What I cooked for Tom Kime

We are lucky to have a visit from Tom Kime this week.  Tom is an internationally renowned chef and cook book author.  He’s passionate about sustainable seafood and loves Asian street food.  He’s doing four days of cooking master classes and demonstrations at Pinetrees.  The smells from the boatshed, where we’ve set up the demonstrations, have been incredible.  

Luke called at about 7:00pm to say that he’d invited Tom for dinner at our house.  I was totally unprepared.  The house was in complete chaos.  Little Pixie has started to roll around, which makes nappy changing a challenge and there was nappy changing stuff and pooey baby clothes everywhere.  Elsie had refused to eat her dinner and thrown most of it on the floor with a cup of water.  She was about to get into the bath.  There were toys on every surface – on the rug, on the couch, on the floor and all over the dining table.  Before her bath, Elsie had dragged out every sheet and blanket with the intention of building a cubby house.  There was damp washing on a clothes horse.  The sink was full of dirty dishes and the dishwasher was full of clean ones.  The bathroom was full of dirty clothes.  The bed wasn’t made (no excuse).  

Worst of all, there was no food in the house.  There was a box of eggs in the fridge, but I wasn’t really sure how old they were.  I wish I was the sort of person who could put together an appetising meal made of nothing but stale crackers, peanut butter and dried pasta, but unfortunately I just don’t have the knack.  In fact, the adjective that would best describe my style of cooking is “survival”.  Think Bridget Jones, not Julie & Julia.  

The only reason I’m still talking to Luke is that he appeared with a basket containing 3 steaks and immediately took Tom out to light the wood barbeque.  I put some potatoes in the oven and scrounged a rocket salad out of the garden - and opened a bottle of good red wine.