From celebrity chef Ed Baines

British Celebrity Chef Ed Baines has authored two books, runs a restaurant, is a motivational speaker and has run several television cooking shows. The most current one being Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is that runs on BBC Lifestyle on DStv. At the Multichoice content showcase last month in Mauritius, Baines took media behind the scenes in a live cooking demonstration where he brought his cooking and animated storytelling skills to life. He also shared some tricks of the trade.

As a chef, what is one important aspect you never take for granted?
My ingredients and commodities must be fresh and have flavour.

Your advice to people who want to excel at cooking would be?
Simply KIS-Keep it simple because like anything you do, cooking is all about detail. Start simple by just developing a concept and grow it. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Cooking takes your personality. If you are an angry person, you will never have great food. Cooking is about patience; it is rewarding and meant to take away stress.

Describe your cooking moment.
When I’m cooking at home I love to play music and take a glass of wine as I cook.
What are the five must-have gadgets you would recommend.
Metal tongs, plastic spatula and good pots [sauce pans] and pans are what I personally find very helpful.

Women in Uganda love to cook, but the trouble is the cook tends to lose appetite at meal time. Your advise would be?
When you are cooking, your metabolism rises given your exposure to the food and your sense of smell reduces your urge to finally eat the food. However, what you need to do is cook earlier, walk away from the environs for a while then get back, this way you will enjoy the food with those you are dining with.

The one meal a man can cook for a woman…
This is complicated, because if you keep it simple, she may say you don’t care that much, so you need to make something that shows effort. I would say use expensive ingredients and create something as per her personality and make it look pretty. Don’t forget wine. Then of course make something that echoes your intentions, think something with chocolate, it is rich and velvety and then you can come up with the perfect lines.