Content area
Full Text
'I don't agree with using frozen mash'
Stephen Jeffers has been a chef for 23 years. He owns Jeffers By The Marina in Bangor. He says:
The good thing about it is that Delia's trying to get people back into the kitchen. I don't know why but there are a lot of people terrified to go into their own kitchen to boil a potato. It does seem like she is trying to go in a completely different direction from the rest of the chefs out there, though. It's as if a PR company have said to her 'Let's do this book to stir up a reaction.' She had another book about how to boil an egg and that got people talking, too.
However, there are people out there who have become good cooks following her original recipes and they might feel that she's sold out by bringing ready made ingredients into her recipes.
I don't agree her with using frozen mash - it takes so little time to make great mashed potatoes and we are coming down with potatoes in this country. So, it seems a shame to buy ready made stuff when you can easily have the real thing. Also, by buying local produce we're keeping farmers in a job.
A good sauce, however, is something that can take a long time to make so I can see why she might include that. All chefs cheat a little bit in the kitchen. Ok, maybe not all chefs, but the vast majority do.
I buy in vegetable stock but that's as far as it goes. The stock's very good and there's no MSG in it which is very important to...