The Rookwood guide to culinary excellence

*Fresh Indian Chutneys*
Copyright going-postal.com 2025

I don’t know what it is – genetics, environment or culture, but I have always enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends and family. There is nothing as pleasurable or important in my book as blessing guests with a well-cooked meal, especially when it is something just a bit out of the ordinary and they are genuinely impressed with the dish. I am absolutely convinced that tender loving care can actually be tasted, meals prepared under stress or when angry generally tend to be rather dismal affairs. Although this might seem an insane hypothesis, think about all the institutional or processed meals that purely serve a singular function – to make a turd. All pleasure, care and dare may I say it – love – has been evaporated, incinerated and reduced from the dish and results speak for themselves. It has come to the point that Mrs R can’t believe the difference in quality, despite being brought up pretty much on processed food.

One of my failures though has always been baking. My first loaves were so dense that they were purchased by Tarmac as structural support for the M25 as they were structurally stronger than concrete. When I medically retired years ago, I was at a loose end and decided to try my hand at baking. The YouTube influencer and chef Sam the Cooking Guy was instrumental in kick starting this, first of all with quiche pastry made in a food processor, then on to pizza and after that I progressed to no-knead bread. This, in turn, prompted the purchase of a food mixer, and as a gateway appliance, this led to cakes. For some reason, the results were actually pretty good, and anything emerging from my oven was rapidly consumed by friends and family.

This article is therefore a verbose (but hopefully useful) guide as to what I have learned over almost 50 years spent off and on in the kitchen, albeit minutes per weekday and the occasional hour or more at weekends. I have never considered this time as “Slaving over a hot stove”, more an opportunity to bless and to serve. So in no particular order, I now commit to paper the sum of my wisdom collected over the years. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary, and no doubt many will disagree with my observations, beauty being in the eye of the beholder.

1. Attitude is everything

I don’t know if this is down to the spiritual dimension of the universe, quantum physics or just plain common sense, but if you enter the kitchen in a bad mood and under pressure, the results will be less than spectacular. Forget the raging Gordon Ramsey attitude, part of the entertainment of all these cooking shows is to separate the men from the boys, those that have the right attitude and can cope under pressure from those that collapse like a demented souffle or cake tier. It all boils down to confidence, knowing how to avoid mistakes and how to recover from them if they should happen. Like everything valuable in life, this takes effort and discipline, and the kitchen is no exception to this rule. For instance, trying a new menu item or dish when you have guests coming round is a recipe for disaster if you are not confident that it will work. The key to this is preparation, both reading up on the particular recipe from different chefs, but also in practical terms, the French culinary discipline of Mise En Plas – “Everything in place”. Like a surgical operation, you need to prepare your ingredients in advance, and have all the necessary utensils and equipment immediately to hand. Many a dish has been wrecked by the hunt for an essential ingredient buried in the cupboard or that essential blender attachment. Ms R always has a laugh at the A4 crib sheet I Sellotape to the back door for the timing and ingredients for our Christmas dinner. While I rarely serve meals at the specified time (I never seem to manage to get that approximation right), the food always turns out the way I wanted it to.

If you are new to this cooking malarkey, start off simple and work your way up the difficulty ladder. If you can barely cook a sausage, trying to serve a Beef Wellington will not boost your confidence. Rather like my atrocious first attempt at baking, failure will put you off trying again for years. It took me over 25 years to even consider baking again as I was so utterly convinced that I was hopeless at it. That is the sort of psychological effect a major culinary disaster can have on you, it eats at your confidence and often is manipulated by shyster marketing departments promising haute cuisine dishes from the frozen food aisle. Unless you have the IQ of a brick, generations of cooks have compiled superb recipes that can be successfully followed by the masses, and YouTube is the greatest asset to the budding chef. You can watch and replay the dish being created, repeating parts that you are unsure about. I must have watched a particular video on baking chocolate cake 30 times or more, not just because I am besotted by the voice over, but because I wanted to be absolutely certain that I could replicate the texture.

2. Garbage in = Garbage out

Irrespective of the skill of the chef, if the ingredients are rubbish so will be the meal. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not advocating spending M&S or Waitrose amounts on ingredients, but at the same time you will need to develop a nose for when to avoid the cheaper end of the marketplace. At the other end of the spectrum, the likes of M&S and Waitrose etc. are experts at marking prices up for regular commodities to silly prices. The Co-Op is one such place, their prices are absolutely outrageous and I am amazed that people still shop there.

Meat and veg are the core ingredients to most dishes. The quality between UK suppliers is not terribly different, you have a greater chance of messing up the dish by not cooking it properly. Where this rule of thumb falls down is where the ingredient – in itself – is the actual star. Take for instance a chicken breast served with a cream and wine sauce served with pan fried potatoes and green beans. The chicken here is the star of the show, and it would be a good choice to use the best quality breast from a butcher here. On the other hand, a chicken casserole depends on the herbs, spices and flavouring to highlight the dish. So a cheaper bird would be perfectly fine here (provided any bone and gristle was removed) In this example, the ancillary ingredients make the dish. It all depends on context.

Where “Fresh is best” and quality truly matters is when it comes to herbs an spices. Often overlooked, the difference between a good and incredible dish often boils down to the freshness of the herbs and spices used. Take no prisoners here, and when it comes to curries, you will need a good range of fresh whole and powdered spices. Don’t bother purchasing ground cumin or coriander, the whole seeds last much longer and when freshly ground are often in a better condition than the packet equivalent. I have vever been let down by Schwartz herbs and spices, they are expensive (considerably more than the supermarket brands), but few of the latter are anywhere near as aromatic or fresh as the former.

To argue the pros and cons of the provenance and pricing of each ingredient would be a series in itself. So I will summarise here, accepting there will always be exceptions and the reader will just have to accept an element of trial and error in this process. Of course, when you are looking to prepare that truly special dish, needs must, and a visit to an expensive store is unavoidable. I would counter that with an important piece of wisdom, don’t expect that expensive piece of meat etc. to compensate for lack of ability. Before I honed my Sunday Roast skills to perfection, I once purchased a Black Norfolk turkey at great expense for Christmas dinner. While the resulting meal was OK, with hindsight I did not not do that beautiful bird justice.

Aldi and Lidl [Quality 8.0 / Range 7 / Value 9]. Both these suppliers are fine, provided you keep an eagle eye out for the random piece of grotty veg and meat that has not been stored properly or has short use by dates. Chicken, beef, pork and mince are generally OK most of the time and their fish is very competitively priced as well. Beware the unknown brands when it comes tinned goods, sauces, spices etc. – these lie on a wide spectrum between excellent and appalling. The Aldi range of chocolate is superb and very high quality. Eggs, flour and dairy perfectly acceptable. Provided you are willing to experiment with cooking times, Aldi basmati rice is very cheap, although not as fragrant as a decent Indian rice such as Tilda or Badshah. Their poppadoms are great value as well. Their pasta is OK, but there are better sources out there. I have no hesitation shopping at Aldi unless I am after some speciality product, but avoid items like own brand stock cubes, tomato sauce etc. unless you are willing to adjust for the extra salt and vinegar etc.
Morrisons [Quality 8.5 / Range 8 / Value 8] . Never been a great fan, quite a good choice but they always seemed a bit more expensive and pretty much without fail they have never had a particular ingredient I wanted. Very good for their selection of baking ingredients, but trumped by Aldi on price by a long shot. A reasonable range of herbs and spices which are moderately competitive. Dirtied their copy book by having a wide selection of excellent whole cooked sausage and salami, which disappeared around COVID time. Don’t know if that was just my local branch, but I don’t really have any particular reason to shop there now. Quality OK with a better selection than Aldi.
ASDA [Quality 8.5 / Range 8.5 / Value 7] . Stuck somewhere between Morrisons and Tesco. Nothing special, average OTT prices and a reasonable range of everything but still some blind spots when it comes to herbs and spices. According to a friend, excellent offers can be found at their discount aisle, but elbows may need to be deployed to secure items.
Tesco [Quality 8.75 / Range 8.5 / Value 5] . Very much the curates egg of supermarkets in my opinion. Yes, I can generally get everything I want there (including quite esoteric herbs and spices), but you pay through the nose for the privilege. Quality very good, with a very wide selection but they are almost as skilled as the Co-Op at marking stuff up to silly prices. Last time I was in there I almost fainted at the cost of high quality Italian tomatoes and Heinz soup. Good selection of pasta brands and herbs/spices as well as dried beans etc. I frequently use them as my “Go to” supermarket for stuff I know I won’t find elsewhere.
Sainsbury’s, Waitrose [Quality 9 / Range 9 / Value 5] . If I were rich and money was no object, I would regularly shop there, but a part of me would still scream “I’m being ripped off”. Excellent choice and they fall into the Rookwood category of “If you can’t find the ingredient there you won’t find it anywhere”. The only complaint I can make about them is the sticker shock, but I suppose they really wouldn’t include me in their customer base as I have previously stored coal in my bath.
M&S. [Quality 9 / Range 6 / Value 6] Haven’t shopped there in years, last time I visited they seemed preoccupied with takeaway dinners and sandwiches. Another supermarket that has irritated me by carrying a really good product line then withdrawing it for no reason. Expensive, and the choice is probably less than a large Tesco or Sainsbury’s. Generally superb quality, although I have gone off their previously excellent Indian ready meals as they lost the plot and started selling absolute rubbish at a premium price. Probably down to the health Nazis preoccupation with salt and sugar, no doubt.
Co-Op [Quality 7 / Range 6 / Value 4] . If you are desperate for a really specialist herb or spice or fancy taking a chance on the discount aisle, this is the place to go to. The only store ever to sell me a box of garlic that was a black liquid. Otherwise, just a gigantic rip off – a Sainsbury’s or Waitrose “Wannabe” without the choice.
Harrods food hall [Quality 10 / Range 10 / Value 2] . Worth a visit just once in your lifetime. Take a mortgage with you, and ensure you eat beforehand.
Your local butcher/greengrocer/fishmonger [Quality 9.5 / Range 8.5 / Value 7] . If you can find one, and become a regular customer, I’d recommend you patronise them rather than the supermarket. Quality will always be top notch, and as a regular, they won’t want to lose you by selling you short. Problem is, they are so few far between these days and household budgets don’t go far. Also, working hours mean you would have to go there on Saturday, you wouldn’t want raw meat sitting around the office for 6 hours.
Chinese/Indian/Italian speciality supermarkets etc [Quality 8.5/ Range 9 / Value 8] . Mainly only found in big cities. Extremely good range but generally limited to specific cuisine. An absolute gold mine and often very good value too. Just about the only thing I miss from not living in London now. You need to know what you are looking for though, and I would stay clear of some of the stranger delicacies.
Amazon [Quality 9 / Range 10 / Value 3] . Excellent for speciality stuff; pasta, herbs spices etc. but you will pay a premium. Also consider specific food websites for Chinese, Indian supplies. These will always be more expensive than the high street but they will have a far greater range and often are the only source for really esoteric items.

3. Get the right equipment

Again, I could write a separate article on this but here is my list of essentials:

Decent pans. In a bygone age, married couples were often blessed with a decent set of cookware as a wedding present. With our current lifestyle and living away from the family home, a set of pans often are an afterthought and an emergency purchase from ASDA. Cheap, thin, aluminium pans with a non-stick coating are the chef’s worst enemy. If you are serious, get a set that will last, the heavier the better. I have a superb set of ProCook pans that come with a 25 year guarantee. I purchased a set for Ms R (who is quite kitchen phobic) and she cherishes them and finds them easy to use. You will also need a saute pan with a lid, a decent frying pan can suffice here. If you don’t intent to get a pressure cooker, a large stockpot is essential. This can double as a pasta pot, but you can cook pasta in a large frying pan at a push.
A sharp knife, kitchen shears and a decent cutting board. The high street supermarkets actually sell some fairly decent knives these days, we recently purchased a new bread knife and it is extremely well made and very, very sharp. Forget about plastic or glass chopping boards. Wood is far better and safer, as there is less chance of the knife slipping.
Electrical gadgets. A food processor, a food thermometer and an electric pressure cooker I would count as essentials, and a stand mixer and scales if you want to bake cakes. I also swear by my Sous Vide equipment, if you eat a lot of meat it is a fantastic way to save time and money and produce Michelin star quality dishes. The latter is more for the advanced chef though, make sure you understand food safety first as you can give yourself serious food poisoning if you don’t understand the principles behind it. If you are willing to spend more time you can even dispense with the first three, but you will spend an awful lot more time preparing and cooking.
Other gadgets. Sheet trays, bowls, baking racks, casserole dishes, lasagne dishes etc. All of these can come later, the top 3 are basically all you need. As you grow as a chef, you will hanker for such items and soon you will need a bigger kitchen.

4. Find a mentor.

This very much depends on your learning style, but I find YouTube an excellent resource. I’ve listed my favourites in the appendix, but there are plenty to choose from. Alternatively, you can pick up lots of cookery books cheaply from charity shops. Don’t fall for the siren calls of the celebrity TV chefs, while a good starting point, they are not entirely honest. A certain chef had a series called “30 minute meals” and Mrs R and I timed ourselves (with Mrs R helping out) and we still didn’t manage to prepare the meal in the time allotted. The main reason is that most people’s houses are not arranged ergonomically like a studio kitchen, and in our small kitchen space is an absolute premium.

5. Understand the underlying technique.

This one was a revelation for me, and allowed me to add “Baking” to my kitchen skills. I am an absolute tosser, and this extends to my cooking skills – I toss a bit this in, a bit of that in, and the end result is generally very pleasing. This technique does not work with baking, where the ingredients needs to be measured exactly. Forget our American cousins who use cups to measure flour etc, you want grams (or ounces if you are old school) and scientific precision. The key to cooking great starters and main courses is season often and taste often, and frequently you will find there is considerable latitude in the amounts. The two cooking disciplines are completely different, which is why French Chefs specialise e.g. sauces and pastry.

6. Consistency and texture matters, but flavour matters more.

What could be more depressing than a beautiful steak without a superb sauce to compliment it? That requires “Secret ingredients”, and those are: salt, sugar, alcohol, cream, butter, herbs and spices and (horror of horrors) MSG. Learn to cook effectively using these ingredients and you won’t look back. Why is French cooking so good? Butter, cream and alcohol. Lots of it. Learn to cook using roux, and the world is your oyster. Once you master cooking a sauce from scratch, you have mastered a vital art.

7. Specialities.

Apart from the basic store cupboard ingredients, these flavours and ingredients will take an ordinary dish to the next level and are often overlooked. I would not recommend you adding them a dish simultaneously though, unless you wish to produce a powerful emetic.

Garlic. Fresh is best, followed by the tubed variety. A good quality of garlic granules can be added to get a different dimension. Sainsbury’s do a good own brand. Add just a touch of grated garlic at the end of cooking to get a superb garlic hit.
Dark brown sugar. Adds sweetness but also a deeper caramel note.
Smoked paprika. Gives a wonderful deep smoky flavour.
Tarragon and Basil. Very sweet herbs, fresh basil is easy to grow on a windowsill but the dried varieties are very different.
Coriander. Essential in curries. Dried coriander leaf is excellent in fish pies, not much else of a use for it.
Methi. The dried variety will add another dimension to curries.
Light soy sauce. Can be used as a marinade or a dressing. Dark soy is mainly for colour, the light variety has far more flavour.
Sesame oil. Essential for Chinese cooking but use as marinade or dressing rather than for frying with.
Olive oil. Use a cheap one for cooking, expensive one for dressing / finishing a dish
Maggi seasoning. Adds a depth of flavour, and colour.
Sriracha. Fantastic versatile ingredient, the best chilli sauce far better and more versatile than Tabasco.
Maille Wholegrain Mustard. Great in dressings and sauces, adds piquancy to stews and casseroles.
Decent canned tomatoes. Avoid anything that is not whole, Aldi tinned cherry tomatoes are very good. There are some really expensive Italian brands out there, but not worth the money IMO. I always add a teaspoon of dark brown sugar to balance out any acidity in the cheaper brands.
Five spice powder/Garam masala. Use at the end of cooking to add flavour.
MSG. Essential for those signature Chinese dishes.
Dark balsamic vinegar. Greeat as a sald dressing, but makes a superb reduction for dark meat.
Decent Italian pasta. You have not lived until you cook a Spaghetti Carbonara with the proper Bucatini. Not cheap, but the texture is sublime. Nearest close equivalent is Morrisons wholewheat spaghetti.
Dutch processed cocoa. Essential for an exquisite chocolate cake.
Vanilla essence. The secret ingredient to delicious cakes. always use generously and more than the recipe dictates.