It was on a wet and miserable day last month, with a little thunder thrown in for good measure, that even I had decided it was far too wet underfoot to even think of leaving the warm environment of my cosy armchair.  Normally it takes a thunderstorm with forked lighting to keep me away from heading off to the river.  So as the thought of being three miles away from my parked car in a thunderstorm with lightning strikes all around you, I have to admit normally I don't mind fishing in any weather, rain, snow but thunderstorms can only be described as slightly worrying and certainly not my kind of fun.  No matter how you try you cannot conceal a 12 foot carbon rod that attracts lightning strikes like bees round a jam sandwich in the height of summer.  So as you canter along the riverbank as fast as your little legs will carry you and dodging what seems like near misses from the forked lightning, somehow you reflect on the day as a young boy of the extreme pain you had experienced by sticking your fingers into a live light socket. So on this occasion I had made up my mind to retreat to the armchair and watch a bit of telly. It was as I flicked my way through the channels of Sky TV that I came across one channel with live reports from the red carpet.  Of course any channel that can offer its viewers endless hours of film stars in short frilly dresses, their feet stuffed into tight fitting shoes with six inch heels that had the effect of pushing everything upwards, hence giving the appearance of being taller and thinner, can only hold the imagination for so long.  And, on closer inspection, I noticed that these were just the men - both sexes were strutting their stuff up a red carpet with a smile from their teeth that would have not been out of place if they had belonged to Red Rum.  You may have been mistaken in thinking this was exciting telly to watch.  Sorry, but it had the same mind blowing grip on the imagination as young boys we waited and waited for two hamsters to make love, or looking at paint as it dries.  Then I realised it was being beamed direct from America.  It was then I decided that the weather, which was still raining cats and dogs, wasn't that bad after all.  Well not as bad as the telly, although I thought it may be unwise and decided not to wear my high heels and little black number in this bad weather so I found and borrowed Mrs R’s Rupert the Bear Pack a Mack to keep me dry and headed off to the river bank.

It was the next day as I arrived at the restaurant and on collecting the mail that I noticed a white envelope.  On opening the letter it said “Congratulations you have been nominated by the readers of the Eastern Daily Press”.  The award was for outstanding lifetime achievements to the industry; the sponsors were a top restaurant chain.  My thoughts after reading the letter several times was of complete amazement.  Not only was this a red letter day but it could be a red carpet day. On reflection how does one emulate to these heights of being nominated for any award from the highest of the land, with the Queen saying, rise Sir Loin, or taking a top award in a film or even the OBE, which of course is self- explanatory.  Well I can say straight away it is no one person on their own that deserves the award, but that little army of other people that elevate you to any success offered.

So enter stage left, just one of the stars in the restaurants four star line up.  One of the many that have been drawn by the roar of a chef and the smell of the fish fryer, a young man by the name of Tom the pot.  This guy is a legion in his own lunch hour.  As many chefs will confess that a good pot wash is worth his or her weight in gold.  He or she will have a mind like a military general when planning the tactics of their evening campaign.  Normally the sight of a busy afternoon’s cooking with pots pans and baking trays and two sinks full of crocks would put most people off as they enter the washing up area, but not the real star of the show, Tom the pot.

Any pot wash person that's worth hanging on to will, in the head chef’s mind, be a very key player in his operation.  The thought of dirty plates, dirty frying pans and pots arriving back into the service area is a no no.  So Tom makes sure that rejects are kept to a minimum.  This in turn has many benefits for him as frying pans used in cooking that contain the remains of a sauce, which contains just a taster of brandy and cream infused with wild mushrooms can be scraped from the pan with the aid of a slice of handmade cheese and onion bread - its called a pot washer’s perk.  These perks come in all sizes, from tasty bread left in the baskets, or the little bits of fillet steak and puff pastry that have been trimmed off freshly cooked Beef Wellington as it heads from the kitchen into the restaurant.  One only has to wait for chef to send the pan through that contains the remains of the rich Wellington Sauce and Tom has a tasty meal fit for a King, and all free of charge.  Tom knows exactly how chef likes his tea.  He is a master of the military two step, and a cross between Morris Dancing as he dances in and out of the kitchen in a busy service time keeping chef happy by keeping pans well stacked and in good supply.

Next enter stage right, the great man himself world wide famous commis chef, of Village Newsletter and international web fame, Dan the Man.  This guy is my right hand man and like many of the staff at Rushmores has been with me since opening the restaurant.  The guy who is famous for making forty brown shrimp cakes for a lunch service without shrimps, and for his tattoo of “I love Amanda Holden”.  Next on my list of star players is of course Kim and also my wife Kathy, known to many as Mrs R.  These two are the backbone of the restaurant and the sometimes twice daily performances that we operate, after a busy lunch time they are the ones that re-lay the restaurant ready for the evening performance, and making sure that the show goes on.

Lastly, with a drum roll and a cloud of pink smoke enter centre-stage, coming up through the trapdoor, a newcomer, the latest recruit to the cast.  Another Dan, known to us as "college boy extraordinaire", drawn to the grease paint and the smell of the stock pot in the hope of becoming a chef, Dan is a lad with a long way to go.  But at this time in his life he has only couple of things on his mind.  One is trying to get me to tell him the recipe of my chicken dish that's cooked with fresh thyme, white wine and cream, and another is carp fishing.  One can forgive him for trying to get the chicken recipe, but carp fishing. l ask you! I realise that this award is a great honour and if the judges decide that my nomination is worthy of me being placed into the final then thoughts of having to dress up in that little black number, and walk up the red carpet sends shivers up my back so l have come up with a great plan - I would send one of the stars of Rushmores Restaurant and be represented by the one and only person known as Tom the pot .

FOR A YOUNG CHEF WHO HAS TIME ON HIS HANDS

Take two nice fresh chicken breasts, find yourself a good frying pan and pop on the top of the stove.  You will need a medium heat to slowly cook the chicken breasts without burning them.  Use a little cooking oil or a soft margarine to cook with once the chicken has been cooking for a few minutes.  Turn them over to slowly cook on the other sides. To the pan add half an onion that has been well diced.  Also add two rashers of chopped bacon (smoked bacon is best for this chicken dish).  Keep the ingredients moving around the pan to stop them burning.  Fresh thyme is a must but if you cannot buy any you will have to use dried thyme.  With the fresh thyme add a few sprigs to the pan.  Last job - after making sure that the chicken is well cooked - to make the sauce add a half glass of dry white wine and allow to reduce down then add a good splash of single cream and allow to thicken slightly.  Season gently with black pepper.

Colin Rushmore