Ethical Companies – The Blog

I went for an interview today, in London.  Being somewhat fed up to the back teeth with congestion charging, and extortionate parking charges I elected to take the train.  In the past I’ve done this via Virgin Trains, but not being in any great hurry (plus it’s a lot cheaper) I elected to use London Midland instead. I was pleasantly surprised. The journey took just under 3 hours, despite stopping at several places en-route, compared to Virgin’s 2 hours 20 minutes, and at under half the price …. Ok, so it’s not all good, I went in non peak time etc, plus if you miss the 15.46 back you have to wait until gone 18.00 before you can leave Euston again, but under half the price of Virgin’s equivalent off peak rate …. The trains are clean, comfortable (no plugs for my laptop, but “oh well”) and not packed senseless either. Can’t fault ‘em.

Anyway, I digress. Like I say I went for an interview. As I left the train it felt like a wall of sound, and I thought “ahh London, I recognise the sound and the smell” …. Nothing changes though, Euston Road (A40 ?) was bumper to bumper, Tottenham Court Road was bumper to bumper, but only in one direction (it’s one way, duh). Little has changed, the Church Of Scientology is still peddling …. Whatever it is they peddle (I’m not au fait with the organisation, but I am aware they attract a certain amount of criticism, and that Battlefield Earth by their founder L Ron Hubbard is a truly “naff” film). Apart from a scattering of Starbucks, it was much the same as I remember it …. Overpriced electronics stores, assorted junk food emporiums, a couple of pubs and a lot of students and/or NHS staff (University College London Hospital is there). However, with time to kill and being 1pm(ish) I had my heart set on saveloys and chips …. But alas the Tottenham Court Road fish and chip shop is no more ! And I’ll be damned if I’m walking all the way to Fryer’s Delight on High Holborn (aka Taxi Driver’s Delight). So, already the fish and chip shop fades from my mind, I can’t even remember the name of it now ….

Anyway, I’m still digressing. The interview, was for an eCommerce company, it seemed to go well, he sounded genuinely interested in what I had to say and seemed like a nice chap all round (for an MD !) So if I get the job, I guess I’ll be seeing more of London. I just hope I can find a fish and chip in walking distance of Tottenham Court Road for my lunchtimes ….

Steve

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Birthdays today ….

• Jerry Lewis – 84 today, blimey he’s getting on a bit ….  Famous for appearing in umpteen comedy films including the Nutty Professor.
• Erik Estrada – He’s been in lots of things but we’ll mostly remember him for Chips I think.
• Isabelle Huppert – French Actress, been in stacks of films, many of which are noticeably of a mildly “smutty” nature.

Steve

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Notice that’s not battering THE family ! Despite having been a chef (it was quite a long time ago) I’ve not had much experience with battering food. Sure, I’ve made pancakes (lots of them) and Yorkshire Puddings etc, but I am remarkably lacking in experience when it comes to battering and deep frying. Naturally my experience in this area tends towards eating from fish and chip shops (strongly recommend Biddulph Fish Bar aka Pete’s Plaice in Biddulph !)

So after a number of largely unsuccessful attempts (attempts at recreating chip shop style crispy batter) I elected to buy a packet of Goldenfry Fish & Chip Batter mix to see how that would come out. The results were good but still not quite there, so I tried a tip I’d spotted on the UK Food channel and added a teaspoon of vinegar and slightly less water to the mix. The result was still not completely chip shop style but pretty close; in fact close enough.

Of course, I don’t need a whole packet of this mix for a couple bits of fish, there’s always some left over. So you guessed it …. Yes we decided to try battering other things. We did the inevitable onion rings, battered mushrooms and battered sausages. Then some battered cod roe, black pudding and pickled onions (yes seriously !) I draw the line at battered Mars Bars or pizzas though, that’s just asking for a cholesterol overload. The black pudding was surprisingly nice battered and even the pickled onions not too bad ! The sausages you need to cook a bit first before battering and deep frying, in my opinion, so they get a bit of colour.

Overall good fun, and if you haven’t had a go then I do recommend it !

Steve

PS lightly flour the food BEFORE coating in batter

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Katie Holmes breaks the A-list rules… as she ignores lettuce leaves for a hearty plate of chips.

And this is news HOW exactly ?  Who cares, she can stuff herself silly on kebabs or chips if you ask me.  The media never ceases to amaze me, surely the Daily Mail could find something more news worthy ….

Steve

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BBC starts filming Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Chips

Hmmm ….  Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ chips is the “prequel to the much loved “Only Fools And Horses.”  Now I’m not a big fan of Only Fools And Horses, BUT I can see the appeal, and understand why it’s so popular, and it does have some truly classic moments such as:

But is “cashing in” by creating a prequel/sequel/whatever a good idea ?  Or should it be left well alone ?  The characters made the original show and made David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst well known and much loved actors.  We shall see ….

The new series stars Kellie Bright (Bad Girls) and Shaun Dingwall (Doctor Who) as well as Nicholas Lyndhurst playing “Freddie The Frog” (who was Rodney’s father.)  Filming started today 5th of October in London, no word yet on when it will be screened.

And for anyone who hasn’t seen Only Fools And Horses Amazon are currently selling the complete series (7 series) boxset for £36(ish) right now ….

Del Trotter: Do either of you remember Freddy the Frog?
Trigger: Freddy the Frog? No, don’t ring a bell. I remember Torchy the Battery Boy.

Steve

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Serious food question here.  Fish and chips etc.  Should you put the vinegar on and then the salt OR the salt then the vinegar ?

There are arguments for either way in my opinion.  If you put the vinegar on first then the salt has something to “stick to”.  BUT then the salt arguably just sticks to the top layer of chips and gravity doesn’t carry some of it to the lower layer.

So what do you think ?  I’ve noticed fish and chip shops nearly always salt first.

Steve

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