Last Saturday was my final day as a chef in a museum. My residency consisted of four days working in the museum proper and one day at home when we arranged to have a group of twenty, including my great friend Arabella Boxer, visit my kitchen the way they would an artist’s studio for them to see where I work and for me to explain how I write and test my recipes, the equipment I use, the books I refer to and the ingredients I need. I enjoyed showing them around and explaining how I work in the space I had created for that purpose. And I hope they enjoyed their visit despite the lack of chairs for everyone but really the most exciting time of my residency was the time I spent in the museum. I loved arranging my ingredients and utensils in the room where Lord Leighton worked and seeing the juxtaposition of my domestic elements with Lord Leighton’s art.

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