The last dinner I helped cook was with a man by the name of Sam Clifford – also a master of lamb, amongst other great things. The first time I met him, I ate in his restaurant, we arrived late at about 9. He said not to expect much. Out came the dishes to share but they only left me wanting more. I wanted a huge plate of whatever he was serving up all to myself. But I was not to eat his food again for another 3 months.
Sam is joy to be with. He is eccentric, funny, has cooked with and for people like Ruth Watson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and probably many more. But his cooking career is often overshadowed by the ups and downs of life.
I think Sam is a man of wonderful contradictions which makes him to be one of loveliest people I have come to know.
He is a big tall guy. In his kitchen, the counters come up to my midriff. Yet he is an extremely gentle person and interacts with those around him much like a giant would handle a butterfly.
He is a great cook. Rather than talk about all the great highs of his career, he talks about the low realities of his bi-polar condition, of the things he couldn’t do – as a chef, as a father, as a husband, as a friend.
He is known to be the crazy one but there is sense of calm, clarity, quiet and orderliness when he is running he kitchen.
Life's starts and stops that have made him out to be one of the more unreliable and irresponsible employee and colleague. Yet in the kitchen, he is all about hygiene, gloves and being responsible about keeping and preparing food.
He is often thought of as the one who needs mental and emotional guidance but in the kitchen, he is the coach who knows how to kick the energy in the kitchen up a few notches, crank things up and tell his team what they need to hear to get through the last 45 minutes of service, unbruised and unbroken.
Anyways, we have always said for me to go cook with him. So finally the chance came to cook with him almost one-on-one for a posh dinner where the main course was Duck Confit.
 | |
| Salted overnight to draw out liquid. Add lemon zest, thyme, ginger. Wash off salt in running water next day. |
 |
| Slow cooked in duck fat. Low temperature for a few hours. Keep checking it in the oven. |
 | |
| When they are cooked, remove from fat. Lay them out on a tray. Flash them in the oven just before serving. |
 |
| Mix of duck confit, liver and gizzards. |
The last picture is not what was served to the guests but the food prepared for the staff. If you ask me, I think the staff got the better meal that evening cos Sam whipped up the duck liver and gizzards for them as well. They were just too good.
It was a good way to finish my stay in Norwich. More than learning how to make duck confit, how to turn anonymous stock into wonderful sauce, how to turn duck necks into a wonderful dish where people will gladly use their hands, I learnt about life, about sticking with something nasty just because you’ve given your word, about recovering, about what the worst bi-polar day feels like and about the joys of making good with someone again.
Thank you, Sam. I’ll sign up to be your commis in the kitchen and in life anytime.
