User:Nik devlin 2

Hello, my name is Nik Devlin. I'm a Structural Technician by day, but I love to cook. In the 1980s, I trained as a chef, but by 1990 had had enough of the catering industry, and went off to make buildings. I still cook all the time though, and since we met in 1999, my wife, Edwina, and I have cooked up a storm in a series of kitchens, first in our house in Stockwell, South London, then in two places in Crystal Palace, a part of London we've fallen very much in love with. We do a lot of new and experimental cooking, trying to keep it as clean as possible (lately, we've been trying to be more veggie) and we keep a website to keep track of all the recipes we invent/develop/steal (http://www.nikandedwinascookbook.com). We're especially fond of Indian food, having eaten many curries on visits to Rajastan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but we've also been falling in love with Japanese food in the last couple of years, after three visits there. And although I haven't been to Mexico, edwina has, so we do a lot of Mexican cooking too.

Oh and we keep bees too, but that's a whole other story.

Food likes:- Indian, Mexican and Japanese foods. I am pretty adventurous, and have a habit of ordering things in restaurants if I have never heard of them before. This often results in hilarity, like the disgusting looking octopus stew I had in Greece (think of a large bowl of steaming guts, then think of it in purple) which turned out to be one of the loveliest things I've ever eaten. I'm also a massive fan of a good English Ale, preferably microbrewery IPA. Kernel's Table Beer is a current favourite.

Food dislikes:- Marmite. I've also lost the ability to eat garlic without being creased by indigestion

Favourite chef:- Edwina, then me, then Hugh FW. I'm also a big fan of Sri Owen, Camellia Punjabi and the marvellously named Pushpesh Pant. In terms of bread, Paul Hollywood is king, especially his sourdough

Favourite music:- in no particular order; soul, house, techno, punk, metal. My top bands are New Order, Kraftwerk, The Tubes, Talking Heads and The Leningrad Cowboys