Food Core Memories

To understand my love of food, you first have to understand where this love first began and how it has grown into the true love affair for the ages that I see it as now.

Lovers, jobs, friends, all these things can come and go but what stays with me are the memories that all these things can bring into your life and when you smell or taste something that you associate with them, it can bring you right back.

What many don't know about me is that I was born in a small town called Tyumen in Siberia. Being half Ukranian and half Russian I spent my summers with my Grandparents and my cousins in Skadovsk which is on the Black Sea in Ukraine and this is where some of my first food memories really began to grow. There is nothing more nostalgic for me than a fresh watermelon served with warm fresh bread (may sound weird to some but don't knock it till you've tried it.) The juiciness of the watermelon running down your chin as a child was a level of unparalleled joy that I couldn't replicate if I tried and I don't think I've had a watermelon like it since.

There was also the trips into town which included a stop off to buy a rooster shaped lolly which was bright orange and whose main ingredient was just pure sugar, followed by a drink of Kvas which I honestly am struggling to put into words to describe even after a google search. All I know is it was pretty orange looking and tasted tangy from memory. It was such a traditional institution but I never gave it much thought until now, and yet if I close my eyes I can be easily transported back to those days as if it was yesterday.

The other thing that Eastern Europeans had an unhealthy addiction to appeared to be 'semechky' sunflower seeds, we were obsessed with them. Everywhere you walked the pavement would be littered with the little black casings that were discarded for the birds to pick over.

I haven't even touched on the culinary delights of borsch, pelmeni, tvorog, pirojiki, kasha or the blinis. In fact I should mention the blinis, what in the UK you call crepes, however these were served with either sgychyonka (condesned milk) or sour cream and sugar. I was a fiend for these pancakes and could eat them by the plateful. When we moved to Moscow there were so many incredible bakeries and cake shops and I still remember going to pick out a treat on the way to or from school - so fresh & tasty & nothing like I've ever tried since.

All of the above 100% to this day hold a core memory one way or another, however what I remember super vividly is going to McDonalds for the first time in Moscow at the age of 4. There were hours of queues to get through before I finally managed to experience this western wonder but it was truly worth the wait. This was a milestone in my culinary journey and safe to say that I embraced it with open arms, I remember when we moved to the UK that this love affair with fast food continued and I am still partial to a Maccies to this day.

Talking of fast food, I also recall one of the first times I had tried a stuffed crust at Pizza

Hut which ended in me needing the Heimlich manoeuvre but hasn't stopped me from ordering it since.

The move to the UK included quite a few new revelations when it came to my food journey. Mainly that I became very fussy and my diet consisted of mainly spaghetti with ketchup (Italians are rolling in their graves I know) , chips, coco pops with warm milk and those doughnuts you'd get at the swimming pool. I honestly don't remember much more than that.

From the age of around 7/8 my Mum and I had moved in with my step father who insisted on the fact I should probably eat some vegetables, which I was not a fan of. Sprouts in particular do not hold a great place in the food memory bank. However this is where I did actually start to eat some sensible food options.

My next memory probably includes a trip to Key West where I got to experience Root Beer, Key Lime Pie for the first time, as well as a freshly seared tuna steak - which was a revelation. I had not been a fish lover and was convinced I would hate it. Turns out my taste buds were starting to appreciate the finer things in life!

This takes me on to my teenage years, where having got a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in Hertfordshire on the condition you had to board, I began my next phase of my food adventure which included school dinners. And to be honest as much as most people probably hated theirs, ours was pretty fantastic.

Everyday there was something different on the menu but the thing that I remember most include a chocolate sponge pudding covered in chocolate sauce & which I always got a double (probably more like triple) helping of. I was a skinny teenager and remember being very grateful for my inherited genes which somehow kept me that way. There was also the school tuck shop where I got a new addiction for Flakes. However weirdly now I am not a huge chocolate lover so I put that down to over-doing it in my teenage years.

At the age of 13, my parents had to move to Spain but I decided to stay in the UK to finish my exams. With this came trips abroad for the school holidays where a whole new world of Spanish food opened up to me. It turned out that tapas was going to be a way of life that I would hang on to for the foreseeable. Even to this day I have a preference for grazing with lots of little plates over one large dish. Simply because you then get to try everything going rather than just sticking to one thing. The tapas in Spain are unrivalled and so cheap that you could just sit and graze for hours on end.

Whilst in Spain there was an Italian restaurant called Aretusa which had a dish that I had to order every time I visited, it was a pear, walnut and gorgonzola pasta. So fresh, light and delicate perhaps this is when I realised that Italian food is going to end up taking up a big place in my heart too. Not least of all because the tricolore salad of mozzarella, tomatoes and avocado was also going to be a dish that I would re-order on multiple occasions. Oh and don't get me started on a lasagne.

When in the UK I spent my weekends with my Mum's close friends, Masha and Patrick, they lived in a beautiful house in Gerrards Cross next door to some celebrity I don't recall the name of now. They loved their food and this ranged from a freezer stocked choc full of Haagen Dazs ice cream of which the strawberry cheesecake became my vice but also to lunches at the likes of MR Chow and dinners at The Fat Duck on occasion. Admittedly I was probably too young to really appreciate the finer restaurants they took me to but this is likely where my culinary taste really began to develop and the amount of money that went on these meals wasn't lost on me. These guys knew their food and they enjoyed eating well which I greatly appreciated.

In contrast I was also partial to eating custard straight from the fridge and out of the tub which a friend had introduced me to, whilst we binged The O.C. episodes. It's all about balance.

I must give Chinese and Indian food a mention at this point as whenever we had takeaway, this was what we deliberated between. I remember my Mum and I had gone to pick up our order from the Prince of India and unbeknownst to us a curry had made its way under a car seat not to be seen again until we smelt the remains of it months later, it wasn't pleasant! However talking of Indian food I remember how my Step-Dad (I will call him Dad from here on out) had taught me how to make a chicken madras from scratch which was a whole process but very much enjoyed and a curry that I'll always associate with him.

Chinese food on the other hand, I had to get tricked into eating duck by being told that it is absolutely chicken. It wasn't, but by the time that I got through the pancakes and hoisin sauce I honestly didn't care what I was eating because it was so damn good. I should be transparent at this point and admit that I am not a huge fan of the British version of a Chinese takeaway, finding that it doesn't usually agree with me. However take me to KAI or Hakkasan in London, then that's a different story.

As the years went by and I started University I was by now an avid Rioja drinker as well as a Frosty Jacks thrown in for good measure. This is also where I met a guy from Leeds who taught me how to make the best Yorkshire puddings and which I still continue to make according to his Mum's recipe. That was the only good thing to have come out of that relationship!

I worked in a Sports Cafe in Spain called The Old Bailey during the Summer Months where my fondness for a cheese and ham toastie got out of hand and which is why this is still one of my favourite comfort foods. As well as beans on toast.

Post University I worked in Manchester for a short period and then moved to Kings Lynn, this didn't include any foodie awakenings that are worth mentioning.

When I moved to Nottingham in 2010 I didn't at that point realise this is where I would remain for the next 14 years but these years are where I really found my love of food grew and when I honed in on the tastes and flavours that I now know and love.

I should mention this is also where I met my my husband Tim. Who thought that a jar of dolmio was acceptable when it comes to making a spaghetti bolognese, you can imagine my horror, so this had to be rectified quickly. He now claims he makes a much better spag bol from scratch than I, which I may have to reluctantly agree with.

The food scene in Nottingham has gradually improved since 2010 but there have also been holiday's abroad which have brought some key memories, particularly trips to Italy which is by far my favourite place to visit and which I plan on doing a blog post on this page shortly.

I haven't even touched on my love of sushi, beef wellingtons, roast dinners, potatoes (particularly mash!), sticky toffee puddings, halloumi, cottage pie - the list goes on!

I hope that has given you all a little flavour as to my food history and I look forward to bringing you on my food journey!