Bitter: As Seen On Saturday Kitchen

Product Information

I’m grateful that I met, got to know and cook alongside some of the most wonderful and talented people, and have found friends for life in them.

Salt is a powerful ingredient that can make other ingredients taste more of themselves, but for that to happen you need to add salt early in the cooking process rather than at the end. What dish do you turn to most often? MasterChef viewers will have seen him do just that on this series - learning new things and combining them with his love for East and South East Asian food. A collection of flavourful, vibrant recipes to impress this holiday season. Fearlessly bringing together the best flavours and culinary strategies from around the world, Alexina Anatole will help you befriend bitterness - one flavour-balancing technique at a time. Using ten ingredients to walk you through every type of bitterness and how to tame it - from grapefruit and bitter oranges, bitter greens, tahini, beer, walnuts, cranberries, tea, coffee, cocoa and liquorice - each recipe will expand your repertoire and open the door to new worlds of deliciousness, using bitterness in both savoury and sweet dishes to elevate the taste of everything you make. The food was so precise, so beautiful, so elevated, and yet the vibe was cool and relaxed and unstuffy: it was that perfect balance of special and comfortable. The Japanese influences in the menu were sublime and the wine pairings (usually something I find to be overrated) were creative and spot on. However, after the experiences cooking in the professional kitchens, I certainly wouldn’t rule out owning my own restaurant one day.” Read More Related ArticlesTo make the dressing, place the finely diced shallot in a jar along with the balsamic vinegar and salt, then set aside to soak for 15 minutes. Add the extra virgin olive oil, screw on the jar lid and shake to combine. Who’s the author? Alexina Anatole started her career on a trading floor in the City of London but had always been obsessed with food. In her late 20s – after years of watching the show – she decided to enter MasterChef, reaching the final in 2021. The competition, in which she came runner-up, led her to realise that she had a talent for cooking but, more importantly, helped her to better understand what it is that gives food flavour and meaning, and how our individual palates mean that we experience flavour and taste in different ways. Bitter is her first cookbook, but with more to follow (the second, Sweet, will be published in 2025), she is building an impressive career around her true passion: food.

Alexina with fellow finalist Mike Tomkins, judges Greg Wallace and John Torode, and 2021 champion Tom Rhodes. (Image: BBC) TRY: Alexina's recipe for Liquorice Miso glazed Aubergine How do you source your ingredients and what do you look for when selecting them? Samin Nosrat is an inspiration, not just because she wrote a phenomenal and very clever book ( Salt Fat Acid Heat ) about the art and science of cooking, but because her Netflix series (of the same title) was one of the few times I’ve seen a woman of colour present a food travelogue. She really broke the mould there. Meanwhile, crush the saffron in a pestle and mortar, then combine it with the yoghurt and boiling water until you have a gleaming golden-coloured mixture. Stir through a third of the cooked rice.I’ll also never forget and can’t be more thankful to all the friendly, hard working, fantastic people, that make MasterChef such a special show." Tonight's result comes almost a week late as the final of the series was postponed due to Prince Philip's death, leaving millions of MasterChef fans in suspense. I find cooking quite meditative – a chance to use your hands and let your mind wander – but then, once you’ve had that moment of calm, you get to share something delicious with the people that you love: a magic combination! After three years at Cambridge I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. However, knowing that financial stability was important to me (the last thing I wanted to be was a burden on my mum, who had done so much for me and my brother) I found myself with an internship at one of the top investment banks, which led to a decade-long career in the City. It was — unsurprisingly — a challenging environment to exist in as a young woman of colour and, truly, I worked (and lived) to cook and eat. As we are outdoors and in local parks we are able to plan Covid safe festivals, and our experienced Health and Safety team are working closely with local councils across the country to make sure we take all appropriate measures and follow government guidelines to keep everyone safe.