Winter , Spring, Summer ...where did all that time go...?
- Mike B
- Nov 8, 2020
- 5 min read
RB’s 70 th birthday party
Young Culinary Olympiad Kolkata India and the 55 World Future ChefsIndia
Costa Rica ( Everyone deserves a break!)
Norway and the North Atlantic Seafood Forum
Corona Virus (only because its topical!)
I set off in 2020 with the best intentions....getting on with my blog and book. What happened ? Events over took me. So many demands on my time. Working with my colleagues at Global Aquaculture Alliance plus my business partner in Norway - Ocean Partners Associate - OPA and my colleagues in Denmark - Seafood Partners Alliance - SPA. I was on a 7/7 pattern with very little downtime. Then after a great North Atlantic Seafood Forum Conference during the first week of March, we headed for Lockdown/meltdown!
Well I thought that this would be it. A chance to relax, Tidy my study and get set for Blogs and Book writing. Well I thought wrong! Instead I spent most of my time working at the Pub which I co - own with our great friends Rob & Gill. During the first 9 weeks, helping deliver Rescue Boxes around the adjacent vilages and town; and then getting a traditional stone-based pizza-oven and building a takeaway operation; then working to build a safe haven for our guest to wine and dine in our massive pub garden. Digging, painting, building, cooking, We were all knackered but it was great fun.
However before CV19 arrived on our doorstep, I was having a blast!
RB @ 70!
Adele and I had been invited by Raymond Blanc to his 70 birthday bash in London which was a great evening. Held at his Fulham Brasserie Blanc, with a sprinkling of celebs (including Piers Morgan) and with many of the chefs that had trained over the years at his flagship restaurant Le Manoir 'Quat Saisons. It was a lovely evening with a dash of typical RB humour. He gave a wonderful speech which included his famous story of how he ended up here in the UK ( He had told the chef at the restaurant he was working at as a junior waiter in France that a dish needed a little more seasoning. A few minutes after that he woke up in hospital with a busted jaw and the owner of the restaurant had too spirit him away to a friend in the UK, lest he be murdered on his return to the restaurant! (I will post in full one day!). RB had a photo booth set up to take zany pics of all and sundry and kept us all supplied with fantastic food and Champagne Cocktails!
We re-celebrated Pascal and Peter's wedding at The Clifden Arms so we could share this special event with more of our friends.
Young Culinary Olympiad Kolkata
The end of January saw me flying out to India and staying a long weekend in Kolkata, to present a Sustainable Seafood seminar to the Young Chef Olympiad - YCO. What a fantastic initiative and what a really, really great weekend. ( yes just a few days then back to UK!) A plethora of International Michelin chefs and Senior Lecturers from around the world as judges and a spectacular setting for the prize giving, made it all worthwhile. To see the skill, the passion and the sheer delight on the faces of over 55 young culinary students, taking part from all corners of the world brought me close to tears.
A wonderful event which I shall never forget.
. Whilst I was in Kolkata I was fortuante enough to have the opportunity to visit Mother Theresa's home for the destitute.
A very humbling moment. I was accompanied by some of the most brilliant chefs in the UK. We were all blown away by what these dedicated nuns and their lay helpers do, day in, day out. It really pulls you up by your boot straps and helps put life back into perspective. We live a charmed life. There is no comparison. Period. Stop winging and moaning and start thinking of our fellow humans who are significantly worse off than us.....for their entire lives.
On my last day I also had time to have lunch at the famous Kewpie's in Kolkata. My 'butler' Nitika, who was my YCO guide and chaperone ( Nitika made sure I was in the right place at the right time with 12 different meetings/engagements/judgings/dinners/luches taking place all over Kolkata. superb job!) took me to the restaurant in downtown Kolkata . Opened by Mr. Dasgupta in tribute to his wife who was an exceptional Bengali cook, it started as 12 seater experience in his garage and was run by his 2 daughters. I had met his daughter who now runs it, Rakhi Purmina Dasgupta the day before as a guest of the YCO. She joined me at my lunch table and told me the history of the house/restaurant. As it became more popular they gave up each room downstairs to the restaurant and retreated upstairs. She was great fun and very kindly spent lunch explaining the secrets of traditional Bengali cooking.
Costa Rica ( Everyone deserves a break!)
I arrived home with just a few days to pack another bag and head off to South America.
I could write pages and pages for this holiday but I think my pictures will capture the pure and innocent charm that is Costa Rica. Enjoy!
As usual I took about 2000 photos....so yes ...still sorting through them! Costa Rica is definitely a place I could go back to....on the way to the Galapagos Islands!
Norway and the North Atlantic Seafood Forum
We returned in time for me to swap suitcases and head out to Bergen, Norway, for the annual North Atlantic Seafood Forum, the biggest (at over 900 delegates) CEO and Leaders Seafood conference in the world. It was the week that Covid looked as menacing as it finally has become. We did not shake hands with anyone but did the Whuhan Shuffle,
I had been in Wuhan in 2017 and visited some of the Markets ( Crayfish and Fruit and Vegetables) but fortunately not the live animal market where the Pandemic originated. Close call!
....and so, on my return from Norway we went into lockdown. We quickly assembled the main crew at the pub and set out our plan to make it through this uncertain time. Jude, Toby, Alex, Holly, Rob, Gill and myself set about doing Takeaways and Rescue Boxes. I think it was a great achievement in so short a space of time and I thank everyone who also pitched in and helped. Shaun and Charley were a great help!
Adele even found time to paint the house!
In August we were let of the leash again. We invested in a temporary Marquee and spent a lot of time making the Garden and the pub, safe and inviting for our returning diners. we were not disappointed. They came and supported our return to near normality....and again I thank them all for their unstinting support.
And now....we are back in LOCKDOWN!
Notable events missed this year:
My 65th
Our 40th Wedding Anniversary
Trip to the Lake District with M&J
Voyage around the Greek Islands with L&J
France M&J
A few dinner parties
C&M's wedding
2021 Looks like its turning into 6 months of possible Lock/Unlock followed by a huge degree of continued uncertainty, as countries around the world, either bounce out or stay locked in the grip of CV-19..... Still..... chin up! It could always be a lot, lot worse.
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