Gord's interview

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Interview by Laurence

We interviewed Gord!

Visit the blog: Snacks & the Single Man.

Hello Gord, so tell us...

When did you begin your blog and what inspired you to start it?

I started back in September 2010, largely just because I thought 'Snacks & the Single Man' would be a cool name for a food blog or, more specifically, MY food blog. I'd been living on my own for a couple of years, and felt that my efforts in the kitchen were lacking something (effort, frankly), and figured that a food blog would be (a) a good way of ensuring that I was doing some kind of writing, (b) the perfect excuse to experiment, try as many new things as possible and (c) basically teach myself to cook without recourse to the microwave.

You've been blogging since 2010, if you could go back in time, what is the one piece of advice you would give your younger self as they started out on your blog?

"Be more pro-active in planning for the next post."
That, or "It's pancakes that you flip, not omelettes!"

What is your favourite dish of all time?

If I'm allowed to go with a dessert, it'd be Key Lime Pie (which is why I get so annoyed when supermarkets call their lime cheesecakes 'Key Lime Pie' - the real thing is VERY different). Choosing something sensible is a bit trickier as I can be quite fickle about main courses... Maybe 'Burnt Ends' from Bodeans... Got a real hankering for them at the moment.

Your photos are great, in your opinion what makes a dish beautiful?

Thank you! Oddly, I only started adding photos comparatively recently so I often forget to take any and they are a bit of an afterthought... but they are useful in a blog. I tend to think that the appearance isn't as important as flavour, so a good selection of complementary and contrasting flavours will always make food 'beautiful' to me.

Do you have a secret weapon in the kitchen?

I'd really love to be able to say I have a secret weapon, but that would suggest a level of competence and preparedness that I just don't possess ;). In fact, the vast majority of my existing kitchen equipment arrived there as a result of trying something out and then thinking "Hey, this would've been SO much easier if I'd had..." Ask me again in a few years, I might have one.

What is your earliest memory involving food?

Tricky... The one I'm most certain of is being force-fed tinned tomatoes in primary school. I'd said that I didn't want any, and got an extra helping dumped on my plate for my troubles. When I didn't want to eat them, I was told I must have asked for them, or they wouldn't have been given to me. Still not especially keen on tomatoes... of any kind...

Are there any chefs that you admire in particular?

Don't pay much attention to chefs, generally, so I'll go with Rachel Khoo. Obvious reasons aside, I admire her "full fat or why bother?" attitude to cream. Not very fashionable in this day and age, maybe, but it certainly adds to the flavour. Also, the way she demystified French cuisine (and gave it a Croydon spin!) was pretty impressive.

If you could be a contestant or guest on any cooking show what show would you choose?

Honestly, I probably wouldn't... I've set up a YouTube account for S&tSM but haven't figured out what to do with it yet, and actually get quite uncomfortable with the idea of being on camera. That said, if YouTube shows count, 'My Drunk Kitchen' always looks like fun.

Which Gourmandize recipe would you recommend? (if none take your fancy add your own and share it with us!)

Haven't tried any yet, but I will... The Fall Apart Beef Brisket and Gammon cooked in Apple Juice and Honey sound great.

Any last words or message for our readers?

By and large, my whole approach to Snacks & the Single Man is "I know someone, somewhere has done this better... so I'm basically doing this for my own amusement". That's my vibe on blogging generally - my intended audience is me, but if other folks enjoy what I'm doing, so much the better. The same holds true for cooking - particularly since, ultimately, what you cook is gonna be eaten, not put in an art gallery.

Thank you Gord for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Laurence - 06/09/2013

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