Have you ever eaten something and mid-chew been floored with memories of far flung time and place? Those fish and chips reminding you of holidays with your grandparents as a kid, retro chocolate bars (for me Freddie Frogs) of messing about after school, Mr Whippy ice creams of rainy British Summers….the list goes on. Of course you have, we all have and it’s not whimsy – it’s science. The part of your brain that helps store memories (the hippocampus) is linked to your body’s smell receptors and to the part that processes emotion. When you take a big whiff of something during eating, it pulls up all the memories of when you last ate it along with how you felt when you did! Science asides, it’s a powerful phenomenon and some of my favourite things to cook are ones that evoke memories from growing up back home in Yorkshire.
Jacob’s Creek are celebrating these memories in their Our Table campaign. Together with Lisa Faulkner, actress and winner of 2010 Celebrity Masterchef, and Novak Djokovic, world number 1 tennis player, they’re putting on a special pre-Wimbledon dinner this Thursday to showcase a number of dishes inspired by the special memories of its attendees! Dishes will be matched with copious wine by ozzy wine giant of the last 160 years, Jacob’s Creek, and I’m delighted to have been invited too!!
Have a peek at the recipes that I love and the memories of people I love which they remind me of. They’ll be on the menu for Novak and the others on Thursday, each paired with a different Jacob’s Creek vino, and I can’t wait to share them with everyone!
- Starter: Scotch Eggs – JC Classic Sauvignon Blanc – recipe: here
I’ve always loved Scotch Eggs – they remind me of long car journeys with Dad when I was a teenager, stopping sneakily to get snacks and keeping it on the sly to avoid a telling off from mum for it ‘spoiling dinner’. It’s no wonder I’ve grown up greedy. Luckily my taste in Scotch Eggs has improved beyond Ginsters, but my love for this childhood treat remains just as strong.
2. Fish Pie – JC Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay – recipe: here
I grew up in Yorkshire and we take pie very seriously indeed. This Fish Pie was a staple of my mother’s, adapted from one by her beloved Marco Pierre White, and I used to love it when she cooked it for me and the family. As a kid this was probably the best thing I’d ever tasted and this is still the best recipe for Fish Pie that I’ve ever come across.
3. Sticky Toffee Pudding – JC Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir/ JC Sparkling Shiraz – recipe: here
Sticky Toffee Pudding was always me and my Dad’s favourite dessert. It united us against Mum and my sister who preferred chocolate desserts, and we’ve always shared a special camaraderie around it. Over the years I’ve honed my recipe of it, testing it on my Dad, and I love this final one. It will always be my favourite pudding!
Keep posted for how Thursday's event goes – I can't wait to gobble all this down, re-live old moments and glug down a chardonnay or two with Novak!
Talking of which…check out his food memories in this cute little video.
This brunch looks SO good, it's been on my wish list for ages, and every time I see pics of any of the food there it makes me want to go even more!