A Vision

Amateur Chef is dropped in favour of Just Cook. I can’t move forwards with the school until planning consent is awarded. The decision is due 22nd December and what will be, will be. Can’t do much about the power issue either. That needs to wait until Julian (the sparks) is back from Florida.

I start thinking about the whole thing as a business and not just a dream. Where do I want to be in 5 years time? 10? What will Just Cook look like? What will it be? A vision starts to form, and the cookery school is just the foundation of it.

I want to teach people to cook, really cook and not just pop some pre processed, salt laden tray in the microwave. I want to open up their minds to the simple pleasure to be had from the taste of well reared chicken, cooked simply, compared to speed raised mass market fodder, drowned in fatty sauces. I want to teach people how much fun it is to cook, so they will teach their children. I want people to understand how important it is that we support the small, local producer who raises his crop and rears his meat with love, care and attention.

Jamie’s Ministry of Food is on the telly. At first, I think, “you sod, you’ve nicked my idea.” Then I think, “Brilliant. You’ve proved the point mate, there is a need for my sort of business.” Grudgingly, I also acknowledge that Mr Oliver must have had the idea first, or at least acted on it more quickly. I believe in the importance of what he is trying to achieve and applaud his use of his celebrity. I resolve that when I get the school up and running, I will write to Jamie and offer him the use of the place, for one day a week or so, for his Ministry.

I also want to be a point of reference, of trusted advice, for people who want to cook at home. And I should be able to do it. After all, what better recommendation for something than that it has been used day in, day out in the school? If it can survive that test it’s something I don’t mind promoting. So the idea extends to include a web shop, but only selling stuff we use ourselves. And I can include ingredients. Not just mundane, everyday things, but special things, or difficult to find things. Little gems that my cooks and I have discovered and use ourselves. Things like proper, traditional balsamics or extra virgin oils still produced by hand in tiny quantities and tasting so different from more mainstream alternatives. And maybe, we can help those small guys by giving them a slightly bigger market than they previously had. And the revenue we earn might help us get the school built more quickly.

So now, in my head, we’re not just a school but a brand. For everything that people who want to cook at home might need. It may well take a long time to put this jigsaw together, but at least I have a picture.