Simon Hopkinson, “The Good Cook” on BBC 2. A cook for our times.

No cheeky chappie brandishing a whisk, no bosomy gastro-porn, no foodie-travelogues in foreign parts, no al fresco cooking sketches of dishes we are unlikely to try, no rants, no back-slapping, no slurping or faux bonhomie. Simon Hopkinson, aka The Good Cook on BBC 2, is the best thing to happen to TV cookery programmes since Delia Smith a generation ago.

The idea is simple. Put a great restaurant cook in his home kitchen and get him to show us how to make all the dishes we most enjoy eating. You know, dishes like steak and chips, coq au vin, salade Nicoise, sticky toffee pudding, rhubarb crumble… even the much abused Quiche Lorraine. No fancy production frills, just a careful, thoughtful demonstration of how to execute these recipes… to perfection!

I first met Simon in the early 1980s when he was cooking in a small South Kensington restaurant called Hilaire. It became my favourite London eaterie. Then, in 1987, he joined forces with Sir Terence Conran to open Bibendum in the old Michelin building a few hundred yards up the road.

For me, Simon Hopkinson was one of three seminal spirits of that era who shaped the future of modern British cooking. The other two were Alastair Little and Rowley Leigh. (You can read about them – and others – in my two volumes of Great British Chefs, published in 1989 and 1995. Find them on Amazon).

In The Good Cook, Simon turns his back on TV cookery as frothy light entertainment. What he gives his audience is the quiet, practical authority of a seasoned chef whose approach is based on the twin pillars of Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson. Substance and comfort in a time of uncertainty. Forgotten values made familiar once again.

More please BBC 2!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

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Menu for a 60th Anniversary Dinner

Yesterday evening, Saturday, October 16th was a unique occasion. The most important celebration staged at The Castle in all our 60 years. A dinner devised and presented by Chefs Gary Rhodes, Richard Guest and our son, Dominic Chapman. The guests – 73 in total – included Henry Blofeld, Godfrey Smith, Martin Bell, Rosie Boycott, Alexander Waugh, Jonathan Dimbleby, Michael Portillo, Jonathan Meyrick, Dean of Exeter, Levon Chilingirian and a gathering of some of Britain’s most distinguished hoteliers, food critics, editors, writers and broadcasters.

Moet & Chandon presented their champagne Brut Imperial en Jeroboam. And Bibendum presented the wines with dinner…

The Chilingirian Quartet with Bernard Gregor-Smith (cello) performed the final movement of Schubert’s famous String Quintet in C Major D 956.

Scotch Egg… Dominic Chapman. 

Warm salad of Somerset smoked eel with frisee and bacon… Dominic Chapman. WINE: Rully “Clos des Mollepierres”, Domaine Saint-Abel 2007

Sir Andrew Milne-Watson Bt, a close family friend, delivered a witty and idiosyncratic perspective on the Chapman Family.

Slow roast duck with sage and onion faggot, sweet red cabbage and Devon potatoes… Richard Guest. WINE: De Trafford Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, SA 2005.

Apple mousse, Honey caramelised apple and Apple sorbet… Gary Rhodes OBE.

The Very Rev’d Jonathan Meyrick, Dean of Exeter, accompanied by Andrew Millington, Director of Music at Exeter Cathedral performed a brilliant and quite hilarious cabaret.

Classic British Puddings (Rice/Sticky Toffee/Bread ‘n Butter)… Gary Rhodes OBE. WINE: Vinsanto, Santorini Winery, Santorini, Greece 2005.

Coffee with chocolates (Rhodes), passion fruit jelly (Chapman), hazelnut chocolate (Guest).

Speeches: The Dean of Exeter (Sante des Chefs), Mr Nicholas Chapman on behalf of The Family, The Rt Hon Michael Portillo on behalf of the guests.

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton & author of My Archipelago

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Top names join us to celebrate The Castle’s Diamond Jubilee.

As summer fades and rain clouds gather over our Aegean archipelago, we pack up house on Skiathos to return to Blighty. For Louise and me, this will be a busy and eventful autumn. And uppermost in our minds will be the launch of my new book this coming week and the 60th anniversary celebrations of my father’s arrival at The Castle in October 1950.

But these two events are only part of our autumn agenda. Of equal importance are the appointment of The Castle’s new head chef and our plans for the upcoming financial year which starts in October.

Two shortlisted candidates are limbering up for the chef’s post. Both are young. And both are hungry to make their reputations in the style of their illustrious predecessors at The Castle , among them Gary Rhodes, my chef in the 1980s. In a fortnight’s time, these two hopefuls will be travelling to Taunton to cook a six-course menu for a judging panel of seven critical palates: Dominic, our son, who this year won a Michelin Star for The Royal Oak in Paley Street, Sir Michael Parkinson’s Berkshire pub; my General Manager, Kevin McCarthy; and myself plus four of our best restaurant clients.

With round one on October 1st and round two three days later, this is going to be a hard-fought contest. Both these young men possess gilded pedigrees having served long apprenticeships at the stoves of multi-laurelled chefs like Raymond Blanc, Heston Blumenthal and Michael Caines. One took a year out to work at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in the Napa Valley, ranked high among the best 50 restaurants in the world. So, watch this space!

But, as we face this new age of economic austerity, there are harder business decisions for the Family to consider. On Monday, the Board will be debating the budget and business plan for the 2010/11 financial year. As always, choices will have to be made and priorities set for the list of  projects tabled for discussion. This year, I suspect, these decisions will be tougher than usual.

Among this list of pet special projects is the creation of a billiard or snooker room. Part of the thinking here is to offer our corporate guests a good reason to stay in rather than go out to eat elsewhere in Taunton. BRAZZ, our popular brasserie, is situated next door – a perfect location to draw players in for a quick home-made burger, a steak or a plate of fish & chips between games.

For me, however, most of my time at the moment is consumed with the publication of My Archipelago and the detailed planning for the Family’s 60th Anniversary celebrations. In addition to my schedule of signings and talks posted on last week’s blog, there are press interviews to be done and all the rest of the hoopla that goes with a book launch.

And as for the great Diamond Jubilee in October, the broader plan is now being shaped and finessed. Success comes in the detail. In ten days, Gary Rhodes will be returning to the Castle to sit down with Dominic, Richard Guest and my team to thrash out the menu and service details. Bragard, the top chefs’ outfitters, are presenting our Trio of Anniversary Cooks with specially embroidered jackets for the occasion. Moet & Chandon are providing Jereboams of champagne. Bibendum are presenting the wines with dinner. And Villeroy & Boch are minting a limited edition off 200 porcelain show plates bearing a reproduction of an original painting of The Castle by the distinguished artist, David Gentleman.

Of course, that’s not all. Menus have to be designed and printed, dietary requirements listed, table plans assembled, bedrooms allocated, instructions issued, inspections made, staff briefed… and much, much else.

As I say, a busy and eventful autumn. But, oh what fun!

Kit Chapman, author of My Archipelago and proprietor of The Castle at Taunton

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