Jimbo - The Fat Chef - My journey - My Food

I'M BACK! (again!) - Life, work and weight loss.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 09:32:00 +0000

Well, it's certainly been a while! I was determined after the last blog to make sure that I did it more often........
...... Then the summer holidays arrived! Not only have we been ridiculously busy at times and worked stupidly long hours, we have also had Harrison with us for the last 11 weeks! It's very difficult to find time to blog when your 7 year old son wants constant attention. It was lovely to spend so much time with him actually, even though at times it got a little stressful when we were busy for long periods. To his credit, he has been a complete angel, (most of the time!)

Right, so down to business.... As I have just mentioned, work has been incredibly busy at times over the last few weeks. It's not just the cooking, it's all the preparation and extra hours etc. This week has slowed down a little, and to be honest apart from it not being great financially, it is a relief not to be 100% full on. Having a day off today, so not sure what next week will bring......., we shall see.

I have some very exciting news regarding next year! Well, exciting for me anyway. We will be taking on a catering business with an excellent reputation and bookings already in place. It's the type of stuff that I love doing, so well chuffed with that. I will update you all with more info as he time nears. So yes, we will be taking on EVEN MORE work next summer! We will run it in conjunction with Saffy's, so there'll be even less time to blog next year! Onwards and upwards........

I have started a new eating regime. It's not a 'diet', you know I don't agree with them, it's a regime. Basically the science behind it is that you eat for 8 hours in the day and don't eat for the other 16. It sounds a little weird at first, but I like the fact that it's not a diet, therefore I am not depriving myself of anything and it also suits my lifestyle as I don't usually eat in the morning anyway. So I am currently eating between 11.30am and 7.30pm. I have only been doing it for a couple of days, but I'm finding it pretty easy to do so far. If you are interested in trying it, just type '8 hour diet' in to Google and have a read. All the information I've read is very positive and there are no health risks involved. I will update you with my progress.....

Food wise, here are a few piccies of some of the grub I've been making over the last few weeks......

Pork chop with succotash (think I spelt it correctly!)

Home made burgers

Asparagus with Serrano ham, Parmesan and lemon mayo

Used up some old potatoes and flour and made gnocchi....

Then I got confident and stuffed them!

Stripped some lamb off a shank, made some cous cous and..........

Our goats cheese salad....

Laura made a Cointreau, raspberry and almond gateaux

Sunday starter... Melon with Serrano ham

Old school knickerbocker glory!

Made a Serrano and parsley butter......

Then stuffed it under this big boys breasts! Yum yum!

So, that's about it for now. I will enjoy the rest of my day off and relax....

Got some live music at the bar on Friday with the amazingly talented Matt Mason, so looking forward to that. Got to do a BBQ that night as well so hopefully will have some pictures.

Thanks for reading and I hope to be back soon!

Hasta la pasta

Jimbo

I'M BACK! - Finally got some time for a good old blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:26:00 +0000

So, as the title says.... I'm back! All my previous promises of more frequent blogs have fallen by the wayside! Now there's a word...... 'Wayside'..... When do we EVER use that word apart from in the phrase 'fallen by the wayside'? I have now spent the last 10 minutes trying to use the word in everyday speak and I'm having great fun. Let's try and bring back the word 'wayside'! Okay, enough of my childish whims, lets get down to business....

Things have picked up business wise, as we near the holiday season, and especially so in the last couple of weeks. It has given us a little taster of what is to come in July, August, September and beyond! Sunday lunch has picked up as well, which is strange, as it normally dies down at this time of year because of the heat. We've also seen a lot more old faces from the old place, not just for Sunday lunch, but during the week as well. Very heartening!

We've been running some offers recently, some just simple 'meal deals', and some a little more exciting. Not sure if it's the offers, the time of year, or both, but we're definitely busier. We've also put on a food eating challenge. It consists of a GIANT burger, chips and coleslaw and has to be eaten in 30 minutes. Anyone completing the challenge, eats for free. So far,no one has succeeded! Here's a picture to give you an idea...

We've also brought back the 'All you can eat' steak, ribs & chicken deal on Saturday nights, which after only 2 weeks is proving popular. There are some greedy pigs out there!

Whilst there is a mention of greedy pigs, I must confess to not having lost any further weight, but have not gained either. My head is only half in the right place at the moment, so although I am doing a lot of good work on the dietary side of things, I am also doing a lot of bad! I made some really nice spicy chick pea burgers last week (here's a piccy)....

and ate them with some minted yoghurt, home made flat bread thingys and salad. They were really tasty. I wonder why I don't make more effort to create healthy, low calorie food, because it's just as tasty as 'unhealthy' food. The answer is simple....time. I'm now starting to understand that a main factor in the world obesity problem is time. I genuinely believe that if we all had more time, (and the desire), to make healthy meals, the obesity rates would tumble. I know people will argue and say that eating healthily is expensive etc, but that's rubbish. Yes, of course you can spend a lot of money buying 'healthy' ingredients, but you can also buy very cheaply. For example, I made 16 chickpea burgers with 2 jars of chickpeas priced at 49c each. Okay, I added some spring onion, coriander and spices, but these are not expensive ingredients. Yes, we can go and buy fresh tuna or salmon, but we can also buy inexpensive fish that's just as good for you. Enough of my ranting! Bottom line is, I am not currently losing weight! Time is a wonderful thing.........if you have it!

Made a starter on Sunday of asparagus, Parmesan and balsamic. I was a little apprehensive about trying it as I am not yet too sure of who likes what here yet, but it seemed to work as we sold out! Mind you, there were some of our old restaurant customers in, so that helps explain it.

I do miss creating interesting food as our current menu is much more 'Wetherspoons' than 'Ramsays', so it's nice to put something on the menu that took a little thought and love.

We've just had Harrisons birthday bash at the house. It's not his official birthday until July 27th, but if you arrange a party over here in the summer holidays, no one turns up, so we had it on Monday. I thought a simple BBQ for the kids would make sense, as they all like burgers etc and it's easy to do, and as we had some friends coming over later in the evening, I could just chuck some more coal on and cook some more! So, I cooked a little childrens food........

and something for the adults.....

All went well.

Sadly, we are moving house again! Our landlord has decided that he wants to move back in, so we have to move out! I think it's time to start investigating the possibilities of buying over here. I like the non commitment of renting at the moment while we are still in a recession, but I hate the constant upheaval. We have found a lovely house just up the road and it is perfect for our requirements, so it'll be worth the move. Our problem is we have such little time to do, or get anything sorted....... I assume that it will be a last minute rush to get everything done, but once in, I can stop stressing and enjoy it!

So, if I have the time over the next few days, I will promise to make an effort to blog, but don't hold your breath!

Take care all, thanks as always for reading, and I'll be back soon.

Not so Slimbo Jimbo!

Hasta la Pasta!

Days 391-412 Weight loss back on and life in general.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Hi Peeps. Hope you're all well. I have a couple of opportunities to blog recently, but haven't actually sat down and typed, but here I am at work, I've finished watching Jeremy Kyle, made a couple of brekkies and it would appear I have some time, so here goes!

Work is ticking along nicely. It's not been ridiculously busy, but it could be worse! It's been busier in the evenings than during the day, but slowly but surely we're getting a few in earlier. After our first few weeks of very busy Sundays, it seems to have died down a little. Not sure if it's the snob factor kicking in, or people just not liking the fact that there's football on the tellies, but it's definitely died down a little. Still, it's about the whole week and not just one day. I am slowly getting out of the old restaurant mindset and getting into the new Saffy's mindset. In the old days, we would get maybe 25-30 bookings on a Sunday and a few that walked in on the day, whereas here, sometimes we only have 4-6 bookings, but the majority of people turn up on the day. I need to stop panicking when we don't have many bookings! It makes the weekly meat order a bit of a lottery, but hey, it's all part of running a kitchen.

Managed a night out on Monday with some very good friends, alas my worst food fears were confirmed! I wont name the restaurant, because it would be unfair, but I had suspicions before booking that the pictures on their website were not theirs, and unfortunately I was right. It's annoying because it was left to me to organise where we went, and after researching for days, I found it. Or at least I thought I had! I had even gone on a local community Facebook page to try and get some feedback, and I only read positive things! Did none of these people not realise that you couldn't order ANY of the food in the pictures, a sit wasn't theirs. I think it is a total con. How can a restaurant submit photos to their website of food that isnt theirs? Even the background in the pictures was of different restaurants. Maybe they count on the fact that once they have got you in once you will come back. However, I think 10.50€ for a very average burger with 5 chunky chips is not going to get me to go back there. Don't get me wrong, the setting was nice, the waitress was pleasant and they had made an effort with the presentation of the food, and the food was okay, but I was VERY disappointed with the lack of choice. To cap it off, they had a specials board with a couple of nice sounding dishes on, but when I asked about them, I was told they weren't on and they had forgotten to rub them off the board! WHY CAN I NEVER FIND A DECENT RESTAURANT? All that aside, I had a cracking night out, so thanks to Laura, Heidi, Mel, Martyn and Paul and I look forward to the next outing in June!

I am well and truly back on the food wagon and yesterday started a proper regime again. I'm fed up not losing any weight and the only one who's going to do anything about it is me! So, Slimbo is back! Finally!

Made some chickpea burgers last night, (recipe going in the book!), and served them with some home made coleslaw and a feta and beetroot salad. Full of flavour, a bit of heat, low calorie and inexpensive.....Perfect..

I also made an asparagus and leek soup. I used some spring onions in it as well and whereas usually, I would just use asparagus and onion to make the soup with a little chicken stock, the addition of leek and spring onion really made a difference. Really tasty, healthy and hardly and calories!

I've started a little herb garden in our little courtyard at work and it's coming along nicely. At the moment I'm growing basil, Greek basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, coriander and I'm trying to 'regrow' some celery

My first coriander shoot has sprouted!

and my celery seems to be regrowing!

Completely changing the subject, here is a picture of Sunday's belly pork. I came across it while uploading the above photos and just wanted to share it with you. If you're not a foody, you wont understand this, but doesn't it just make you want to cook?......

So, hopefully now that I am back on my diet, I should have lots of piccies and ideas for you to peruse over the next few days.

It's good to be back peeps, thanks for reading and I'll be back with you soon

Take care

Slimbo!!!

Days 389 & 390 - Open mushroom ravioli

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:55:00 +0000

Another couple of quiet days at work, but at least it gave me a chance to spring clean the kitchen a bit and have a little creative moment or two! Oh, and watch quite a lot of the World Snooker Championships! Being quiet isn't such a bad thing sometimes!

I decided that if we were quiet tonight, I would make a pasta dish I had been thinking about for a while. It's easy to make, cheap as chips to put together and if you use shop bough fresh lasagne sheets, it only takes 10 minutes from start to finish. Here it is.....

Really easy to make. Some mushrooms, thyme and walnut dressing. Won't give too much away cos this is going int he book, but great flavour and you've gotta try it!

Right, off to watch Masterchef and have a glass of wine!

Speak soon

Jimbo

Days 365 - 388 - No more weight loss (or gain).....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:09:00 +0000

I'm back again! So much for me trying to blog every other day! I think it's a mixture of not having so many hours in the day anymore to find time to sit and type, added to the fact that the food I am cooking is pretty basic stuff and so I'm not taking the same amount of photos that I used to. Who's gonna get turned on by a picture of a steak, (apart from me)....

I haven't been particularly creative at work recently as there is not much call for my sort of grub here, but I have decided to use the quiet moments at work to try out some dishes. I've sorted out a couple more recipes for the book, but now I cant find my 'Microsoft Office' CD to load on my netbook, so still finding things frustrating for the mo. I'll get snapping again soon and upload them here.

After a couple of pretty busy weeks, it's gone a little quiet for the last two, but we soldier on. In fact, last week was the worst week we've had since we started here. Hopefully, it;s the lull before the storm.... We did have 1 highlight this week though, which was a table of 33 booked for breakfast on Sunday morning. Of all the mornings to have a large party booked in for brekky, Sunday has to be the worst! It didn't make it easier when instead of turning up at 11am as booked, they turned up at 11.40, only 50 minutes before our Sunday lunch service begins. I suppose that unless you have experience in running a restaurant, you wouldn't understand the ramifications (sorry about the poncy word). Suffice to say that if you can imagine that Sunday mornings are pretty hectic on a 'normal' day, think about the logistics of cooking 33 breakfasts and then washing up 33 plates and all the cutlery, then wrapping the cutlery in serviettes in 50 minutes, while trying to be ready for Lunch. It wasn't fun!

Been doing a little exercise recently and will be stepping it up over the next few days, but no more weight loss.......yet.......

I'm off for now as I have some asparagus soup simmering away and it needs blitzing!

Speak to you all soon with some pictures and recipes

See ya
Jimbo

Day 365!- My weight loss after 1 year. It's been 1 year today!! Can't believe it!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:34:00 +0000

My God, where has the time gone. I started this blog, and my new eating regime exactly 1 year ago. I seriously can't believe it's gone so quickly.

For those of you who have been following me, firstly, I'd like to say a huge thank you for your interest and support. I think that by the end of this evening I will have 12000 views. It doesn't take much to work out that equates to approximately 1000 views per month, so again, a very big thank you to you all. Secondly, I must offer my apologies to those of you who were following my weigh loss journey. I have gone off the radar a little since the end of last year. I can give loads of excuses, but it all boils down to one thing..... I'm just really finding it hard to dedicate the time and energy into the whole blogging, recipe posting, eating thing at the moment. There are some contributory factors though. If this time last year you had told me that we would have moved house and closed our restaurant and started a new venture, I would have laughed at you. The change in our life has been huge. We now get even less time to ourselves than before and so on the odd occasion I get time to sit down and type, there are times that I just can't be bothered. That may seem like a limp excuse, even bordering on lazy, but it's the truth. The one thing I have always been on this journey is truthful and I will continue to do so.

On to positive things and the future...

I have had my yearly weigh in. Although not at my old stomping ground, 'The Beauty Box', as it is very difficult to get over there now since we moved location. We have only moved about a mile up the road, but the whole logistical thing has changed and it's not easy to commit to it every week. So, I purchased some scales and got my fat arse on them! If you are expecting a huge loss, then I am about to disappoint you. When I began my weight loss regime, I weighed rather embarrassingly heavy 20 stone and 6 pounds. At this mornings weigh in I weighed 17 stone 6 pounds. So a total loss of 3 stone in the last year. It's nowhere near where I wanted to be at this point, but I can't be too disheartened. This year has flown by so quickly that if at this point in a years time I had lost another 3 stone, I would have reached my goal. I am pleased that although I haven't lost any weigh really since September, for the first time ever, I haven't put all my weight back on. I'm so pleased that it kind of proves my theory that 'diets' only work while you are on them. If I had been on a diet and not followed it properly since September, I guarantee you that I would be an awful lot heavier than I am now. Because I am sticking to my eating habits in principal, (I haven't been 100% rigid), I have not put any weight on. Due to my complete lack of exercise for the last 3 months, neither have I lost any!

Now that the pool is up to 19/20C, I really have no excuse not to start swimming again. It's still a little cold, but very doable! We have also managed to sell some of the catering equipment that we had stored up in the gym area of the garden, so tomorrow I will be sorting out my multigym for action. The padded cycling shorts will make a timely reappearance, and the cross trainer is primed!

I am sincerely going to make a conscious effort to restart my whole program again as I believe that the fact that I am not following the regime has something to do with the fact that my blogs have dropped off and my food pics have become less and less. I need to immerse myself back into the swing of it. I think one leads to the other and so on etc...

I also aim to get my book firmly underway again. I have been conjuring up some new recipes and my hunger to get it finished is back......

Enough of that. On to everyday life.

Work is chugging along nicely. Bit by bit we are building our little empire at Saffy's and seeing more and more old faces along the way. We still haven't found the magic formula just yet, but we're working on it. The food seems to be going down well and I'm starting to get used to life without my oven!

We have a new addition to the family. His mane is 'Rolo'! He's chocolate brown and was the last one in the litter, so that explains the name! After the loss of our gorgeous dog, Maisie, 3 weeks ago, we didn't think we were going to have another dog for a while. Then this little fella came along.......

Okay, that's it for now. I am genuinely gonna try and get back into the habit of blogging every day or two and getting my fat arse back on the exercise trail. Watch this space.

Nite all. Take care. Sleep well and thanks for reading

Jimbo xx

Days 323-338

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:49:00 +0000

Has it really been two weeks since I last blogged? Shame on me. Time just seems to fly by these days. Things happen and I think to myself, ' I must blog about that tonight', then I forget, get home late, and fall into the trap of the television and on line poker. I keep telling myself that I need to blog daily again and post new recipes and ideas etc, but although a circumstance and not an excuse, we are working so many hours now that sometimes it's hard to find the motivation. In fact, I've been putting this off for most of the evening now!

Tomorrow is a new beginning again for me. I am going to make a conscious effort to lose some more weight again, do more exercise and get back some discipline in my life. No, not bondage or anything like that!, just a more disciplined day with regards to consciously thinking about what I'm doing, eating, exercise etc. The pool temperature is creeping up towards 20C, so I'm gagging to get back in for my daily swim. We've also managed to sell some of our old catering stuff that was stopping the gym from being used, so I can start on that as well. It's just finding the time really.

Food wise its been going ok at work, although this week it didn't pick up until Saturday. Boy did it pick up though. Had a crazy day! It didn't stop from about 11 in the morning until 9.30 that evening. Sunday was not the busiest for Sunday lunch, but was busy in general, so not too bad a day. It's a shame because last Sunday was really busy. It also is a bit mind blowing that one week it's full on, and the next it's the complete opposite. It's also very difficult to know how much meat and veg etc to order for Sunday. When you have loads of bookings, its easy. When you have few bookings, it's pure guess work! We're still finding our feet at Saffy's and slowly but surely some of our old customers are returning, so still a work in progress, but one that I'm sure will go from strength to strength. Due to popular demand, I have been doing pate as one of the Sunday starters. It started with just a plain chicken liver pate, then became a chicken liver and cranberry pate in week 2 and this week I came up with a bacon, wild mushroom, cream and chicken liver pate. You know I was just never going to serve up the same pate every week! Not sure what to do this week, so if you have any pate suggestions, feel free to let me know! I'll even mention you in my next blog!

A bit of sad news recently. Our gorgeous Labrador, Maisie, had to be put to sleep last week after we found out she had a huge tumour on her liver which had given her hepatitis and peritonitis. She was nearly 13. It's really weird now coming home and not seeing her waiting at the gate with her tail wagging :0(
Still, on a lighter note, at least I wont tread in any shit when I come home from work in the dark!Miss you Maisie, sleep well xx

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back soon!

Jimbo

Days 325-332 Another week flies by!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:43:00 +0000

Here I am again!

It's been a pretty busy week this week. Work has seemed to pick up another 30% and apart from Thursday, every day ticked over nicely. After a little chat with staff and a couple of customers last week, we decided that as our 'poncy' starters were not going down too well on Sundays, we would tone them down a little. I asked what people thought we should be doing, and the overwhelming response was pate! So, after much soul searching, I decided to give it a whirl! This weeks starters were a minestrone soup and chicken liver pate. If you know me at all though, you'll know that it wasn't just a chicken liver pate done the conventional way! I remember that the last time I made it, although it was 'nice', it lacked that certain something. I wasn't too sure what, but I knew it needed another dimention. So, I decided on Cranberry sauce! I knew it needed a sweetness, but I didn't want it coming from sugar. Got to say it worked a treat! Had some very good feedback from the customers as well. Think it might have to go in the book! I still think I can get more flavour in there, so I will have a think. I must remember though that at the end of the day it is a chicken liver pate, so I have to stay as close to its roots a s possible. Yeah, right!

A decent week then financially, but alas, Laura has to go to the dentist tomorrow and our dog Maisie has an appointment with the vet, so looks like most of it will be gone! Joking aside, I think she may not be coming back from the vets... :( She is nearly 13, which for a labrador is pretty old. She suffers with arthritis and is very weak. We will see what the vet has to say.

Can't get my head in the right place for weight loss at the moment. I'm not putting any weight on,I'm just not doing enough to lose any......... At the end of the month I have my yearly weigh in, so I really need to pull my finger out.

I have an idea for my din dins tonight...... I have brought home a couple of cooked lamb shanks from work and although I am in the mood for lamb, I'm not in the mood for a roast, so I'm going to strip the meat from the bone, shove it in a pitta with a little rocket, yoghurt and harissa and eat it as a kebab! Happy days!

I'm off now, but I hope to be back soon. Thanks for reading

Jimbo xx

Days 327 - 324 - Really enjoying the 'craic' at work

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:58:00 +0000

Well, another week has come and gone. Having every Monday off seems to make the week pass so quickly! Enjoyed this week again at Saffy's. Although not the busiest week we've ever had, it was a lot of fun. Each week we get to know all the staff and customers a little more and it's a really good place to work.

On the food side of things, I'm still trying to work out what works and what doesn't, but we're getting there! I'm still making mistakes though. This Sunday, one of the starters was mixed meats with rocket and Parmesan. We didn't sell a single portion of it! I think we need to simplify the starters a little more. In the 6 Sunday's we have done, only the pate has really sold well. Looks like I'll be making one this week!

Away from Sunday lunch, we have put a couple of specials on that have sold well...

I'm going to keep the lamb on again and the rib eye this week and see how things go...

Not got much else to report for now, but I'll be back soon!

Take care all and thanks for reading

Jimbo

Days 313-326 Weight update, a few piccies and life in general!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:17:00 +0000

Well, it's been a while! I think it's 2 weeks since I last blogged! Although not an excuse, we are working some seriously long hours and to be honest, most of the time when we get home, I really can't be bothered to sit down and type this drivel!

We are really enjoying the new kitchen, even with the long hours. It's just so nice to have no more stress and worry etc. In a strange sort of way it has done us good to have struggled so hard for the last 3 or 4 years as now we can really appreciate having a few quid at the end of the week. We still have some debts to pay off from the previous restaurant, but at least we can make a dent in it now, whereas before it was just getting bigger and bigger.

There is also the added bonus of having one day off EVERY week! So, even though we are working 2 more nights a week than we used to, we get a whole day off every week now, which is great. Again, to most of you, only having one day off a week would be a drag, but to us, it's like a holiday! Usually on our one day off we have to go and do all the things that we couldn't do while at work, but today, we have nothing to do except enjoy the sunshine and do nothing! Well, apart from typing this blog! It's so nice to be able to sit in the garden with a glass of red, some cured Spanish cheese, a few olives and a couple of crisp bread thingys, whilst I type.

I say it's so nice, but it would be easier if I didn't have to use this ridiculously rubbish netbook! I bought it about 6 years ago and basically since the day I bought it, it has been a pain! The keys on the keyboard are playing games with me, it cannot find the wifi signal, there is no disc space on it, even though there is nothing installed on it, so here I am with another keyboard plugged in to it, typing this in 'notepad' as I cannot install word or anything similar. When I have finished typing I will have to copy and paste it, hardwire it to t'internet and hope that I can send it to myself as an email and then copy and paste it again onto a word document on the PC, to then use it on my blog. One word.... Painful!

Work has been going well considering it's mid February, and this week has been pretty busy. Although Sunday was only 'average', the rest of the week has been pretty good. I had an idea on Wednesday night to do a bit of an eating challenge during the football. In homage to the Food network program 'Man v Food', I decided that as Manchester United were playing Real Madrid in the Champions League, we would do a 'Man U v Food' challenge! The challenge was to eat 2 triple bacon cheeseburgers with chips and homemade coleslaw during the first half. It was a bit disappointing that no one tried it, but here's what 1 burger looked like....

There was some live music in the bar on Thursday night which bought a few extras in and that seems to be a permanent fixture now, so we will see how that goes over the next few weeks. We're getting more and more of our old customers coming across town to see us at Saffy's, but there's still a few who spend some of their time here and some in England that don't know we've moved. A prime example of this is we took a booking for Saturday night for a party of 4 at 8pm and wondered why they hadn't turned up. We then realised that they'd probably gone to the old place!! We need to get into the habit of asking people if they know we've moved when they book!

The brewery that Saffy buys a lot of his stuff from very kindly donated some new garden furniture this week, so we are on a mission to spruce the courtyard up a bit and make it a 'sexy' place to sit. We need to paint and tidy up a bit, but now the weather is back up to about 20C, I think that people will want to sit outside again soon. That will double our seating and hopefully stick some more much needed wonga in my pocket!

On to my weight! You may have all realised that I have not been posting updates over the last couple of months. I had not really been able to get over to 'The Beauty Box' for my weekly weigh in, (sorry Heather), so to be honest, I haven't really had an idea about my weight, apart from the fact that I felt a little heavier. I found some scales on offer at Lidl a couple of weeks ago and thought it best to buy them so that I could monitor my weight once again. Oh dear....! Since my last official weigh in in early December, I have gained 6 pounds. Part of me is a bit shattered that a lot of the hard work has gone to waste, but there is a part of me that thinks that it could have been worse. Baring in mind that since probably late November I have done no exercise at all, (apart from the odd walk on the beach in the mornings), and although I haven't been pigging out, I haven't been that careful with what I've been eating, it could have been a lot worse. At least I have stopped the rot now and my head is once again in the right place. I can't actually believe that in about 5/6 weeks time, it will be a year! I know I will be nowhere near the 6 stone I was trying to lose, but anything over 3 stone will be a small achievement and I can push on again for the other 3 stone. At the end of March the pool should be warm enough again to swim in, so that will help the cause. I need to get back into my exercise regime. It sounds a bit weird, but I actually enjoy it! It's just a case of not coming home at 10pm and flopping in front of the telly to watch the recordings of Eastenders and Corrie, but to watch them while exercising. That was the whole ethos behind buying the exercise bike and the cross trainer in the first place. Having them sitting outside in the conservatory is no good for motivation! So watch this space for weight loss news. I might just say nothing until the year is up and let you all know the yearly total... We shall see ;0)

As I have had to do this all a little arse about tit, it has been difficult to insert pictures in the correct places, so I'll just shove them down here for you to look at. Some of the food over the last couple of weeks at the bar.....

Mushroom soup with a cheese and bacon crouton

Some 'pinchos' for the darts team

A goats cheese, bacon and walnut salad with honey dressing

Caesar salad

Honey roasted gammon

Sunday's 4 meats

Bread and butter pudding with chocolate

Slow roasted 'fall off the bone' lamb shank

Simple pasta with roasted red peppers and cherry tomatoes

Well, that's it! I think I've said enough for now. No doubt as soon as I hit the 'publish' button, I will remember something else, but I will just add it on to the next blog. Let's hope it's not another 2 weeks away.

See you all later, and as always, thanks for reading!

Jimbo ;0)

Days 306 - 312 A few pictures for you to look at...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:54:00 +0000

So, another week has passed and things are still going well at Saffy's. Considering its Jan/Feb, the two quietest months of the year, we can't complain.

Although we didn't quite scale the heights of last week, it was another decent Sunday. The final total was 39 covers, which although was 20 short of last week, it was only 6 short of the Sunday lunch total. Strange this week as the only orders we had were for Sunday lunch. Last Sunday we had orders for breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches etc.

I made a Greek salad for one of the starters, the other being home made mushroom soup, and once again I was very pleased with the amount of people who ordered it. I had made some hummus from scratch and served it with pitta. Here's a peek at it...

Now, I know that most of you don't get as excited by silly foody things as me, but I feel I need to share this with you. I can't believe that I have been cooking for this long now without even thinking about doing this before. Although I've used this method to get that yucky bit of stalk out of tomatoes, I had never used it to get the watery goo out of the middle of a cucumber before. It saves cutting the cucumber down the middle and scraping it out with a spoon. Here it is... Just a simple apple corer....

I knew it wouldn't excite you that much, but it does it for me!

A few of this week dinners for you to have a look at......

Firstly, just a simple pasta with basil, pine nuts and Parmesan...

...and an omelette I made in the middle of the week by using up some things in the fridge that needed eating. I used some shredded red cabbage, some sliced mushrooms, spring onion and coriander. Here it is in stages...

Gotta tell ya....., it made a very nice change from the bog standard omelette. Give it a try, you'll be surprised!

I made a Thai inspired broth in the week with ginger, spring onion, prawn, chicken, noodles, coconut milk, chilli, coriander and a little chicken stock. The picture below does not do it justice...

I started going for a walk before work this week and I thought I'd share some of the sights with you...

Strangely, I'm quite enjoying my morning walks and think they will continue for some time!

Well, that's about it for now, I hope to have some more riveting news for you soon. Otherwise, I will just keep on spouting this rubbish to you all!

Take care, speak soon

Jimbo

Days 300 - 305 Things are going very well at work!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:55:00 +0000

So, week four at Saffy's is over and it's been a blast so far. All the staff are very nice, Saffy is as laid back as they come, and the customers seem to have taken to us as well. Happy days!

The week started pretty slowly, but gained momentum as it neared the weekend. That has seemed to be the pattern so far. We have been quieter in the mornings and in the early part of the week, but it gets busier in the evenings and over the weekend. This week we had 40 bookings for Sunday lunch, and ended up with 59 covers. Sadly we turned away a party of 8 quite early during service as there was no where for them to sit. Although we have an outside courtyard with extra seating, it's not quite warm enough to sit outside yet. When the weather warms a little, we will increase from 44 seats to around 80, so who knows what sort of totals we could be doing.....

I decided to make a chicken liver pate as one of the starters this week. Offal isn't my favourite food, in fact, I don't like it at all, but I can tolerate a good tasty pate. It helps when I know whats in it! I made it in a loaf tin, (not ideal, but all I had), and this is how it turned out...

Not the greatest looking slab of pate, but you get the idea. Here's how it looked as a finished dish...

Having not served a pate at Saffy's before, I wasn't too sure how it would go down. I needn't have worried...., we sold out! I know it's only early days, but so far I am so pleased with the move. After the last 3 1/2 years of financial struggle, we can finally put a few quid in my wallet at the end of the week. All the stress has completely gone. Although we are working a few more hours, it's worth it for the peace of mind and stress free life...

Had a day off today and managed to have a coffee over looking the port in Altea. The journey was made more interesting by the fact that as we left Calpe, we noticed that 'Maryvilla', (an urbanisation on the side of a mountain about a mile away), was on fire! It started at around 3am this morning, and as we picked Harrison up from school this afternoon, it was still burning! Apparently, last nights strong winds had blown a pylon over, and thatw as the cause of the fire. A couple of our friends live up there, so we phoned to see if they were okay. One of the couples had been evacuated at 3am, and the other couple were still asleep when we phoned!!!!

I'm making a bit of a Thai inspired brothy type soup for din dins tonight, but as yet there are no photos, so once it's finished, I'll take some and post them on here.

I think that's about it for now. I'd best be off to start peeling some prawns...

Speak to you all soon and thanks for reading

Jimbo

Days 284-290 - Bloody dongles!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:02:00 +0000

I seem to start several blogs with an apology and today is no exception! It may seem a lame excuse for not blogging, but a coouple of weeks ago the wireless dongle thingy packed up and after searching the local computer type shops, the cheapest I could find was 30€! No way was I going to pay that. So after a look on Amazon and local Facebook pages, we found one for 11.95€ and here I am!

I'd better let you all know how things are going at 'Saffy's'.... Really well actually! We are pleasantly surprised how quickly things have taken off. We seem to have been accepted by the regulars, which was an initial worry for me. I didn't want people thinking 'who do these two think they are coming in here', but it's been the complete opposite. Everyone has wished us well, complimented us on the food, and most importantly...., ordered it! As I have said before, it's not necessarily the food that gives me enjoyment to cook, but I still get satisfaction from the positive feedback. More importantly, for the first time in the 4 years we have been here, we actually have some money in the bank at the end of the week.

It's also so nice not to have all the worries that came with the old restaurant. At the old place, every day there would be someone coming in to see us for money and I was always having to make sure that the funds were available for whoever would visit. It was a juggling act that was proving harder and harder to achieve at the end of our tenure. Now all I have to think about is paying my food supplier! Simples! A HUGE weight has been lifted from my shoulders and although we are working an extra couple of nights in the week than we are used to, its all worth it for the peace of mind of having some money in the bank. It's so nice to be rewarded for hard work at the end of the week , instead of working your nuts off just to keep your head above water.

As well as the normal menu doing well, our Sunday lunches are as busy as ever, with the added bonus being that with the set up of the new kitchen, we are able to serve the whole menu as well as the roast. Although my old friend the large oven is now defunct and still sitting in the courtyard outside the kitchen, with a little military precision, we are still able to produce Sunday lunch..... Phew! That was a big worry for me.

In general, all the food is going down very well, and we're even getting good feedback from the pool and darts teams that we feed on a Tuesday and Friday night! Very happy so far and I'm having to pinch myself that we are still in January....

On to my weight. I will be honest, as I have always been on this journey, and say that I have not been following the regime as I shoould. I haven't really done any exercise for about a month, but all that said, I am still the same weight that I was and I haven't gained. My head is back int he right place again and immediately after typing this, I have a date with my cross trainer!

I have also managed to persuade Laura that we should have a 30 minute walk before work every morning as we have half an hour to kill after dropping Harrison to school, so that will start tomorrow as well. Who knows, may even persuade her to do the same after work too!

On the home front, I went to England last week to visit my daughter Holly and to meet my grandson that she gave birth to on January 6th. It was lovely to see her and nice to meet little Marley. It was a shame that I couldn't stay longer, but the weather was closing in, and I just managed to get back to Spain before the snow set in. I got a few dodgy looks from people as I wandered around Tescos in my shorts and flip flops, but I'm used to it now! I'll never change.....

Ok, that's it for now. Now that I have internet access again, I will promise to keep in touch a little more! I'm off now for some hell on the cross trainer! I'm guessing that it's going to be hard work as I haven't been on itfor ages! Wish me luck!

Speak to you all very soon
Jimbo :0)

Days 279 - 283 - I've been weighed, I've become a Grandad and started at the new kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:13:00 +0000

I will start with the announcement that today I became a Grandad. No matter how I try and make it sound better, it makes me sound like an old git! Gramps, grandad or grandfather......, doesn't matter which is used, I sound old! I have just turned 45 and have the mental age of a 10 year old! That aside, I am off to England for a couple of days next week to see my daughter and her little boy. I will take some photos and post them when I return.

Had a day off today, so while out, I decided to weigh myself on one of those futuristic modern scale things. To my deep joy, I have not put on any weight since I was last weighed about 5 weeks ago! I haven't lost any, but to be honest, after my indulgences over the festive period, I'm quite happy with the result. I am back on the trail now, so hopefully the pounds will start to fall off again.

On to work... We opened our new kitchen at Saffy's bar on January 2nd and after a slow first day, we have done pretty well. It's been nice seeing some faces from the old restaurant and meeting some new ones. It seems to be working pretty well so far and it's much less stressful than running the other place. I think we're going to be much happier here than we were there. Even though I'm not really getting the chance to cook the food I want to cook, I realise that sometimes you have to compromise a little in order to make something work. Our menu is a pretty standard English pub type menu, but I'm still putting my all into every plate of food that leaves the kitchen and trying to do it better than the rest! All the food is still fresh and freshly made to order and I'm still going to be able to show them a bit of me with the Sunday starters. This week it was only a simple tomato & mozzarella salad, but it's light, looks good and most importantly, tastes good. Here it is...

It's also a big help that Laura is able to cook all the food as well, as it takes the pressure off of me and I can get on and do other things. It's been really hard this week as we no longer have my all singing, all dancing oven and we are having to use a much smaller one which we are not used to. I managed to burn some of the Yorkshire puddings this week, but I'd made plenty, so we didn't need them! Sunday went pretty smoothly with 28 covers and all in all, it was a very successful first week.

I will bid you all farewell for now and look forward to filling you all in soon!

Jimbo xx

Days 270 - 278 The end of 1 adventure and the start of another...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:43:00 +0000

Forgive me father for it has been 9 days since my last confession, (blog). During this time, we have served our last meal at 'Laura's', (on Christmas Day), moved EVERYTHING from the cafe and restaurant to our new kitchen, (at Saffy's bar), made food for 70 people on New Years Eve and collapsed for a day!

My God, the move was stressful! You cannot begin to imagine the amount of stuff that had to be transferred from one kitchen to the other. If I were to tell you that it took four of us to move my commercial oven from our old upstairs kitchen just in to the van, and it took over an hour, it might give you a little idea..... We had to saw the banister off the rails just to get it round the corner at the top of the stairs. Of course we only found that out when the bloody thing was stuck on the bend! It also weighs over 200 kilos, so not fun at all. The fun continued when we got the oven to the door of the new kitchen, only to find it was one inch too wide to get through the frame....Noooooooooooo! Enough stress already! At the moment the oven is sitting in the courtyard, (safe and secure), while we wait for a chap to have a quick look at how easy it will be to remove the door frame etc. As its all PVC, its not straight forward.... So my plan was to position the oven door right outside the kitchen door, so that I could gain access to it that way, if only a temporary measure until we could find a way of getting it through the gap. We then hit ANOTHER problem! There is no '3 phase' electric cable in the kitchen and the oven runs off 3 phase. Simple you say. NOT WHEN THERE IS NO 3 PHASE SUPPLY TO THE FUSE BOARD. !!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We are now waiting for the word on whether or not we can actually have 3 phase or not. Could be disastrous if we can't.

Then there was every pot, pan, plate, glass, knife, fork, spoon, to move. Baring in mind we used 6 different types of plates and had 40 of each, it gives you an idea. If I said it took twice as many hours to move from kitchen to kitchen as it did from the old house to the new, that should give you a little insight as to how hard it was. Combined with the fact that there is now a zebra crossing directly outside the restaurant, (you remember the one!), parking anywhere near was a nightmare. Still, it's done now and we are up and running at 'Saffy's'. He's a top bloke and I think we could have a long working relationship together...hopefully.

Although we did the food for their New Years Eve bash, today was our first day at the new kitchen. It was a pretty quiet day, but it gave us a chance to settle in a little better and get some order in the kitchen. We still have some shelves to put up and some re-organising to do, but we're more or less in now. Just need my oven! Although I have an oven under my cooker, its not nearly big enough for Sunday lunch etc, so this week should be fun!

I'm going to leave it there for a while as I'm tired and still got loads to do, so I will just say happy New Year to you all, hope you all had a spiffing Christmas, thanks for reading and I'll be back soon!

Jimbo

Days 263 - 269 - News, pictures and a festive message!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:21:00 +0000

Well, it's Christmas eve, we have just finished our last day in the downstairs Cafe and have just got Christmas day left in the restaurant and then it will be all over! It's been a bit weird this week really. I've just been waiting for it to end!!

Last Saturday was a good night. We had a finger buffet for a ladies 65th birthday party and it was a very enjoyable evening. We have had some groups in the past who can hardly muster a smile and who have lost any manners they were shown as children, but Saturday's party goers were the complete opposite. It is so nice to have a group of people in the restaurant who appreciate their food, service and surroundings, and every one of them was polite and very complimentary. Such a refreshing change!
I listed the menu in my last blog, so I will show you some of the finished food...

I thoroughly enjoyed all the preparation, all the plating and all the eating of the food that wasn't eaten!!! Now that our new venture will give a little more freedom than the restaurant ever did, I may start to advertise a buffet service. It's what I love to do and with the feedback we got on Saturday, maybe it's the way forward...

Sticking with food for a minute or two, here are some of the things I have been eating this week...

...the left over meatballs from Saturday night with some spaghetti

A rocket, mozzarella, avocado and cherry tomato salad

and some pasta with spinach and pine nuts...

I made a terrine yesterday that hope fully will set in time for Christmas day as it is one of the starters! Here's how I made it.....

Started with some minced pork, apricots, sweated leeks and pistachios

Lined a loaf tin with streaky bacon

Blanched some asparagus

and filled it in! Cooked it for about an hour and fifteen minutes, then weighted it down and it's now sitting in the fridge waiting to be ordered!

I'll post some pictures when its cut.....

I had a little fun on Sunday and had a go at making whopper Yorkshire puddings again. Every now and then I get the urge! Here is one of the big ones from yesterday...

While on the subject of big ones, I was asked by Laura's dad to make him some breakfast as he was very hungry. This is what he got...!

I also thought I'd garnish the potato and leek soup with my attempt at a Christmas tree. Art never was my strong point!

Here is an apple pie we made for a customer today...

Okay, okay, enough food pictures. Thought I'd let you know that they have FINALLY finished

the roadworks outside the Cafe! Its a complete cowboy bodge up, but nevertheless, it's finished. Not sure if you'd call it 'sod's law' or irony that it's finished just as we are about to depart to pastures new, but here's what it looks like up the street now...

Well that's about it for now, except to thank you all for supporting me and my blog so far and to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a spiffing 2013. It's going to be a massive year for me personally and I hope you will all keep following my progress. Who knows... I may even have time to finish writing my book....

Thanks again for reading and I'll speak to you all soon

Jimbo xx

Days 257- 263 - Hello again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Well, hello again. Just thought I'd keep in touch. Nothing much happening at work for the last few days... Calpe is sooooooooooooooo quiet at the moment, it's like a ghost town at times. I spoke to the guy next door who owns a sport shop and he hasn't taken a penny for the last 2 days. Nothing at all... Times are definitely hard at the mo. Enough of this doom and gloom though and on to pastures new!

Only 7 days left! Wow, that seems really weird. It's all we've done since moving to Spain and now, all of a sudden we won't be there anymore...., a very strange feeling. It's a little sad as we have put so much time and effort into making it a success, but the opportunity offered to us was too good to pass up. So on one hand it will be a sad day, but on the other, an exciting time lies ahead.

We have sent our menus to the printers and they should be ready in a couple of days, so looking forward to that. Although I'm having to compromise and cook 'Wetherspoons' type food, I will still be using fresh produce and still put the same passion into every plate of food that leaves the kitchen. Think I'm gonna stick a weekly special on as well to slowly show my new customers what I cook. We'll see how it goes down...

I'm quite excited as on Saturday we have private party at the restaurant for a lady's 65th birthday and she has requested a finger buffet. Right up my street! Although she has asked for a couple of specific things, I basically have carte blanche do create what I like. It's what I love doing, so well chuffed with that. It's ironic though that it will be the restaurants last night of trading, (we will be open on Christmas Day), and it's the first booking of this type! Typical!

Here's what I'll be making....

Individual Caesar salads

Goats cheese and caramelised onion crostini

Lemon and coriander chicken skewers

Smoked mackerel pate crostini

Individual mini cheesecakes

Tomato, basil & mozzarella pinchos

A mixed sausage selection

Smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis with caviar

A quiche

Individual mini cheeseburgers

Meatballs

I did have a mini Greek salad on a skewer as well, but the customer wanted cheeseburgers instead! Even with that slight adjustment, I must say what a pleasure it is that they don't just want Vol au vents, sausage rolls, cheese and pineapple sticks etc! I look forward to preparing it all on Saturday and will take some pictures of the finished spread for you to feast your eyes upon when it's finished...

I'm also doing the food for the Sports bar on New Years Eve, so I'll update you with that a little nearer the time. It will probably be more like the buffets we are all used to, but I will put my twist on it without making it too poncy for my new punters!

Away from food and on to my weight loss. I have to be honest and say that I have not been as strict over the last few weeks and I need to snap out of my current frame of mind and get back to doing what I was doing. I keep saying I'm going to do it, but I haven't yet done so. Although I am exercising regularly on the gym and cross trainer at the moment, I'm using that as an 'excuse' to not be strict about what I'm eating. Just because I'm exercising and burning calories, it doesn't mean that I can relax my concentration and slide down that slippery slope again. I have PROMISED myself that I will never get into that downhill spiral again, so I need to focus again, and quickly. I make no excuses, I have just been slack, and hopefully this public slagging off of myself will kick me back into gear....!

Right, I'm off to eat a bargain bucket to myself, so I'll speak to you all soon!

Only kidding, there are no KFC's within 30 miles of here!

Speak soon and thanks for reading

Jimbo xx

Days 246 - 256 It has been sometime since I blogged....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Its me! Hello! It has been some time since I last blogged. My offer my humble apologies, but as there really hasn't been anything worth talking about, I thought it best to say nothing!

The road works continue outside our door, (you know, the ones that were supposed to take place between Sept 3rd and October 20th)! These muppets really haven't a clue what they're doing.....

Work has been very quiet recently, but to be honest, I am so focused on the venture that lies ahead, I am not really bothered! We've had a couple of Christmas lunches in the last week that have gone very well, but apart form those, there isn't much to write home about.

I had a shock on the scales this week..., I gained 3lbs. Not a happy bunny, but only have myself to blame as I haven't been careful enough with my food intake. I've got into a mindset that says 'don't worry about eating that, you can burn it off later on the bike'. All well and good, except if I don't get on the bike...........

I need to get out of this frame of mind, and get back to basics. Basically, I need to start from scratch and get back to doing the things that worked for me in the beginning. Although it can be difficult at times with all the food preparation and tasting I have to do, I just have to refocus.

I have a cross trainer now, and I aim to do 20 minutes a day. If after a couple of weeks I find myself becoming fitter, I will up it to 30 and see how it goes.

I haven't been too creative with the menu at work recently as it's been so quiet that I find it difficult to motivate myself into thinking up interesting dishes. What's the point of creating food that isn't going to sell... I may as well just throw money down the drain. We had a women's lunch group in today, so I could express myself a little bit. Here's the menu I prepared...

Starters
Tomato & Basil bruschetta
Home made mushroom soup with truffle oil
Goats cheese, caramelised onion and Serrano ham tartlet with balsamic reduction
Mushrooms pan fried in a garlic infused butter on toast
Char grilled vegetables

Mains
Confit of duck leg served with chilli spiced noodles
Pasta with courgette and cream
Pan fried Cod with crushed new potatoes and pea puree
Chicken & Chorizo hunters stew with crusty bread
Spaghetti with deconstructed pesto

Desserts
Home made Baileys and chocolate cheesecake
Apple and plum crumble
Banana split
Ice cream
Home made Sherry trifle

Ironically, 4 out of the 5 starters on offer were ordered by the 9 diners, but for main course, 7 had the cod and 2 had the duck! So, my creativity wasn't really needed after all!

The menu at the new venue will be much simpler. It will be more along the lines of a 'Wetherspoons' type. I will put on weekly specials, and will try to incorporate as much fresh produce and ideas as I can. Once we have finalised the menu, I will shove it on here for you to see.

I tried my hand at making a pate this week. I know it sounds weird that someone who has been cooking for so long has never made one, but to be honest, they're not my most favourite thing in the world, and I usually make a terrine. I did however give it a go, and was most pleased with the result.
I decided to do a chicken liver pate with brandy. It was a really simple recipe, and now I have done it, I think I will put my own little twist on one next time. Here's how it looked...

Be careful if you have long hair, as this really flames when you add the brandy! Fortunately, I do not have that problem!

Here's the finished product...

I made a second pate for tasting purposes, but by the time I took this picture, there wasn't much left!

I am not an offal fan, but it tasted very nice. Next time I will be adding more brandy and a little sweetness I think...

While uploading these 2 pictures, I remembered that I had taken a snap of the chicken and chorizo stew that I made today, so I've stuck this on as well!

We have a Christmas music quiz at the restaurant tomorrow night, so as I have no idea how many people may or may not turn up, I am just going to make a beef casserole type affair with a lump of topside that I cut of my Sunday joint this week. I will post pictures when it is finished.

Until then, I will trot off and bid you a very good evening!

Sleep well all, and I will make a concious effort to blog a bit more often!

Hasta la pasta!

Jimbo

Days 241 - 245 - I've been stealing!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:47:00 +0000

I'm back again! Not much to report as Calpe has been a bit of a ghost town this week.

We had a fund raising event at the restaurant on Wednesday in aid of a local dog charity which was organised by Laura. It went pretty well and some much needed money was raised. Although the road is STILL closed off to traffic, many people turned up to support the cause, so a big thank you to them. It was great success and if we weren't undertaking our new business venture, I am sure we would have organised another. Who knows, maybe we will anyway...

Back to work..... It's been an awful month, (November always is), and Calpe is currently like a ghost town. The road works are still continuing and I have to tell you that the road they have only just laid is being pulled up again!! Guess what.... I don't give a flying hoot!!! They can work on the bloody road forever now, I really don't care!! Roll on Christmas Day! Roll on new business venture! Roll on the roadwork free zone! Here's a piccy just to show you what utter muppets they are.....

Adios muppetos!

So financially, even though we had a decent Friday and Sunday, it's been a pretty difficult month for us, which really has reinforced the fact that we are doing the right thing in making the move. Time will tell, but noting ventured, nothing gained. Got to take a gamble in life, or you just stagnate. If it goes 'tits up', at least we tried. Better to have tried and failed than to have not tried at all.......... Can't think of any more cliches at this point!

Doom and gloom over, and it's on to the weather! It's bloody freezing!! I'll tell you how cold it is.... I wore tracky bottoms to work today! I genuinely cannot remember the last time I was not wearing shorts! I'm pleased I wore them too, as when we arrived for work yesterday evening, the internal oven temperature was 8C. The kitchen was probably a degree or two below that. Stark contrast to the 50C temperatures of just 3 months ago.

At home it's even colder! Although we have central heating, we have a problem with the workings etc, so until it gets looked at, the house is a fridge. In Spain they don't insulate their houses as most of the time it's hot and it would be silly to retain too much heat, so you can imagine how cold it gets! We have a real fire in the living room, but it only really heats the living room and the rest of the house gets no benefit. When we breathe, you can see the steam coming out of our mouths! We have found an old gas bottle fire in the garage, so we are using that now too! The funniest bit for me is... the price of firewood here is extortionate (130€ per cubic meter), so we have been stealing the wooden pallets that the block paving has been delivered on for the roadworks! Soon as they stop for their numerous breaks, I nick 'em and chuck 'em in the car!! Gotta get something back from those muppets!

I didn't get weighed this week, as I had too much to do, so I am now going to do it bi - weekly! I am hoping to acquire a 2nd hand cross trainer this week, so I will be upping the exercise in time for the next weigh in!

Okay, I'm off to put the little fella to bed now, so I will speak to you all again very soon.

Take care

Jimbo

Days 235 - 240 - HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU !!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:26:00 +0000

So, last week has been and gone and it was pretty much the same old story!

More roadworks, the quiet November continues, but a good Friday night and a good Sunday! Oh, and I lost 2 lbs!

That's more or less what happened at work, apart from one major piece of news!!!

For a few months now, I have been teasing you with news of an impending something...... Well, that something has NOT come to fruition! I was talking to a hotel about he possibility of 'taking over' their kitchen and talks had reached an interesting stage. That was until I was informed that they would be closing the hotel for a few months in the new year for refurbishment and then were unsure as to the direction they were going. It is possible that it will be turned into apartments or similar, so I shelved that particular project. There was also interest from a 'company' who wanted to talk to me about the possibility of me becoming a chef for them in their 'new venture' in the new year. Nothing happened there.

So there I was on Thursday afternoon, prepping the food for the evening service and wondering what next year was going to bring, when a chap came upstairs to talk to me..................

He is the owner of a successful sports bar about a mile up the road from us and he came to talk to me about taking over his kitchen. We had a good chat and he left me with a huge decision to make. I had to weigh up whether to continue in the restaurant that we had built from nothing over the past 3 and a bit years, or undertake a new challenge.

On one hand, we have a restaurant that we have put our all into and turned from an ailing pasty shop into a very successful concern. Maybe its not the most financially successful concern, but customer wise, we have grown from strength to strength. We reached no.1 on the Tripadvisor rankings and received a achievement of excellence award for 2012 from them. At one point we were ranked 3rd from over 4,000 restaurants listed on the Costa Blanca. The problem we have are the overheads. You cannot begin to imagine the crap we have to pay out! Without listing every bill we have, if I was to say that we have to earn 5,000€ a month JUST TO BREAK EVEN, you can begin to understand how difficult it can be. So yes, we have made a 'success' of our restaurant, but financially, it has been very difficult to survive at times, especially during this recession. So, on the other hand, when we receive an offer like the one we got on Thursday, we have to give it plenty of thought.

We have thought and thought and though again and have decided to undertake the new venture! From a financial point of view, we wont have anything like as many commitments as we do now, so a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders. From a challenge point of view, I probably need a new one, and am really looking forward to it. The bar is currently NOT serving food, so we are basically starting from scratch again. I don't think I'll be able to serve 'my food' at first, but I look forward to designing a menu more in tune with my new clientele. It'll probably start off pretty basic, but I hope to introduce them to my talents quite soon! I am happy to listen to any food suggestions or ideas you have...

Although it will be sad to leave the restaurant, it wasn't a difficult decision in the end. We have decided
to make Christmas day our last and we start at the Sports bar on Wednesday 2nd of January, so we even get a week off! It'll probably take us a couple of days to move our stuff out and in to the new kitchen, so still might be able to relax for a bit.

Okay, that's it for now, apart from letting you know that today they started paving the little section outside our doors that they have left for 6 weeks! A touch of irony there somewhere!

Sweet dreams all and I ill speak to you all very soon. Thanks for reading

Jimbo

Days 229 - 234 Busy Friday, Busy Sunday, but Thursday and Saturday a little quiet. Oh, and they've dug the bloody road up AGAIN...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:55:00 +0000

I haven't blogged for a while, so here is the last 6 days news for you all to peruse! I will quickly start by telling you that they've just dug the bloody road up AGAIN. Yes, only 4 weeks after laying it, its up again. Don't know what the heck they're doing... Some pictures to help set the scene for you...

Absolute joke. There is nothing more to say on this subject. Well, at least until I whinge about it again next week!

Back to the Friday of last week. A decent day in the cafe for November and a good night in the restaurant for fish and chips. Really hate doing the whole fish and chip thing, but it pays the bills. Well, some of them anyway!

Saturday was desperately quiet both in the restaurant and the cafe, so nothing to report there. Nearly forgot to report that I gained 3lbs this week. Not sure how, not sure why, but sure as hell gonna shift it this week!

Sunday started off as a bit of a worry as we only had 14 bookings. Doesn't sound too bad having 14 bookings, but we're used to having it in the 20's. The problem I face on a Sunday morning is not knowing how much food to cook. How much of the 25 kilos of potatoes do I cook for the roasties? How much for the mash? How many Yorkshire puddings do I cook. How much of the 5 kilo piece of Topside do I cook? How much of the 3.5 kilo piece of Pork Loin do I cook? It goes on.... We always get phone calls on Sunday morning asking for tables, and we always have people just turning up on the day, but it's still a dilemma when the bookings are down.

I took the decision to cook the lot, and fortunately it paid off. We ended up being full! I have decided just to cook the lot now every week irrespective of the booking situation. I hate waste, but if there are any leftovers, they always end up getting eaten at home!

So far this week has been pretty quiet in the cafe, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. I will update you all with news as soon as it happens!

Nite nite
Jimbo xx

Day 227 & 228 - ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz...........

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:15:00 +0000

It's been a VERY quiet couple of days at work, SERIOUSLY quiet, so not much to report on that score. I will put a picture up of tonight's set menu, so you can salivate...

Oh, and a picture of the Christmas Day menu...

Well, that's about it for work! On to home life...

I have cycled 10km for the last 2 nights, but still not really over this cold yet, so no cycling tonight... Limp excuse I know!

Thats it! The most boring blog I've ever written, (actually there are probably more boring ones!). I hope something happens over the next couple of days to excite you lot.

Speak soon

Slimbo xx

Day 223, 224,225,226 - 10,000 views on my blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:04:00 +0000

So, after whizzing round the supermarket first thing on Saturday morning, I popped over to the 'Beauty Box' for my weekly weigh in before work. I felt lighter and was very confident of a loss. I was right to be confident, as I had lost 3lbs! Yipee, I have finally started losing weight again. I had been on the exercise bike on Tuesday and Wednesday night and managed 10km each time, but man flu set in on Thursday, so I was too achy and run down to attempt it again that week. In fact, tonight, (Tuesday) is the first time I had been back on the bike since and I managed 8km before having enough. Although I feel better than last week, it hasn't completely cleared yet...

On to work...

Not only have they STILL not finished the paving outside, but they've now stuck some fencing up where we have been temporarily putting our chairs and tables whilst we have no pavement! I think the young ones out there use the phrase WTF! Absolutely ridiculous...

So, although no one can currently sit outside our cafe AGAIN, we were pretty busy on Saturday. I say pretty busy, we ticked over nicely... It was a quiet night in the restaurant though. November is notoriously the quietest month of the year, and this year is no different!

Sunday's never disappoint though, and this week was no exception. Once again we were full and we didn't even manage to take any leftovers home! I suppose it's a good thing that a) we sold out of food, and b) I didn't have to fight the temptations of roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings etc.

The last 2 days at work have been pretty much a wash out, both financially and weather wise. I spend a lot of my time winding up old mates in England about how great the weather is here, but at the moment, Calpe seafront might as well be Blackpool, Brighton, Hastings, Torquay or any other seaside resort back home. Its horrible here at the moment and the forecast is not much better for the next week or so! To show you how bad it is, here's a short video that Laura took from the car whilst I braved the weather and collected Harrison from school!...

I've only lived here for 3 1/2 years, but this is definitely the worst I've seen it. Spain has virtually no drainage, so the roads are under inches of water and everything gets flooded!

Okay, that's about it for now, I hope to bring you some more news soon. Can't say too much, but may have some interesting news at the end of the week............. ;0)

Take care all, thanks for reading, and speak to you all soon

Slimbo!

Day 218, 219, 220, 221, 222! - My thought's on menus......

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Helloooooooo!, I'm back! It's been a funny old week...

Monday was our 1 day off in 14, and as usual, it was spent doing all the things we cannot do on the other 13.... There isn't a lot we can do anyway, as we drop Harrison off at school at 9am and collect him at 4.30pm. Calpe doesn't have much in the way of shopping facilities, so we either have to go to Benidorm, (which is a 30 minute drive), Alicante, ( an hours drive), or Murcia (an hour and 45 mins). The nearest 'Ikea' is in Murcia, and we have only been there once in 3 1/2 years! I used to go to the one in Brent Cross once a week! So you can see how not much in the way of shopping ever gets done. I bought a bean bag (on Monday)for a fiver off one of those local Facebook selling sites, as I've always wanted one for playing games on the TV etc. I am yet to sit in it yet, (it's Friday night as I type this), as Harrison has accosted it and it's now his....(little shit!)

Tuesday was a pretty slow day in the cafe, and by about 10.30am I was really bored, so I started 'playing' with food in the kitchen. I had been thinking about doing some sort of sushi type thing, a) because I like it, and b) because on the whole, it's pretty healthy, but as I didn't have ANY of the necessary things to make some, i.e nori roll, wasabi, sticky rice etc, I decided to improvise! Here's what I made...

Nothing to do with sushi, I know, but it's what I had, so it's what I used! As always, the picture isn't great, so if you cant work out what it is, here goes. It's simply 2 eggs, whisked, and then poured on to a plancha, (a flat hot plate thing used a lot in Spain) in a rectangular shape. Once cooked I put it to one side and made the filling. It was just 1 rasher of bacon, (fat trimmed), 1 hash brown and a couple of mushrooms. all cooked and then chopped pretty finely. I placed the 'omlette' on a board and spread some grated tomato, (seasoned with a little salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil), all over. Then spread the filling over and wrapped it up into a long sausage shape, using a bamboo mat... Simples!

Okay, so it's not sushi, but it's the best I could do with the ingredients I had! Didn't taste bad either!

Wednesday was a slightly better day financially, but nothing of any excitement to report, unless you count the 94th minute winner from Moses for Chelsea in the Champions league! Another game that I don't think we deserved to win, but happy with the result!

Thursday was prep day, and as always, at about 11am, I left the hustle and bustle of the cafe for the relative tranquility of my upstairs kitchen. My music choice this week was predominantly Jaime Cullum, with a little bit of 'The Script' thrown in for good measure.

Here's the menu, so I don't have to keep explaining what I was doing...

I had seen some sweet potatoes in 'Aldi' of all places and, as I hadn't cooked with them since moving to Spain 3 1/2 years ago, I thought this was the perfect opportunity. I am trying more and more to not think about what I am going to put on the menu, but instead, let the produce guide me. I know that sounds a bit poncey, but I think it's far better to see an ingredient and be inspired by it into coming up with a recipe, rather than composing a menu and then trying to look for the ingredients. Surely that's what being a chef is all about? I know some restaurants here in Calpe, (and probably everywhere else), that have had the same menu for years and never changed it. How can they call themselves 'chef's', when they are just content to churn out the same boring old food every night for 20 years? It shows a complete lack of passion, invention or care. So many take the easy option and just stick a load of starters on their menu that they can just chuck in a deep fat fryer. Okay, so it's easy to deal with several tables at once when you are just chucking everything in the fryer, but it's not cooking. It's not creating anything, it's just putting frozen produce into a fryer to be cooked and served on a plate. What does that tell the person reading the menu? I grant you that 90 percent of the population of Calpe couldn't give a toss, but I personally, wouldn't want to eat in a restaurant that never changed its menu. Do these places not use the seasons to determine which produce they will buy? What they are saying to their customers is that they are not using seasonal produce, they have no inspiration to come up with different and interesting recipes, so therefore they are not in it for the love of cooking, they are just there to earn a crust. As I said, I would not want to eat food made by a chef who didn't give a shit....

So, with the sweet potatoes staring me in the face, I wondered off into a moment of thought and decided to put them with some belly pork and a little sauce made from the pork juices, a few bacon lardons, a little of chicken stock and a touch of cream. The picture is a terrible one, as I didn't present it particularly well, but believe me when I say it's one of the tastiest things I've EVER cooked. Firstly, a picture of the mash, and then the completed dish...

I really believe that I would not have come up with that dish if I had not seen the sweet potatoes. That's why I believe that the produce should dictate some of the choices on the menu. Not every choice can be made that way, but there has to be some inspiration somewhere, or menus become boring. Maybe some people would look at my menu and find it boring, but at least I try to change it around and come up with new ideas, and most importantly, serve food that no other restaurant anywhere near here is serving. It wont be everybody's cup of tea, but in my view it's better than just eating the same food over and over again....

There, it's off my chest now!

On to today... Another really busy Friday in the cafe today and we managed 38 covers for Fish and chips, which isn't bad for this time of year.

Thought I'd give you an update on the state of the pavement outside. Instead of explaining, I'll just upload these pictures and they will tell you all you need to know.... The first is right outside our door, and the second is a view of the rest of the street. You will see that the road is STILL closed and the pavement is STILL not finished outside our door...

It's weigh day tomorrow and although I have only been on the bike twice this week as I have been a little under the weather, I still managed to cycle 20km and I feel that a loss of weight is on the cards! I feel lighter and thinner, so I'm hopeful. I will of course fill you in with the result tomorrow. If you can't wait for the blog, just have a look at my Facebook page... www.facebook.com/groups/185455448234743/

I'm off now to suck on a Halls mentholyptus and watch Eastenders!

Nite nite

Jimbo :0)

Man flu....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Sorry for my lack of attendance over the last couple of days. I am shattered and in the middle of a bout of 'man flu'. I hope to be back tomorrow....

Poorly Jimbo :0(