Food writer opens cooking school to share secrets

It was with much anticipation and some trepidation that I met Robert Carrier for lunch recently. Food personalities have been invading Toronto in droves, but it is rare that one has the chance to meet a real cooking superstar. Not only is he England's foremost food writer (having been the former food and drink editor of House Beautiful, The Sunday Times of London, the English Harper's Bazaar and Vogue magazines, The Daily Telegraph and Homes & Gardens), he has also written the cookbooks that many of us learned to cook from or to use in furthering our cooking knowledge.

When I met him as he visited Toronto to publicize his latest book, Cooking with Carrier (Gage, $19.95), it was almost an earth-shattering decision to choose the right lunch spot. Finally I gave up trying to second-guess what would please him and decided on Joso's, one of my favorite places. When he arrived, he began joking with the chef and staff in the kitchen and my fears were quelled.

He turned out to be a romantic and charming personality. He once owned a theater in Montmartre and his background in drama showed as he described his food experiences - obviously the love of his life. He owns two restaurants - Carrier's in London (a must if you are traveling there) and Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk, where he also lives a good deal of the year. He has also started a cooking school there to which both amateurs and professionals are flocking. Recently he started a new magazine, Robert Carrier's Kitchen, which is published weekly.

He spoke of the differences he had found between teaching people and writing for them and expressed delight that people who attended his cooking seminars were so enthusiastic. After 30 years in the food profession, although he himself kept growing and learning, he didn't think everyone's interest would still be so keen.

He has found that people to want to learn the recipes that are cooked in restaurants rather than basic techniques and that some students don't even realize that they do not know the basics. The thing that upsets him the most, however, is that people do not invest more in good equipment, especially knives, pots and pans. He dislikes most kitchen machines, with the exception of food processors, which he thoroughly enjoys using. For more information on his classes, which sound so interesting that I am tempted to attend, write: Carrier Seminar of Cooking, Hintlesham Hall, North Ipswich, Suffolk, England.

Mr. Carrier likes to keep learning about new cuisines, such as Thai cooking. Every year two apprentices are allowed to come to his restaurants to study, but when a Thai chef came a few years ago the restaurant learned more from him than vice versa. This Thai influence is reflected in items on Mr. Carrier's restaurant menus and his course on French Nouvelle Cuisine also emphasizes the oriental influence in cooking.

Mr. Carrier is also revising his first and possibly most famous cookbook, Great Dishes of the World, originally published 1963 (Thomas Nelson & Sons) in order to keep up with people's changing food expectations. He feels that people are now eating lighter meals, they want things to look as beautiful as they taste, and that quick, pan-fried dishes have become very popular. With these points in mind, he will change the popular cookbook to emphasize garnishing, quick cooking and a lighter style.

One of his most prized possessions is an original copy of this book given to him by a man who had used it over the years in running three successful restaurants. The pages of the book, covered in grease from the restaurants and tattered by much use, testified to the fact that Mr. Carrier was his guru in the matter of cooking.

Here's a recipe from Mr. Carrier's new cookbook that is popular at his own restaurants. PATE aux HERBES 1 pound lean pork Butter 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 pound fresh or 1/4 pound frozen leaf spinach 1/4 pound cooked ham 1/4 pound unsmoked bacon 1/4 pound pork fat 1/4 pound cooked beef tongue 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tbsps. finely chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp. dried) 2 tbsps. finely chopped fresh parsley 2 tbsps. finely chopped chervil (or 1 tbsp. dried) 24 spikes rosemary, finely chopped (or 12 spikes dried) 4 eggs, beaten Salt and freshly ground black pepper Cayenne pepper Freshly grated nutmeg 6 ounces chicken livers 2/3 cup heavy cream (whipping) 2 tbsps. unflavored gelatine (2 envelopes) Thin strips of pounded pork fat Gherkins Cut the pork into small cubes, place in blender or food processor and blend until minced. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan, add chopped onion and saute, stirring constantly, until it is transparent. Add spinach and continue to cook, stirring, until the spinach has wilted (if fresh). Remove onions and spinach and chop coarsely. Add onion and spinach mixture to pork and blend again. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Dice ham, bacon, pork fat and beef tongue and add to green pate mixture. Then add finely chopped garlic and fresh herbs.

Stir in the beaten eggs and add the salt and freshly ground pepper, cayenne and nutmeg to taste.

Dice chicken livers and saute in 2 tablespoons butter until golden.

Stir in cream and gelatine (which you have dissolved in a little water) and mix well. The raw pate with now be a nice, loose, spoon able mixture ready for cooking.

Line the bottom and sides of an ovenproof terrine with thin stips of pounded pork fat. (Note: you can ask the butcher to do this for you. But I warn you, don't ask him on a busy Saturday morning when the shop is crowded.) Spoon pate mixture into terrine and cover with thin strips of pork fat. Cook in a preheated 325 degrees F. slow oven for 1/2 hour and then lower the heat to 300 degrees F. and cook another 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from oven to cool, pressing excess juices out of the terrine with a board or back of a spoon. Serve cold, cut into slices, with gherkins.

Note: To remove pate from the terrine, place terrine in a pan of hot water for a minute or two then insert a sharp pointed knife all around pate loosening it from the sides of the terrine. Turn terrine upside down over serving plate and pate will slide easily. Serves 10 to 12.

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