“The ornaments of a house are the friends who frequent it.”

Almost submerged in a giant bowl of linguine served with Puttanesca sauce 'A La Lucy" surrounded by a days work of varying side dishes, olive & onion breads, of course some fabulous red wine, it did not go unnoticed there was no greater way to enjoy your friends.

This summer has been ride for me, health hazards to be over come, and for the first time in my life, the very odd emotional hump that saw me not interested in many of my favourite foods. I am by no means a skinny minnie, but I m often told as a chef people expect me to be larger, so the start of this summer was not helping my cause as the post op drugs were typically effecting my appetite and as much as I fought it, I could only indulge in steamed broccoli & Serano ham! The odd egg with my flat bread soldiers made it way back to breakfast table, but all in all, food was a challenge.

The other challenge for me this summer was the building of my new humble abode in far off little rock the other side of the Atlantic ocean. Its been a passion of mine for many years and finally last year I was in a position to start after selling up my French Village house. The French do have the best social gatherings all supported by the very best cheese and wine and so, I immersed myself for 13 years and now I have my vision of sharing that yet further with a Caribbean twist that can transform into a home dining experience for my friends. My plan for a monthly supper club must evolve and the title of my blog today could not be more poignant:

"The ornaments of a house are the friends who frequent it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, born May 25, 1803

One such friend is Carey, a fellow chef that was born with a giant heart and an equally giant laugh. Its important I mention Carey because without her this build would have come to a grinding hault. As I sit with a friends at dinner tonight I picture this being repeated in another location across the pond & a christening at my supper club. I shall toast those that have been lost this last few years but never forgotten and toast those that remain and have got through varying struggles of our everyday lives and hope that this one night a month may bring some comfort to many. The pure definition of Comfort food is food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically and associated with childhood or home cooking. This is me. Bon Appetite