meemalee

People have always told me I can cook. Even if they've laughed at the fact that I can't swim, drive or ride a bike. I mean, look at my graduation yearbook entry, written almost a decade ago (maybe ignore the bit about Ann Widdecombe ): I've dabbled in most cuisines, but unsurprisingly the one that is closest to my heart is Burmese food (been trying to write a Burmese cookbook for years, remember? ). Of course, no-one's ever had the chance to try my cooking except close friends and family. Until now. Because for one night only, I'm taking over The Wild Garlic , the highly acclaimed Dorset restaurant of Chef Patron Mat Follas , winner of MasterChef 2009 and all-round good guy who has kindly decided to take a chance on me. Friday 1st October is the date for my pop-up Burmese restaurant - the menu is yet to be finalised, but it will be authentic Burmese cuisine. It may or may not feature century eggs . Book now on 01308 861 446. Hope to see some of you there so you c

L'Enclume - Colleen Baby Potatoes, Oxeye Daisies, Smoked Eel and Purple Wight Garlic I eat out a lot, but not half as much as I'd like. And, despite what you might think, I've not actually been to that many "fine dining" establishments. I'm stymied not just by cost, but by geography - I live out in the sticks and so if I'm having dinner in town, I need to plan carefully or else risk missing the last train home . So Taste of London has always been a bit of a thrill for me - in fact, I went to the very first one, back in 2002, which was held in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I mean, what's not to like? It's a festival of the finest restaurants that London has to offer all in one spot at the same time at a reasonable* price. What's more, the head chefs themselves are usually there, cooking and dishing up in full view, and for a chef groupie like me ( sorry, Marina ), it's pretty damn exciting - like Glastonbury for the food-obsessed. * I say reaso

I've had a blepharospasm for the past fortnight now. That's right, look it up. Lack of sleep is the usual cause, but ocular twitching is also triggered by stress. And what did I have to be stressed about? Well, you know how I've spent a lot of the past year taking the mick out of MasterChef ? Especially the beautifully be-cardiganed Toadie and the remarkable Mr Egg ? So, the other day, the lovely people at Miele invited me to the BBC Good Food Summer Show at the Birmingham NEC where they just happened to be sponsoring the MasterChef Experience . And they said "Would you like to take part in the Invention Test?" And I replied "Sure, why not?" as my brain temporarily disconnected from my typing fingers. Because John and Gregg were going to be there and god's honest truth is - I'm a little bit afraid of them. Scratch that, I'm a lot afraid of them. Like a naughty schoolgirl playing Knock Down Ginger , I've been happy to tease unseen, but