For me cooking has always been an act of romance, with yourself...
I was single for a really long time and I didn’t want to be excluded from the narrative of taking yourself out for a meal or going to an amazing restaurant and sitting alone. I now love doing things like that by myself.
I dress up and treat it as a date with myself. That translates to cooking too. You don’t have to wait for an extraordinary circumstance to cook something beautiful, you are reason enough to do that.
You don’t have to think about anyone else or think ‘my partner doesn’t like this’ - it’s about you and only you, completely in charge. I think that’s a very powerful thing.
My ideal evening is based around individual ingredients. I’ll finish work and immediately take myself off to a fishmonger or a gorgeous deli and treat myself to one special thing that I’m desperate to create with. I’ll hunt out some incredible seafood or a rare cheese for example, and then build the meal around that.
That’s my ideal evening, food and wine.
For when we’re too exhausted...
My go-to meal is a very simple, impossible-to-beat, spaghetti in tomato sauce. You can do it in a variation of ways but there is nothing better than a home cooked tomato sauce and spaghetti. It can be the cheapest, crappiest spaghetti in the world and a 20p tin of tomatoes, but with a little bit of oil and garlic you’ve got something that is so satisfying and so comforting.
When I feel like going out…
People watching is the greatest entertainment. Sitting with a notebook and watching the world tick by. The places that immediately come to mind for solo dining are the likes of Rochelle Canteen in Arnold Circus, Spring at Somerset House, I go back to the same 10 restaurants on rotation - Missy Flynn’s latest venture Rita’s in Soho opened recently and is wonderful.
For people watching paired with beautiful food, Bre lists her favourite restaurants for solo-dining...
