FOOD FOR THE SOUL
Meet Ed Cudlipp, also known as ‘Cud Cooks’, who lists and confesses his late-night fried chicken habit.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Having wonderful home-cooked meals with my family. I remember big casserole pots of chicken Basque, lamb stews, barbecues, and kippers – still a strong favourite. I also remember eating a lot of tinned peaches. Those need a resurgence!
Who inspired you to start cooking? And who do you admire now in the culinary world?
My parents instilled my love of food, through celebrating both cooking and eating. I realised early on that if I wanted to eat well, I needed to learn to cook, and they provided me with guidance and total freedom and encouragement to experiment.
I admire many people in the food world, but if I had to pick one person, I would pick Anthony Bourdain. Beyond being a great chef and a voracious, experimental eater, I liked the way he went through life and his no-nonsense outlook. He’s a great loss to the culinary world.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Having wonderful home-cooked meals with my family. I remember big casserole pots of chicken Basque, lamb stews, barbecues, and kippers – still a strong favourite. I also remember eating a lot of tinned peaches. Those need a resurgence!
Who inspired you to start cooking? And who do you admire now in the culinary world?
My parents instilled my love of food, through celebrating both cooking and eating. I realised early on that if I wanted to eat well, I needed to learn to cook, and they provided me with guidance and total freedom and encouragement to experiment.
I admire many people in the food world, but if I had to pick one person, I would pick Anthony Bourdain. Beyond being a great chef and a voracious, experimental eater, I liked the way he went through life and his no-nonsense outlook. He’s a great loss to the culinary world.
Name the three Robert Welch kitchen essentials you can’t live without.
My first two kitchen essentials pair together – Professional kitchen knives and the Hand-Held Knife Sharpener. I use the knives relentlessly for everything I cook, and they even come on holiday with me. The sharpener is very easy to use and keeps the edges sharp and at the correct angle. As a result, my knives still work as new.
My third kitchen essential would be the Robert Welch Low Casserole. This is such a versatile pan and I cook a huge range of dishes in it. It does everything well from hard searing to low and slow cooking. I also love that I can transfer it from the hob to the oven.
What has been your most memorable meal, and why?
One of my most memorable, and fondest food memories, was being a small child on holiday in Pembrokeshire in Wales. My parents would bring a small barbecue to the beach, and they would barbecue a rack of lamb, local asparagus, and fresh mackerel we had caught from the cliff edge that day. I was only four or five, but I can still smell those barbecue moments today, and I’m not sure I’ll top that memory.
What’s your just-home-from-the-pub late-night snack?
Fried chicken, without a doubt. I love it. With hot chilli sauce or buffalo sauce on the side.
What’s your favourite dish to cook at home, and why?
I love making Asian-inspired noodle soup dishes from scratch. The reason I love these dishes is it takes time and care to build intense, flavoursome broths from scratch, and there are a huge number of different variations, cuisines, cultures, and toppings you can explore. Above all, when you serve a steaming bowl of homemade noodle soup to someone, they love it, and that’s what makes it worth it.
Unpopular food opinion… What’s the most overrated ingredient?
For me, it’s burrata. Every restaurant menu seems to have it as a starter, and I am always subjected to splitting a ‘burrata for the table’. It’s fine, but it’s pretty vanilla and I’d rather you didn’t relentlessly order it for me when there’s a million other exciting things out there.
What’s your favourite foodie destination in the world, and why?
This is really difficult. How do I choose? Japan? San Sebastian? Hanoi? Impossible!
There are so many destinations that I think are incredible, but my recommendation would be this. Take four days over a long weekend and drive around France. The blueprint should be visiting local food markets, buying in-season ingredients from local producers, and booking Airbnbs with kitchens and barbecues. Pick up bottles of local wine, spend the evenings cooking and eating, and start all over again with fresh pastries and coffee. Go somewhere like the Loire or Bourgogne, avoid motorways entirely, and stay in villages. If you are a foodie and you love cooking, it’s hard to beat.
Which cookbooks are on your shelf?
The first is Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson, the founder of St John in London. I love Fergus’ outlook on eating, the manifestation of this outlook in the experience of St John and drawing inspiration from his book to guide some of my home cooking.
The second is Essential by Ollie Dabbous, the founder of Hide in London. This book is full of interesting and unique recipes and flavour pairings. It’s elevated and technical, but still approachable for the everyday cook. I have drawn inspiration from lots of elements of the recipes in this book.
The third is French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David. This book is an old-school bible that provides information and recipes on classic French cookery across France’s different regions. While some of it’s dated, it’s a great place to understand French cooking. In addition to this, I would recommend French Country Cooking by the Roux Brothers. Another bible.
Dead or alive, famous or not, who’s at your table for dinner? And what are you cooking?
Dinner parties should be about great conversation, big appetites, interesting food, good wine, and late finishes. My picks would be Stephen Fry, Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Hitchens, Keith Moon, and a selection of those close to me. I’m not sure what Keith Moon would relate to, but I love The Who, and he’s a huge character.
Name the three Robert Welch kitchen essentials you can’t live without.
My first two kitchen essentials pair together – Professional kitchen knives and the Hand-Held Knife Sharpener. I use the knives relentlessly for everything I cook, and they even come on holiday with me. The sharpener is very easy to use and keeps the edges sharp and at the correct angle. As a result, my knives still work as new.
My third kitchen essential would be the Robert Welch Low Casserole. This is such a versatile pan and I cook a huge range of dishes in it. It does everything well from hard searing to low and slow cooking. I also love that I can transfer it from the hob to the oven.
What has been your most memorable meal, and why?
One of my most memorable, and fondest food memories, was being a small child on holiday in Pembrokeshire in Wales. My parents would bring a small barbecue to the beach, and they would barbecue a rack of lamb, local asparagus, and fresh mackerel we had caught from the cliff edge that day. I was only four or five, but I can still smell those barbecue moments today, and I’m not sure I’ll top that memory.
What’s your just-home-from-the-pub late-night snack?
Fried chicken, without a doubt. I love it. With hot chilli sauce or buffalo sauce on the side.
What’s your favourite dish to cook at home, and why?
I love making Asian-inspired noodle soup dishes from scratch. The reason I love these dishes is it takes time and care to build intense, flavoursome broths from scratch, and there are a huge number of different variations, cuisines, cultures, and toppings you can explore. Above all, when you serve a steaming bowl of homemade noodle soup to someone, they love it, and that’s what makes it worth it.
Unpopular food opinion… What’s the most overrated ingredient?
For me, it’s burrata. Every restaurant menu seems to have it as a starter, and I am always subjected to splitting a ‘burrata for the table’. It’s fine, but it’s pretty vanilla and I’d rather you didn’t relentlessly order it for me when there’s a million other exciting things out there.
What’s your favourite foodie destination in the world, and why?
This is really difficult. How do I choose? Japan? San Sebastian? Hanoi? Impossible!
There are so many destinations that I think are incredible, but my recommendation would be this. Take four days over a long weekend and drive around France. The blueprint should be visiting local food markets, buying in-season ingredients from local producers, and booking Airbnbs with kitchens and barbecues. Pick up bottles of local wine, spend the evenings cooking and eating, and start all over again with fresh pastries and coffee. Go somewhere like the Loire or Bourgogne, avoid motorways entirely, and stay in villages. If you are a foodie and you love cooking, it’s hard to beat.
Which cookbooks are on your shelf?
The first is Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson, the founder of St John in London. I love Fergus’ outlook on eating, the manifestation of this outlook in the experience of St John and drawing inspiration from his book to guide some of my home cooking.
The second is Essential by Ollie Dabbous, the founder of Hide in London. This book is full of interesting and unique recipes and flavour pairings. It’s elevated and technical, but still approachable for the everyday cook. I have drawn inspiration from lots of elements of the recipes in this book.
The third is French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David. This book is an old-school bible that provides information and recipes on classic French cookery across France’s different regions. While some of it’s dated, it’s a great place to understand French cooking. In addition to this, I would recommend French Country Cooking by the Roux Brothers. Another bible.
Dead or alive, famous or not, who’s at your table for dinner? And what are you cooking?
Dinner parties should be about great conversation, big appetites, interesting food, good wine, and late finishes. My picks would be Stephen Fry, Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Hitchens, Keith Moon, and a selection of those close to me. I’m not sure what Keith Moon would relate to, but I love The Who, and he’s a huge character.
From Professional kitchen knives to our stainless steel, oven-to-table Campden cookware, here are the pieces Ed can’t live without in his kitchen.