Masterchef - the leftovers

In honour of the final of Masterchef - the Professionals this evening..

Meatballs with leeks and French beans accompanied by two jus, one of fennel, cumin, star anise and white wine garnished with stilton, the other of weeping tomato and onion garnished with lemon offcuts.

So what do you think Michel? Oh crap Gregg has just eaten it all!


In another lifetime I had to photograph Albert Roux (Michel's father) for Country Homes & Interiors one Boxing Day. We arrived and they were terribly accommodating of us and the equipment and we did three or four good shots of Albert and his delightful wife when they announced that they had to have their family lunch (an adult offspring (maybe Michel) and tribe were there), and disappeared.

We were left in the sitting room thinking 'what about us?' when Mrs Roux appeared with a bottle of champagne for us. So we did a shot of the formal laid dining room and sat around drinking champagne. After about an hour Albert reappeared and said: 'Are you guys hungry?' We nodded mutely and he led us into the kitchen where an enormous table was groaning with game pies and cold cuts, bread, relishes, pickles and cheeses to die for.

We had gobbled down as much as we could when Albert pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and said: "Do you fancy some port?"

And I got paid for the day. Times have changed..



Bench 162