DINING IN
Casual Dining CHEF’S TABLE
RECENT CHALLENGES HAVE LED TO A NEW OUTLOOK ON CUTLERY USAGE, BUT AS CHEF ALEX RUSHMER EXPLAINS, THERE’S JOY TO BE FOUND IN A HANDS-ON APPROACH
an office and dumping ground for bags, books, computers, unopened post, and newspapers bought with good intentions and overly optimistic estimates of free time. Consequently, the majority of our meals were consumed sat, not on the stiff, straight-backed dining chairs that surround the table, but within the squishy embrace of the sofa. We faced not each other, but the two-dimensional fictions of whichever box set we were burning our way through. I don’t know whether the knife faded from use because it isn’t easy to wield from the confines of half a dozen cushions, and the food (comforting, stodgy, shovelable) followed suit, or if it was the other way round. Lack of form following lack of function, or vice versa. Either way, it doesn’t really matter – we devolved into fork-wielding sofa-scoffers and the knives never bothered the dishwasher. Along with other norms we will have to re-learn (maintaining polite conversation
here was a short period of time when I was concerned that I’d forgotten how to use a knife. Obviously, I’m more than au
fait with a chef ’s knife, plus the many other blades we need to navigate our way through a day of prep in the restaurant kitchen – from tiny turning knives used to remove skin from shallots, to the serrated pastry knives that hack through the thick skin of a pumpkin, or slice thick slabs of oily, bubbly focaccia. My calloused palms and fingers are testament to a working week spent in control of a blade. Instead, it was the far more common dining knife that was becoming a mystery. In fact, it was essentially non-existent. For well over a year and a half, as I worked my way through lockdown after lockdown, our meals at home took on a far less gastronomic tone – and became increasingly about transporting food to face. The kitchen table had become
HANDS ON Ditch the cultlery and get tactile with your tea – just remember to wash your hands thoroughly first
50 AUGUST 2021 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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