Jeremy Cooper born and bred in uk, could you give us a brief background of how you began as a chef all those years ago?

My Grandfather was a farmer and my father had his own butchers business up in the north of England, ever since I was a small child I always helped my father in the business. In the early days in the humble surroundings of our garage we would prepare and sell meats to all the neighbours on the street. My first job aged 5 was mixing a brine solution for pickling ox tongues and it was not long after I had a knife in my hand chopping up shin beef for stewing. My mum was the cook and meals would usually be tripe, oxtail, stews, sweetbreads and on special occasions perhaps a breast of lamb. On the weekends she always baked and after assisting my father I would be straight into the kitchen to help. She baked her own breads and I can still smell the fresh yeast as the dough proved in front of the open coal fire. I loved it all, there was only one profession I wanted to join and I set my sights on going all the way to the top of the culinary profession…. [Read more...]