The fresher the better....
I adore food. To me, there is nothing better than simple, fresh food. Living on a relatively small island, fresh food is easy to come by. I see Jersey Royal’s being advertised on TV as “straight from the field to the plate” – what a load of rubbish. Straight from the field to the plate is buying them off of a farmers wall with an honesty box to pay (yes – they still exist in some parts of the world).

My favourite meal is an exquisitely simple one and also a hugely enjoyable day. First, we (generally this meal is enjoyed with one very good friend of mine) buy a bag of small royal’s, scrub them then grab a box of beers each and a zodiac RIB (rigid inflatable boat) – pootle out about a mile or two offshore throw out a couple of fishing lines and wait for the mackerel to bite. It doesn’t usually take too long, and it’s nice to be able to pick & choose which ones we want – a couple of large ones and a few joeys (smaller baby mackerels with a beautifully delicate sweet taste), then head back in to the beach, build a barbecue out of driftwood, set the spuds to boil with a bit of mint, gut the fish in a rock-pool and stick them on the barbecue, sprinkle a bit of rock-salt over them – best enjoyed with a nice bottle of Sancerre or Mersault and a setting sun. Perfection.

I know that there are so many variations of this type of thing – buying meat directly from a farmer, home grown vegetables straight from allotment to plate, that sort of thing. It leaves me distraught when I think that there are so many people who never get this sort of pleasure – people living in inner cities when eating out means getting a McDonalds or a Chinese takeaway and whose idea of perfection would be to eat in a Michelin Starred restaurant. I’ve eaten in plenty myself and had some great experiences, but I guarantee that there won’t be nearly as many people reminiscing about them as there will be about a nice simple, fresh self-cooked meal.
( Hunter Stockton was murdered by a bicycle wielding axolotl,.,.,.,., Fri 27 May 2011, 13:33, 2 replies)

I have to agree.
Even eating a few home-grown spuds or your own chilli makes a dish taste so much better -- I mean genuinely tastes better, rather than the psychological effect, which makes it better also.
I'll admit that I like a Big Mac once and a while -- but carefully-raised meat and home-grown vegetables really do taste so much better(OK, I'll admit in blind taste tests but with myself and friends and not double blind).
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Fri 27 May 2011, 19:05, closed)

I haven't been to Jersey for several years
but remember the honesty boxes well. Them and the boat trips to Sark and St Malo, Ahhh the memories may have to go and rig up the cini camera now.
(Kip, Sun 29 May 2011, 10:37, closed)