Crawford Calling.

When I heard that Brighton was getting it’s very own food (foodie) magazine I thought 2 things instantly; 1. It’s about bloody time, and 2. I have to write for them. I met Emma through our shared interest in taking photographs, we got chatting about photos then food photography then just food! And so here I am, writing for Edible, popping up every now and again to chip in my two penneth’ worth. I am Danaliese Crawford, Pastry Chef, Food Photographer and I confess that I am obsessed by food.

“Food. Food. Food. Is that all you think about? ” berates a spotty John Gordon Sinclair in my hubbies favourite film from his teenagehood. I had always thought of my interest in food as just that, an interest, a hobby, something to do in my downtime. I had no inkling that it would completely alter the path my life would take. About three months ago, just after 5:30am, I realised that this was no ‘healthy interest’, I was obsessed. And how did I know this? Because I had awoke thinking about a dessert of my own invention, that I had invented in a mid-dream, half-sleep state. And from that dessert I went on to create a handful of others and all as the July sun was just dawning, the light creeping in through my blinds. Not one to do things by halves I dived headfirst into working in food, making it, taking photos of it, talking about it. But what I want to know is, Why are we so interested in food?

TV is peppered (if you’ll pardon the pun) with programmes about cooking. From daytime cooking competition programmes (one which has a regular chef with a highly suspect Italian accent, I think you’ll be able to figure out who I mean), to the ‘here’s how to cook’ programmes (although Delia pouring a jar of pasta sauce over pasta does not, I think, constitute what I would call cooking!) to a comedy programme about chefs which I daren’t watch (well, the BBC doesn’t have the best track record with comedy!) to Gordon Ramsey pitting curry houses against each other and doing some weird candid camera stuff to them whilst shouting and looking like some took a potato masher to his forehead. Cookbooks are regaining the popularity they had in the days of Fanny Cradock. Supper clubs are popping up everywhere. ‘Foodie’ will now get you 30 points in scrabble if you get it on a triple word score as it is now in the dictionary and, what’s more, it’s a term that a large percentage of us identify with, particularly us Brighton and Hove-ers. I had thought that in a time of excess and abundance a society will naturally make more fine the finer things in life. So, art, fashion, food will be celebrated and indulged, such as Damian Hirst’s hideous diamond skull. However, recent events (which I will not mention as we are so very, very tired of hearing about it) have disproved this theory.

It was only when I reminded myself of my love for giving people birthday presents and gifts that I stumbled on what I think is the reason why we, well, at least why I, am obsessed with cooking. Making a meal for someone is to give them your time, your thought, your care and all to give them nourishment and the comfort of a full and satisfied belly. So, as you would give a gift to a friend on their birthday we get the same selfless feeling of giving when we make food for others. It is a simple yet poignant act (all the best ones are). That I can do this whilst also being creative and making stuff look pretty (something which is as essential to me as breathing!) is the ultimate experience for me. And its something we can all have a go at. Ya got tastebuds? Yes? Well, go ahead, have a go. You can do it on a shoestring or splash yer cash, so money isn’t a factor. And it makes me proud, we are finally shedding the reputation of a nation with poor cuisine, although I suspect this was a rumour started by the French but to be fair we did pale in comparison to our neighbours for, well, a couple of centuries.

So, I call my fellow Brighton and Hove-ers to arms, garlic presses and blow torches at the ready!