The author and broadcaster on a “consistently fantastic” coffee blend, a “brilliantly useful” knife from his collection, and the comic strip cookbook he values above all others
INGREDIENTS
Climpson’s “The Baron” espresso blend »
“It’s just a consistently fantastic coffee, and markedly better than pretty much anything else around.” – Tim
Bottarga »
Salted, cured fish roe, eaten around the Mediterranean but particularly associated with Italian cuisine. “I get this from the wonderful Lina stores on Brewer Street in Soho.”
Creole spice mix »
Tim has an impressive range of seeds, spices and spice mixes in Tupperware containers in his cupboard. He takes one down: a Creole spice mix. “This is from John Currence’s recipe. I just love it. Powdered garlic, powdered onion, cumin, smoked paprika, unsmoked paprika, coriander… You can use it for everything: roast potatoes are better rolled in it, meat is better dry-marinated in it. And it seems to taste different every time you use it.”
OBJECTS
1958 Allen & Hanbury operating table-cum-kitchen island (pictured top)
“I saw it lying in a skip in Soho 20-odd years ago, so I nabbed it and put a butcher’s block on top. It was previously used as a desk in a trendy hairdressers. It still works: I can wheel it around, the hydraulic raising and lowering mechanism still functions, although it does leak oil a little.”
Medical officer’s surgery case
“A surgeon friend gave me the idea for this. I only use the kit for making devilled kidneys, every couple of weeks, or any time I have a hangover. You put a clamp on the core, which is the white fibrous part on the inside of the kidney, and you use the scissors or the scalpel to snip it out. It works so much better than anything else.”
Timo Sarpaneva casserole dish »
“It’s from the late 1950s. The designer said ‘I just wanted something to make a fucking good reindeer stew’ – and it does. It works on the principle that it can be carried from the stove to the table, so it gives you warmth when you’re eating. The handle is beautiful and the whole thing looks old while being distinctly modern.”
NAAFI-issued tasting spoons
“The thing that changes your cooking more than anything else in the world is the day you start having a little pot of spoons next to your station. These ones have a hole in the top where they used to be chained to the table so they couldn’t be nicked.”
Joel Black knife »
Tim shows us a very handsome knife that was made for him by this Hereford-based knifemaker. “It’s brilliantly useful, it’s flexible, I’ve used it for really delicate work around chicken’s hip bones, or boning large pieces of meat, or fruit and veg. Joel Black is trained in fine art, and his knives really are like works of art. That’s easy to say – and usually means there’s loads of trim and shit on them – but this has absolutely nothing that’s not needed. It couldn’t be anything else. It’s such a beautiful shape, with the Damascus finish on the handle. Henry Harris has one that he carries in a scabbard around his neck.”
BOOKS
The Action Cookbook, Len Deighton »
Recipes in the form of comic strips by the bestselling English spy novelist and occasional food writer Len Deighton. “This is my number one,” says Tim. “I love how reduced the whole business is, I love the delivery, the ideas, the style. I’ve got several editions, paperback, hardback, I’ve got boxed sets of this, lent out and lost more than I can remember. Must stop doing that… or at least getting better at remembering who I lend them to.” Tim also has a copy of Deighton’s French Cooking for Men.
Grape, Olive, Pig: Deep Travels Through Spain’s Food Culture, Matt Goulding »
Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan’s Food Culture, Matt Goulding »
Two food books from US travel magazine Roads & Kingdoms. “I think the most exciting thing to happen in food publishing in 20 years is the Roads & Kingdoms stuff,” says Tim. “They’re absolutely incredible. I want to go there and eat everything. I mean, the idea of taking two or three months off and travelling around a country with your photographer mate – imagine! Admittedly, these guys are no doubt successful people who don’t really need the regular pay-check to take the time off, but if you look at the diminution of photo quality that has been accepted to do the book… I mean, most of it is from smartphones. Which is fine, but god knows how many people would accept that in traditional publishing circles.”
Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine, Tetsu Kariya, Akira Hanasaki »
“A national newspaper in Japan commissioned this series about Japanese food and cooking. I hadn’t realised that manga was used as an educational tool as well as entertainment: this one’s about sake, there’s one about rice, about ramen, and so on. It’s kind of a cod comedy story but it teaches a novice everything you need to know about Japanese food. It’s a really good base course.” – Tim
A Treasury of Great Recipes, Mary and Vincent Price »
Cult 1965 cookbook from actor Vincent Price and his wife Mary. “This is tremendous. Vincent Price’s grandfather invented baking powder, so he was already very wealthy, and he spent a huge amount of time just travelling around the world and being a gourmet and being photographed. Here he is at the Le Pont de la Tour having his crushed duck.”
