Diet me Arse

As I write this post there is yet another "diet" being talked about on the radio.  This time it's the Alkaline Diet. To be honest I switched off as soon as the dietician started describing it.

I always remember when studying nutrition as part of my food science degree, a lecturer saying to us that when you go on a diet your metabolism actually slows down.  This is due to the sudden drop in calories.  Your brain sends warning signals to all the various organs and metabolic processes to slow down and conserve energy in order to hold on to reserves.  He described it a bit like when you are low in petrol in your car you slow down and coast downhill.

So I knew the latest fad fasting diet of cutting down severely on calories for two days was a non-runner from the off.  However, it has been proven that occasional fasting is good for you but it is only beneficial as part of an already low calorie diet and not a burst out of the blue.

I used to have a really fast metabolism and was always able to eat like a horse and still remain slim. But in the last few years this ability has deserted me.  Also I have a real sweet tooth which has got a lot sweeter in recent years and a love of baking. A fatal combination.

But four weeks ago I decided to do something about the excess winter layer that piled on.  I am lucky I have a good scientific knowledge of nutrition and I also do a lot of reading about latest thinking and advances on nutrition.

Two major changes have come about recently.  The first is to do with fat. Fat is no longer the enemy that it was made out to be.  Eating a normal amount of fat means you actually feel full and eat less.  It is also a source of vital fat soluble vitamins. Saturated fat such as butter and the fat found on most meat is beneficial.  Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated such as olive oils also contribute to a balanced diet.  The one fat to avoid and indeed eliminate completely from your diet is hydrogenated fat.  This is a chemical process whereby a cheap liquid oil is hardened by adding hydrogen to make it solid at room temperature.  It is found mainly in processed foods including biscuits, cakes and your sliced pan. 

The next big change is sugar and particularly refined white sugar.  Avoid at all costs.  I have changed almost completely to unrefined muscovado cane sugar.

A few years ago I dallied with Weightwatchers but when I heard the crazy, inaccurate nutritional information they were dishing out I left in disgust. They were recommending all their own products packed with hydrogenated fats and other nasties.  They also recommended using a chemical spray to fry with rather than a teaspoon of olive oil or even butter. 

They advocated severely restricting nuts, avocados and bananas all terrific sources of vitamins and minerals.  And they banned wine apart from of course their own Weightwatchers brand.  Enough said.

To date and four weeks down I have lost 5.5kg or 12lbs.  I have eaten three meals a day and if hungry in between meals have eaten handfulls of nuts and a banana with a glass of water.  When you eat nuts, drink a glass of water, you feel full for ages after.

For breakfast I have a bowl of porridge with muscovado sugar and full fat milk. As well as a freshly squeezed orange and tea. I used to only buy low fat milk now I use full fat.

For lunch two eggs either boiled or poached with sourdough toast or salad which includes either cous cous or another carbohydrate.

For dinner no change from normal apart from slightly smaller portions and plenty of vegetables.  I haven't changed the way I cook, as in I still use oil to fry with.

If hungry before bed I eat more fruit and or nuts.

I have also made a discovery and I stress this may only apply to me. Wine makes no difference.  As in I have still managed to lose all this weight by allowing myself wine at the weekend.  I actually think that if you drink too much alcohol, what causes the weight gain is the false appetite it causes or the "munchies". 

So forget the ridiculous diets and eat sensibly. Do not cut out fat, but do cut out refined sugar and indeed refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta.

And for heaven's sake enjoy a glass of wine or two at the weekend.


Tags: Diets  Alkaline Diet  Fasting Diet Healthy Eating Irish diet  Weightwatchers  Wine diet

Tipperary North Riding

We all pondered the meaning of "North Riding" while driving into Nenagh on a lovely sunny Saturday morning. It is used in Yorkshire in England as well and we spent a good few minutes trying to guess the origin of it.  I only remembered to look it up now and apparently it is found in a lot of Commonwealth countries.  It originates from an old Norse word meaning "thirdings" as in a third of the county divided for administrative purposes. Thirdings eventually became corrupted to riding in everyday usage.

We were in Tipperary for my father's eightieth birthday.  It is a beautiful county with fertile land.  It is also remarkable for not being as spoiled as other counties in Ireland by ribbon development and horrendous bungalows littering the landscape.  

We stopped off in Oldfarm en route for a quick visit and a cup of real tea.  Dad got to see all the pigs and being a real animal lover thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a shame we couldn't stay a bit longer as you always get a great hospitality from Margaret and Alfie.

Lots of curious bonbhs at Oldfarm

We were staying in Cloughjordan House, a lovely old country house surrounded by high walls and big trees.  We got a great welcome here and all twelve of us felt right at home in that important "kick your shoes off way".  The only word to describe the food was superb.  All locally sourced and prepared simply to let the raw ingredients shine.  To my mind the only way to present food.

Cloughjordan House 

The breakfasts were sublime. Homemade granola, fruit compotes, porridge, the most delicious breads and freshly laid eggs from the hens with superb bacon, sausage and pudding.  Oh and the mushrooms - what was done to the mushrooms was almost sinful! We probably drove them mad asking for pot after pot of real tea having indulged in lots of red wine the previous evening at dinner, but they humoured us.

The dinner the previous evening was excellent as well. The food was again superb. I was especially impressed with the selection of freshly baked bread. We had planned to head up to the pub after but we ended up relaxing in the sitting room in front of a big fire.

Our personalised menu

We eventually moved on on Saturday morning into Nenagh for lunch.  Yes, after that breakfast we planned to go to Country Choice for lunch.  It was packed and I soon realised why.  The smell in the deli area was like stepping into the best deli in Italy.  Except they stock mostly Irish charcuterie and cheese.  It is a paradise for food lovers.  Lunch was really good with a huge selection of platters of pâté, cheeses, charcuterie, sandwiches and soup as well as many hot dish selections.  The service was really great as well.

We pottered off around Nenagh which is a very fine town.  It was a lovely day and it was a shame that the castle was not yet open for a wander around.  Apparently they are doing some work on it.

My charcuterie board at Country Choice

Nenagh Castle

That evening we had booked dinner in Brocka on the Water. Set just up from the shores of Lough Derg in a cosy wooden chalet type building with big leather couches and an open fire to peruse the handwritten menu (which was impossible to read.)  Choices made, we repaired to the dining room admiring Prince the peacock peering haughtily in the window at us.  The table was beautifully prepared and they had made a big effort to make the evening special.

Colourful table display at Brocka

While I was underwhelmed with the food there is no doubting the ingredients are local, fresh and well prepared.  However, the presentation is amateurish, the cost anything but!  Why do restaurants outside Dublin persist in charging Celtic Tiger prices?

Birr Castle courtyard cafe

On Sunday on our way home we stopped for a coffee and a sandwich in the cafe in Birr Castle.  I have to say that Birr is easily one of the most beautiful towns in Ireland with some superb, unspoilt Georgian architecture.  The cafe is excellent sourcing all it's ingredients locally (listed out on a blackboard.)  However, I think they may have been training the mostly young staff and it was a comedy of errors with the manager running around like a flapping chicken and complete and utter chaos mixing up orders.  There were seven of them running around and into eachother, making for car crash viewing.

All in all it was a great weekend and special thanks to Sarah, Peter, Holly, Julie and Sam for being such lovely hosts and making us feel so welcome. 


Tags: Tipperary  Tipperary North Riding  Weekend breaks Irish food Georgian architecture  Country Choice Nenagh  Cloughjordan House  Birr Castle

So you Want to be a Chef

Every now and again I've been known to have an old rant on here.  This is one of those times.  So bear with me or head for the hills now.

There are so many food/cooking programmes on television every evening and most make chef jobs seem so glamorous and desirable.  I will ignore the fact that a large number of these celebrity chefs are not chefs at all, but that is another rant.

Masterchef contestants in particular seem to want to be chefs with a passion and often already have well-established careers they are willing to give up.  

On the other hand every day on Twitter I see and hear of restaurants and hotels moaning that they can't get chefs.  So if there are so many jobs out there and so many unemployed - what's the problem?

It is no secret my son is a young chef and I lived with a French chef for a number of years so I feel slightly qualified to comment.

Young chefs start off at the very bottom of the rung. Both in terms of salary and in the kitchen pecking order.   No harm in that; everyone has to learn.  However, the hours are long.  Longer than your nine to five and almost always unsociable.  When the world is off enjoying themselves at weekends, bank holidays and weekday evenings, chefs are hard at work.  

The pay is minimum to begin and for some reason the hospitality industry feels itself to be exempt from employment law and rarely pays overtime or time in lieu or indeed adheres to maximum hours worked in a twenty four hour period.

Until you make head chef or "executive" head chef, you are destined to work these long, unsocial hours for a pittance.  Of the hundreds who start out, few last and only a small handful make head chef.  In order to be a head chef you obviously must be able to cook, but you must also be able to budget and manage. Managing a team of younger chefs is a talent in itself and some, although great chefs are just not capable of it.

I have heard horror stories from a colleague of my son who made a recording of a well-known, highly celebrated chef hurling vile abuse at a young commis and throwing pans at his head over some minor error he made in plating up.  The stress was such in that particular kitchen that he could no longer bear it and left after a few weeks.

In one place my son worked the tips were never shared with the kitchen staff, but gobbled up by the waiting staff who in most cases worked less hours and were better paid than the kitchen staff.  When I heard this I decided to ask in future before leaving a tip in a hotel or a restaurant if it was shared equally.

If you know any older chefs particularly women you will notice that many look on average ten years older than they are and many, many chefs are burnt out before they reach forty.  One very decorated chef in France, who had moved on to training younger chefs told my son that that is the aim of most chefs as you just can't keep up that work rate and stay sane.

But obviously there are pluses.  A great chef is an artist.  It is a terrific outlet for a talented, creative person and it can be very rewarding.  There is unbelievable camaraderie in a kitchen and as my ex partner said to my son "chefs are like the tinkers, we all know each other".

So now do you still want to be a chef?  





Tags: Chefs Chef jobs Careers in hospitality Masterchef  Celebrity chefs