I’m Matt (LinkedIn / Twitter) and every weekend for the past few years I have pretty much cooked something. I first did it when I changed from being a permanent CTO, to an Interim CTO. It allowed me to have some down time before my first contract. Now I do it to relax, to challenge myself, understand how ingredients work together, and to prove that I can. I love the Science behind how an ingredient can make something rise, make something set, or change the texture.
I have cooked with all of my children, but lately Angus is the one that has shown a lot of the interest. Angus likes it I think because he gets to get messy, eat along the way and have the first dibs on something warm out of the oven, but I also think he likes it because he can spend some time with me. It is interesting to see the impact you have on little people’s Worlds, by how it forms them into what they are, almost like adding ingredients to a mix and seeing how the bake turns out.
I don’t necessarily cook to eat, feeding others is something that gives me a lot more pleasure. However, tasting along the way is important to me and at the end, as is the feedback that people give me. I am interested in both the positive and the negative, so I can learn and adapt, part of the reason why this site is so important to me so I can log it and fix the issues next time. Sarah, my wife is very good with impartial feedback, which allows me to better the things I turn out.
The reason for this site coming into existence is that for a long time I’ve posted on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter the various different things I’ve cooked, I’ve also run competitions – including for the name of the site (thanks Emma!), names for chutneys and when I wanted to share some of the goodness with friends. I wanted a central place to log all my experiences with food, what I’ve learnt and maybe people would get a spark of the inspiration I had. It is also a handy place that I can go to when I’d like to cook a particular thing, or a meal. It will build up gradually with things I’ve learned over the years, mainly when I get time, or learn a new skill.
I hope you like the site and if it is inspires you, please let me know. If you have an idea for something I can try out, then please also let me know. Thanks for reading.