I was chilled, calm and relaxed, the week so far had delivered, even overdelivered in so many ways, like before my planning had worked and everything ran as I had hoped, the weather had been great but rain was forecast, but who cares when your in a kitchen with like minded classmates learning new cookery skills.

As before I was up and out early, sitting in the school by 08:30, Phil preparing my coffee it set the day off nicely. The others drifted in, questions about the previous nights entertainment, who had eaten where, and what, all we seemed to discuss was food!

The first dish of the day, our mid morning snack was an unusual, simple but really delicious affair, a Smoked Mackerel Salad with Apple and Thai Basil. The unusual was that the smoked Mackerel was fried until crisp, it added an amazing texture to an exotic salad, dressed with Nước chấm a blend of fish sauce, lime, chillis and sugar, delish.

I can count the number of times I have cooked a risotto on one hand, its not that I don’t like a good one, I have eaten a few over the years in the UK and Italy (I made that one at my first international cookery school trip many years ago in 2013), they are just really hard work for a savoury rice pudding!

As expected, prepare a really really good stock, this is the basis for the flavour, and make sure it’s hot when you add it to the rice, that’s been fried in oil to start to break it down, followed by a decent glut of wine, nice.

After 25 or so minutes of continuous stirring the Risotto was ready, glistening with the added butter and umami from some Parmesan cheese it was ready for some seafood, squid and shrimp which we had prepared earlier and just needed some heat on a Plancha to finish things off. I was eating out (again) that evening, my cooking partner had missed the morning session but arrived in time for a Risotto lunch, I decided he could have mine, it was very good apparently.

Back to the front for the next demonstration we were shown how to deal with Turbot, a beautiful if quite expensive fish it’s ‘meaty’, and prized by many a fish lover as their favourite species, I love it. Going back over 25 years to when we were blessed with a TV Series and book called ‘Rick Steins Fruits of the Sea’ this was a ‘classic’ dish, with mushrooms, potato, truffle and a rich sauce it was great fun to prepare, and even better to eat.

Cooking in stages, reducing stock, adding vermouth, reducing, adding, ham, shallots and potato the flavour layers were building nicely, I love this style of cooking, tasting as you go you can elevate simple dishes to something extra special, and ruin them by going too far, it’s food creativity in practise.

In order for things to work, preparation is critical so ‘mise en place’, gathering all the ingredients and making sure you don’t suddenly realise you have forgotten something and overcooking happens. Luckily, our ingredients had been laid out for us on trays so we only had to do the final prep, saving a lot of time and ensuring we all had a chance of making something absolutely delicious. This was a cracking lunch.

The final dish of the day was, as previous days our chance to relax a bit, ask lots of questions of Nick, our chef tutor and wind down, this was not a holiday, it was actually hard work but very rewarding and enjoyable.

Seafood in a Crab and Ginger Broth introduced some new techniques, like clarifying stock to remove any sign of a solid, and produce a clean, clear and vibrant bath for the seafood to be added when cooked.

As I was walking back to my hotel I caught a glimpse of those extremely brave fisherman heading out to sea, risking their lives to bring amazing ingredients for us to cook and eat!

It was wet, I am being polite it was pi&&ing down with rain as I started my evening walk before dinner, taking in the sights of Padstow, specifically the lovely harbour area where a boat was dealing with nets, I stumbled across the R.N.L.B Anne Allen, launched in 1932 it’s crew had saved 43 lives, truly amazing for such a simple, exposed craft.

Hello Sam, I was back at Caffe Rojano and my waiter (actually the Operations Director), was previously the head chef and had cooked my meal 2 years ago, when I was in Padstow attending a 2 day cookery school and ‘eating Padstow’ for the 1st time.

My plan for the evening was the same as before, albeit with different menu options I was going to create a tasting menu, with wine flight, with a 15 minute break in-between each dish. To help things going a Blood Orange Gin and tonic helped in my decision making process, and soon the evening was well underway.

Off the starting gate was a delicious Tuna Tartare, served on a toasted Sourdough bread with corn, and some lightly pickled onion, paired with a Pinot Grigio, Ponte del Diavolo, Pavia, Italy 2022. I’ve just checked the current menu and it looks like its been replaced with a Mackerel dish, Caffe Rojano does change its menu frequently according to season and produce availability.

Sam was really accommodating with my ‘tasting menu’ idea and made sure that food and wine were delivered as requested. When time allowed we also had a chance to have the odd conversation which I really enjoyed being a solo diner, I had pictures of my previous visit on my phone which was fun to discuss as he had been the chef and cooked my food, also very tasty, he is a great cook.

I am a sucker for Croquetas, especially aged Manchego and Jason Iberico, these were awesome. Crispy outside and soft and giving centre they packed a real punch, I could have had a couple of servings to be honest. The matching wine was a ‘belter’, seriously moreish De Loach, Russian River 2020 Chardonnay from California, it really hit the spot, delicious.

Lastly, I didn’t do dessert, a bowl of Paprika Fried Squid with Cayenne Mayonnaise, Parsley, Lemon and Lime, matched with a 2022 Gavi di Gavi, Terre Antiche, Piemonte. This was also a flavour punch, crispy outside, tender on the inside just booooom delicious.

This was my fourth night in Padstow, I was really impressed, the point was consistency, I had tried all the restaurants before and they had delivered then, and then, two years later equally delivered if not more so. I get so disappointed eating out, paying decent money and not feeling it, that sense of calm and satisfaction after awesome food and service, thanks Sam and the team behind Caffe Rojano for another awesome night out. I will be back!

……………………………….Until Next Time……………………L8ers…………………..