Category Archives: 2016

If Heineken made a year….it wouldn’t be this one

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

  The cold but radiantly sunny morning found me filled with a sense of purpose as I motored along peaceful winding lanes towards an isolated house in the countryside on a mission of mercy. Once inside that house, through some simple manipulations, I … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Digital photography, Dogs, Eggs, Excellence, Expectation, France, French countryside, harmony, Humour, lifestyle, New Year, Poultry, Uncategorized, Vendee, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

hold the anchovies….

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

I never fail to be surprised at how many people appear have an aversion to anchovies whereas I cannot imagine being without them, in the same way that I cannot imagine being without olive oil, tomatoes, onions and garlic. If ever there … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, anchovies, Baking, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Cuisine bourgeoise, Digital photography, Emotion, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, friendship, gigot, gratin, Humour, Margaret Visser, Meat, Memory, Olive oil, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

the pudding club….a lethal weapon in the wrong hands

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

That this is called a pudding is a mystery but that it should be called Yorkshire pudding is a mystery inside an enigma wrapped in batter. It’s sole relationship to that county seems to lie in its topography which is … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Baking, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Uncategorized, Writing, yorkshire pudding | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

what I really, really want….

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

Minefields and Christmas gift buying may not be an ideal comparison but the latter is without doubt an area through which one must step with extreme care, if only hypothetically. Back in the mists of time I went through a period … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Art photography, Christmas, Digital photography, Expectation, Gold, Humour, Myrrh, Photography, Presents, Shopping, Three Wise Men, Uncategorized, Writing, Xmas Presents | Tagged , , , , , , | 28 Comments

thank your lucky stars…and stripes..

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

This is hardly the right time for right minded  Americans (I use the phrase advisedly) to be saying a hearty “thank you” but that’s exactly what a large swathe of them will be doing today although I’m not sure that a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Baking, BBQ, Chicken, Christmas, Cooking, desserts, Digital photography, Expectation, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Humour, Photography, Poultry, Pumpkin Frittata, Rachel Roddy, Recipes, Thanksgiving, turkey, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

a question of taste….

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

  Ronald Searle’s “Molesworth” books, of which I was a devotee when at prep school, often featured, among their wildly stylised illustrations, an image of  what appeared to be a solid speckled cake like wedge, known as “seed cake”, and which … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, apples, Baking, cake, Childhood, Childhood memories, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, Hazelnuts, Humour, Nigel Slater, Pear & Hazelnut Cake, Pears, Photography, photography course, Recipes, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

something very good and exceedingly sticky….

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

Some days ago, whilst lighting the wood burner in the afternoon, I turned on the television to pass the time while waiting for the fire to catch. Seeing the face of Simon Hopkinson was a relief, as I’m as keen … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Cookery Writers, Cooking, desserts, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Humour, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, Recipes, Simon Hopkinson, sticky toffee pudding, sticky toffee pudding, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

suffering from a heavy list…

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

Advancing years and oncoming forgetfulness rush headlong toward each other. Like a mediaeval knight I depend on the lists* to keep them far enough apart in the hope of merely receiving a glancing blow rather than suffering a head on … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

NEW Food Photography Course with Olia Hercules 2017

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

 In June 2017, together with Olia Hercules, I will be running a food photography course at the Villa Le Mazeau in West France. This wonderful location. which is one of Big in France’s holiday homes, is set in the heart of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, BBQ, clay oven, Cookery School in France, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Digital photography, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, French countryside, Olia Hercules, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, Photoshop, pizza oven, summer, swimming pool, Uncategorized, Vendee, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A memory of Chez Allard

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Food,Photography & France

  Memory is a wonderful thing and I am of the opinion that it is something to be enjoyed while I still have it. On one of my recent constitutionals down that virtual lane the name of Chez Allard came … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, Andy Harris, Cooking, Cuisine bourgeoise, food, Food photographer, France, Memory, Paris, Photographic Prints, Photography, photography course, Photography holiday, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments