We might even see him team up (remotely) with pal James Martin for an episode or two.
TV regular and Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston of north Norfolk’s Morston Hall has started a series of cooking-at-home videos in a bid to help viewers learn the basics while in isolation.
Although a self-confessed technophobe, Galton aired the first of the mini ‘shows’, shot in his home kitchen, on Wednesday, April 1, appearing alongside son Sam, who’s at home with the chef and wife Tracy during this period of self-distancing. The duo cooked toad in the hole.
Available on Twitter and Instagram, Galton says it was mate James Martin who encouraged him to take to social media and share his skills. “He kept sending me messages saying we should do a live Instagram question and answer and I said I was up for it but maybe I should do something at home first. I’ve been going once or twice a week to the butchers in Holt for provisions so I’m trying to bring back interesting things I can use.
“But I’ve also had loads of suggestions. People want me to make all kinds of things. Chicken. Sauce. Pasta. And someone asked me to show how to make the best cheese souffle. I’ve had requests for all sorts of weird and wacky things. Someone even wanted rabbit, but that’s not easy to get hold of unless you catch it yourself.”
The videos should appear every couple of days (expect the oxtail dish on Friday, April 3). But you can also catch Galton with James Martin on Monday, when they appear together in the Isles of Scilly for James’ new Islands to Highlands series at 2pm on ITV.
“It was great fun,” Galton laughs. “But, you know, I’m a Michelin starred chef of over 20 years and he’s got me running about while he’s burning stuff!”
Galton says he’s working out how he and James can do something together on social media in the coming weeks. “Watch this space.”
As with the rest of the hospitality world, the chef’s hotel/restaurant has closed for the timebeing as the nation waits out the end of Covid-19. Asides from for essential maintenance work, this is the first time Morston Hall has shut its doors in nearly three decades, with staff placed on furlough.
“It’s difficult,” Galton says. “Most days I think ‘I’ll just pop down to Morston’ and it’s hard not to go and look around the place. Now we just wait I suppose. The thing I’m really struggling to get my head around. We’re more than likely about to miss a whole season. Spring will come and go and it’s probably the most exciting time of year for a chef. We’ll miss the asparagus, new potatoes will have come and gone. It’s going to be weird for us.”
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