Who the hell is Rich anyway?

Good question for most.

I am no-one special, a simple man that care for those close to him, had a vague corporate career and loves food, the odd bottle of wine and always seeking to create happy memories with family and friends.

"Cooking with Rich" is my small way of sharing some of the food I love to cook along with a few experiences and musing on life with anyone that is looking for a little distraction.

I am no chef, far from it. I have many friends much better at the culinary arts than I. My brother, who is a chef, will be horrified I even attempted to offer cooking advice up in public - but, as the old saying goes "if I can do this, anyone can" and that's my promise. Whether it's a dish I've been cooking for years or my attempt at trying one of the thousands of "Easy ... something or other" recipes available, I aim to prove it can be done and I'll tell you when I f**k it up.

Cooking started out of necessity, since I left home a little too young, I needed to eat. My first job offering barely enough money to pay the rent and travel cost, so grilled cheese on toast is officially the first recipe I sort of nailed. And yes you can stuff that up as well. 

Not long after, and quite seriously with not enough to live on, I got a second job in a local bar, which drove me to better planning so I started making batches of bolognese sauce which I could keep or freeze for later. The first few attempts were literally the worst, but it got me through. With practice the results of my cooking got a little more palatable and the search for great food to make, eat and share developed and is now one of the many pleasures in my life.

Those days of struggling are past and I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to travel throughout my adult life.  This has given me the opportunity to try a range of food, a great way of gaining a more fulfilling travel experience and a deeper insight to the places I was at any time. And now I love the whole idea of cooking, eating and trying recipes from all over, whether these are dishes from my childhood, from a favourite destination or from a famous restaurant menu.   Always accompanied with a bottle of wine, beer or local paint thinner and most of all with those close to me.

Now, what you will not get here are the following:

• No bullshit photoshopped images that make you feel incompetent when your attempt bares no resemblance to the image you saw on that cool "website". I take every image of the food I make to eat with family and friends. No special kitchens, no special cooking days just for the website. I cook to eat, and I take photos along the way. Images may be updated when I cook recipes again ... mostly because I'm hopeless at multitasking and initial images may not always be the best.
• No production designed for entertainment rather than actual content. I watch a lot of cooking videos and research a lot of recipes. I have no time these days for 'celebrity' production focused on the person rather than the food.
• No advertising getting in the way of content. For the love of ... (insert an appropriate word) ... there will be no advertising and promos and f**k knows what else gets in the way of the information you are looking for. I hate it. I appreciate that some want/need to monetise their websites but having adverts every three lines of text that continuously load via some third party as you try to find the real content just pisses me off ... so I will not subject you to it.

Now that's off my chest ...

Cooking with Rich is my way of sharing my love for food, where it came from and maybe offer a few laughs along the way.

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and be good to those you love and care for.

Rich