A renaissance in curing your own meat! http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/zd8g0/ ! What a great program. But is local curing going on in Glasgow?

We have a great local example in Iain at Gusto & Relish http://www.gustoandrelish.com/ Iain cures his own and makes his own sausages. We use them at Cookie. Iain did you hear the program? The other person we know doing it is Pietro’s deli at Townhead.  Does anyone know about other Glaswegian producers? Federico, Pietro’s son does the leg work these days. In the 70′s Pietro used to work for the Fazzi brothers, he bought the Fazzi’s stainless steel sausage machine when they closed. It is a 1930′s piece of sculpture, used by father and son for 4 generations. Does any one remember that gem of a shop on Clydeside?

These things should be about the everyday, not about exclusivity. At Cookie in addition to Iain’s bacon we use our Italian mates Claudio and Mr Tamburini. We know the pig, we know the butcher. Claudio’s farm works closely with us to bring you the best cured meat of Italy. Here is a film which shows them preparing to come to Glasgow with a van loaded for Cookie  http://www.pianadelleselve.it/index.htm. If you click on the link you will see how sausages are made & Ham is cured.

Did you know when you buy cheap Parma ham and salami’s that they probably are Dutch. To simplify EU food law, it allows products if they are “manufactured” in that country to be called  by the countries name. So the Italian ham you get from the supermarket will probably be raised in an intensive pig farm in Holland, butchered there and then sent to Italy.  Here it will go to an industrial butchers the size of IKEA to be made into Italian Charcuterie. The Italian part is the salt, air & the factory, even the hands of the workers will probably not be Italian.

Romanian cured meats

“Right that is your next hobby”. Time is not on our side at the moment but yes it is a plan, we will start at Cookie to make our own. Dabble in salami, coppa & nduja or sweat cure some pork belly, hang a sausage. We already make all our own pate, terrines & smoke salmon with lapsang shouchong.

Many years ago I was designing a new cinema and entertainment centre in Pescara, Italy. I was commissioned to come up with ideas for a food operator. My idea was for a restaurant themed around conveyor belt food produced by the best chefs in the area. In Pescara they have all that Adriatic fish, mini kebabs with lamb and more. Italy being that magnificent conservative culinary culture was not quite ready for Japan, but we took the idea of conveyor belt Sushi and put on Abruzzese classics as mini dishes.

DJ chefs as an idea was born there and at Cookie finally we have the chance to try it out in Scotland.

We will be bring you a series of professional chefs who will DJ at Cookie with their food and culinary ideas. It will give established and less well known chef alike the chance to show case their talents.

The first in the series is Makoto on Sunday the 13th. Scottish ingredients meet Japanese technique.

Makoto has been in Scotland for sometime. He has is a man of many talents, from journalism to translation, acting as a press agent for Nakamura while at Celtic. He has also been cooking and teaching Japanese culinary arts for private and larger groups at all levels.

If you like Japanese food you will get a chance to eat traditional Japanese food of the highest quality  finally on the Southside. What better way to entertain to eat and entertain your friends on a Sunday evening?

Thanks for supporting us and following our developments over this first year of activity. We really appreciate it.

We hope the year to come brings health and happiness to you and your kin.

” And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie’s a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.

Last year we opened just at the beginning of the Christmas season. It had been a massive effort to get Cookie open and we were learning every day.

This year we hope to be a little more organised and we have prepared a range of Christmas menus to suit different tastes and budgets. Here below are just some of the things we will be serving.

If you are interested pop in and pick up a full menu or send us an email and we will forward it to you. If your work hasn’t organised anything yet it would be great if you could let your colleagues know about Cookie.

Jerusalem Artichoke soup with Crispy Kale
Roast Red Peppers soup
Grilled duck livers and wild mushrooms
John Dory Grilled with kumquats on warm spelt
Christmas spiced Falafel, Yogurt dressing
Game Terrine with Celeriac and leeks
Roast Pheasant, and trimmings
Salmon, stuffed with sole and prawn farce
Duck with wild berries and Rosti potato
Roast Saddle of Venison, creamed potatoes and roasted Vegetables
Halibut  Caper butter with tapenade
Open Lasagne of Zucchini, pecorino and roasted cherry tomatoes

Iced lemon mousse
Poached Pears, Bourbon and Vanilla syrup
Double Chocolate Brownie Sticky Apple Tart
Christmas pudding

We have 2 events this week that might be of interest to you and your friends.

On Tuesday night 6.30 pm we will be holding a Cheese and wine. £15. The evening will present a range of wines that Cookie directly imports from small producers in Europe.

Our second event of the week is on Sunday 6.30 pm  with our 5th Chef Wars happening. This is the monthly cooking competition where 3 chef fight it our for a range of Cookie prizes.£20 gives to 3 main course and 3 puddings and a great night.

Hardeep Launches a Cook School for Kids During October Week at Cookie

Parents already wondering just how they’re going to keep the kids occupied this October week need look no further! Here at Cookie we are hosting a month of events with the celebrity broadcaster, journalist and raconteur Hardeep Singh Kohli.

We are launching a Cook School for Kids aimed at secondary school pupils with sessions in the mornings and afternoons of Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th October.

The Cook School for Kids is seen as a new way to teach children all about food and nutrition in a practical and entertaining way outwith the classroom.

Hardeep said, “Food is central to my life and work and, as a father myself, I know all too well what fussy eaters kids can be – but I also know the fun kids can have when allowed to get messy in the kitchen and the tremendous sense of achievement they get when something they’ve made comes out of the oven and tastes delicious!

“I’m hoping that my new cook school for kids will help spark an interest in cooking amongst schoolchildren and, with a bit of luck, parents will benefit through having sous chefs in the kitchen at home and, who knows, might even find themselves treated to a slap up meal courtesy of their own kids!”

A runner-up on the first series of Celebrity Masterchef, which led to two series for UKTV Food – New British Kitchen and Chefs And The City – Hardeep is a renowned foodie and keen semi-pro cook. The launch of his Cook School for Kids follows hot on the heels of his month-long ‘Chat Masala’ show, which packed in the punters at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.