's a yin-yang approach to cooking that I find rather calming.
Poaching white fish in moderately hot oil guarantees soft-textured flesh and allows you to prepare a sauce calmly, without the usual panic about overcooking the fish.
People don't know how good cauliflower is, because they always have this image of cauliflower cheese - awful, sticky, creamy and rich.
What makes maftoul worth celebrating is that it's so easy and forgiving to cook.
Celery leaves are an underused ingredient, most likely because supermarkets sell mostly leafless stalks.
How can something that's 95% water be so divisive? Alone among vegetables, the poor, innocent stick of celery elicits the most vicious attacks.
For my money, celery hasn't got a mean bit of fibre in its body, and we all need to start being much nicer to it.
I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.
Pasta with melted cheese is the one thing I could eat over and over again.
Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.
Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.
Scamorza, an Italian curd cheese often labelled 'smoked mozzarella,' melts fantastically well.
As for pineapple, it's far more versatile than you might think, and certainly merits wider use than in Hawaiian pizzas and pina coladas and on cheesy cocktail sticks.
If the first bite is with the eye and the second with the nose, some people will never take that third, actual bite if the food in question smells too fishy, fermented or cheesy.
TV chefs are not responsible for people's consumption of fibre; this is not our job.
Chefs don't use white pepper just to avoid spoiling the whiteness of pommes puree or bechamel. It has a more peppery aroma, with sharpness and sweetness, too.
The range of ingredients available to home cooks has expanded dramatically. People are incorporating herbs and spices like lemongrass, smoked Mexican chile, sumac, and za'atar mix.
