AN ENGLISHMAN COOKING IN FRANCE: CHEF TODD OGDEN

Recently I took a trip to France to travel on the Canal du Midi on board the Anjodi with my family. Fans of Rick Stein may recognise this as the boat he used for part his French Oddessy TV series, however I certainly don't want to talk about Mr Stein today, but I would like to let you know about the boat's current chef - Todd Ogden.

Todd is an English chef who is cooking in the south of France and is more than competent in the tough cramped cooking conditions in the small hot kitchen onboard the boat (in the summer the tiny kitchen often gets to temperatures above 40 degrees).

So, you may ask, what's an Englishman doing trying to compete with the French on their own ground (or waterways in this case) - well.... who cares when his cooking is this good.  I dont know how long Todd will remain chef on the Anjodi - he is big asset to the boat and to European Waterways who run it - but certainly keep an eye on this young talented chef and his future career. Also one thing that impressed me was that he has only been cooking professionally for a few years after giving up the 9-5 office job to pursue his dreams.

Throughout our week on board - Todd gave us plate after plate of consistently excellent food - well presented, and always cooked spot on! The French lamb in particular was exceptional - perfectly cooked and so beautifully tender it just melted in the mouth - I dont believe I have ever had lamb as good!!! The dishes he served were a splendid mix of modern French cuisine (complete with fancy lines/drizzels of sauce or jus), with some of his English roots thrown in - he did promise us roast potatoes and he delivered us some along with a juicy wonderful piece of beef towards the end of our week on board.

I will leave you with some pictures of Todd's meals to showcase some of the delicious food he served - even if you are reading this 5 years from now - I urge you to seek out Todd Ogden and go try his food wherever he is cooking!