Oh well, here we go...

Last night, at the start of a wine induced thought process, I realised how much a part of my life food had become. My generous host had just poured me another glass of champagne and the subject of food raised it's pretty head yet again. So much to talk about and so many things to know and learn. Here I am, living just outside Belfast, a city I never really associated with quality food over the years, in a country more associated with heart disease through over indulgence than fine and simple dining. Yet, lately I have discovered more opportunities for eating out to a high (or not so high) standard and more sources of really good ingredients, combined with much more information at my fingertips for outstanding and achievable recipes.

So this, I hope, is my story of my food. What I like to eat, what I like to cook, how I tried to cook it. Where I went to get it, how much it cost and whether it was a success. Greater Belfast has seen a real boom in the number of new eateries opening in the last couple of years and it is with one simple level of standard that I visit any of them. If I eat food that is as good as I could have made myself (and I don't claim to be anything special in my kitchen) then I am happy because someone has put some thought into my meal. If I sit down to a dish which is much better than I could have made or beyond what I would even attempt to prepare, then I am very happy indeed. However, if I feel that the food is cooked without care, to a level below that of my own modest capability, then that's when I start to complain. And vote with my tip and my feet.

Hopefully over the coming months you will share my thoughts on this diversity of restaurant dining - warts and all - and experience some of my personal favourite recipes, together with the background to where I found them and who was originally the author (credit where credit is due, if possible). We have a saying in Northern Ireland "He's not getting bullied at the trough" when a man of a certain weight starts to cast a bigger shadow... Bon Appetite!