We didn’t go out very often to eat at restaurants while on holiday - I can count 4 times on the entire trip. There certainly is some theatre in eating outside and something I want the kids to experience, but to be honest, they’re still pretty young to get it all. Rather I leaned evermore into cooking for everyone. it relaxes me and allows me to eat the food that I want to eat, while making others happy as well.

When cooking I need the following:

1. Large frying pan.
2. Sharp knife
3. Two chopping boards (one for veg, one for meat)
4. Microplane/fine grater (although could just use the knife)
5. One large pot with a lid
6. Mixing bowl
7. Sheet tray
8. Tongs
9. Cooking spoon
10. Spatula

The minimum spices needed are:

1. Cummin
2. Paprika (smoked or otherwise)
3. Oregano
4. Turmeric
5. Salt
6. Pepper

You can buy all the above from a supermarket for less than the cost of a meal at a restaurant these days. The objective wasn’t to experiment very much with flavours as it was to produce food that was acceptable to everyone. There were some definite hits that I will be doing more often.

To stretch my cooking a little bit, I bought the Men with the Pot cook book. YouTube chefs are some of my favourites to watch and learn from, so I’m really glad to find out about this pair of Polish chefs living in Northern Ireland.

This year I am also writing a cook book with my mother, which focuses on the Lebanese cuisine I grew up with. It’s not a massive culinary flex but I know what the gold standard is and keep trying to dial it all in to get those flavours I am very much aware of. I wish I could set her up so she can film everything she does so well, and maybe that’s a project for the future.