Take a walk

Dave Coulson spring dish

Spring is in the air and I’ve really been enjoying walking to work the last few weeks. I’m feeling better for it and it’s giving me time to think – and just get out and about in the fresh air and enjoy a little peace and quiet. It’s also never a bad idea to shift a few pounds, particularly with my 40th birthday coming up.

We’ve been working hard on our Decades series of one-off events. While I thought about starting in the 1940s, we went with the 1960s and it was a lot of fun to develop the dishes with the team. The books, photographs and art of plating from back then are awesome. I was also lucky to spend an hour with the legendary Douglas Jordan, and he shared so many cool dishes and ideas with me. There’s our take on duck a l’orange, a sliced rice pudding dessert, and a Geordie take on a choux pastry dish in there.

On the events side, I’d be up for a chat with anyone who could help put on a murder mystery or Traitors-themed night. I’m thinking of an event with some interaction, really cool food with clues involved… stuff like that. I love old detective stuff – my cat is called Bergerac – so I’d love to develop that into something for later in the year.

I have another idea to cook through some classic recipe books – stuff like Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles, The French Laundry Cookbook, Gordon Ramsay’s Passion for Flavour or Marco Pierre White’s White Heat. Each is a fantastic, must-read for a chef and I think there’s some awesome five-course menus we could come up with based on each one.

We’re also keeping busy in the restaurant day to day, with some awesome spring flavours coming in, including the best wild garlic picked for free about 300 yards from our front door. The lighter and brighter flavours will only keep coming as we head towards summer.

Enjoy the return of spring flavours, see you soon.

Dave Coulson is chef-patron of Peace & Loaf, Jesmond, and he shares what’s going on inside and outside of the kitchen with us. www.peaceandloaf.co.uk

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