Working with food has been my passion, and I've been lucky enough to work for and with many great people and companies. And while I still love food, and want to stay in the industry I've been in my whole career I'm not sure where to go next.
It seems like the future of food lies more in agriculture and sourcing ingredients than it does with working with those ingredients. What we eat and where it comes from, and looking to new and alternative sources of food that have not been embraced by the average consumer.
My first food passion was offal. I love using ingredients that are unusual, but ordinary at the same time. Discovering Fergus Henderson in my undergraduate days made me feel empowered to use those ingredients with a sense of enthusiasm but also with a sense of pride. I felt proud that I could coax a delicious supper out of a trotter, but also because I was using an ingredient that many others shied away from. I wasn't scared.
After almost 5 years of writing about cooking offal and other off cuts, I may not be scared but the enthusiasm has started to wane. And that bums me out.
What I'm looking for is something that takes the enthusiasm and passion I have for unusual, yet ordinary foods and takes it somewhere different. Ideally somewhere that can make a positive contribution to how we eat, and what we eat.