The quince is a neglected fruit. Tough skinned, rough fleshed and inedible when raw it has never been grown commercially in this country. And yet there is something tempting about its shape, its scent and its awkward nature.
It is the ice queen of the fruit world: curvaceous. Perfumed. Attractive. Alluring and aloof.
For the next two days Alex will be appearing at the BBC Good Food Show Scotland at the SECC in Glasgow – he’ll be demonstrating some culinary skills alongside Tim Kinnaird, Dhruv Baker, Lisa Faulkner and the rest of the Masterchef team.
“Join us in celebrating Scotland’s rich food heritage at the BBC Good Food Show Scotland. Packed with celebrity chefs (including Gordon Ramsay, James Martin, Tom Kitchin and Michael Caines), a tempting variety of local produce and plenty of entertainment including the arrival of MasterChef.
Don’t miss the Scotland Food and Drink Regional Village where you’ll find Scottish producers from the Highlands & Islands, to the South West and East to West, offering distinctive produce from these areas with a rich variety of fish, meat, game and fresh vegetables.”
If you’re nearby, pop along and say hello!
Click here for the Masterchef Live timetable of events
Sometimes the created memory is more powerful and endearing than the actual. Just over 12 months ago three recent friends were enjoying cool Indian beers in the thick air of a Rajasthani evening. It had been an intense few days culminating in the cooking of a banquet for a Maharajah.
Not bad for three amateur chefs whose escapades had been caught on camera and six months later would be relayed to over 8 million people via the medium of television.
Here is where things begin to get a little blurry around the edges. Perhaps it is because of the surreality of what came before – and after – but more likely it was the beer and the exhaustion. The true extent of the blanks that my little mind has filled in will never be known but that doesn’t matter. Even if what I remember may be partly imagined, what transpired as a result of it is real. Very real indeed.
I'm Alex Rushmer: writer, chef and Masterchef 2010 finalist. Welcome to my little corner of the Web. Why not get a cup of tea, snuggle down and make yourself at home?
