As we have said, we want to make you the fully rounded Perfect Gentleman and one of the key skills of any modern Gentleman is the ability to cook. We are rapidly becoming a culture of fast food, takeaways and ready meals and if not that we tend to go out and have restaurant experiences. All of these are excellent but the ability to cook your own food and whip up a stunning three course meal for your partner on a date will do a great deal more for your romantic life than dinner at that Michelin star restaurant.
We are not talking about turning you into a contestant on Masterchef, though you can if the passion takes you, we are talking about being able to make meals for yourself and others with skill. All the Perfect Gentleman team can cook, in deed we pride ourselves on our abilities to cook, but we have sought some expert help this year to launch our Culinary Gentleman strand, we have approached a great Chef and a few restaurateurs and even a sommelier or two to provide you with our new strand for 2014, The Culinary Gentleman. In fact, we are so excited about this we are already working on the cookbook itself!
Over the course of the Year, we will provide recipes, tips, tricks and skills that every amateur chef will need to dazzle not only their friends but the taste buds as well. We are going to teach you to be a great Cook, we hope.
Think of great Gentleman Chefs/Cooks on Television and probably a few spring to mind, Graham Kerr ‘The Galloping Gourmet’; Keith Floyd and of the modern era in the UK James Martin and in the USA Todd English or indeed the legendary Ken Hom. These men not only make great food on camera but also deliver with panache, style and fun.
Cooking should be about fun, you should enjoy the food, enjoy the experience of cooking and certainly enjoy the eating of it with company. Food truly is there to be shared and cooking for yourself is sometimes necessary but cooking for others is a true delight.
Why should a Gentleman cook? Firstly, it’s an relatively easy skill to learn, though it’s a mighty tome, Timothy Ferris proved he could learn to master cooking in a short space of time with his Four Hour Chef book. Secondly, mistakes that are made are generally edible and you can make it better next time. Thirdly, you will be able to impress your friends, family and potential partners with your culinary skills. Lastly, as a Gentleman we need areas to prove our gallantry to the world and there is no better or safer way to do this than via a kitchen. It may involve blades but does not involve fighting.
We shall start slowly and work our way up with you, so get ready and let’s cook.
In Part 2, we will give you the essentials to starting this journey.
