Tony Tobin's April Kitchen Diary

Above: Surrey Life's celebrity columnist Tony Tobin

THANK GOODNESS Spring is finally here. For the chef who relies on using British ingredients, the early months of the year present a real ‘end of winter’ challenge until fresh new seasonal produce starts to find its way onto the menu.

At long last, though, the young asparagus, leeks and other classic spring ingredients are arriving in restaurants full of cheeky freshness. This enables chefs to move on from the comfort foods that have kept their customers ticking over through the dark, chilly evenings, and dishes like duck, sausage and mash, steaks and hearty sauces start to play second fiddle to lighter fayre such as fruity dressings, flavoured oils, smoky morels and crisp salads.

For myself, I feel like I have blinked momentarily after Christmas dinner and opened my eyes to find that a quarter of the year has already gone. My new venture, POST in Banstead, has confounded all of my projections and expectations delivering nearly twice the number of customers that I originally projected. This is good for business but has meant serious hard work and engaged reservations lines. Thankfully, our menus are proving popular - with our Sunday lunchtime roasts and lively brasserie dishes doing particularly well.

I do have one confession - a lesson that I would like to share with you all. It is one I was reminded of ‘the hard way’ and those of you who watch Ready Steady Cook may have recently seen me share it with the whole nation. It is this: when cutting a chicken with a large sharp knife, never, ever look at the person you're talking to!

I was at POST doing some revision on basic cooking techniques with the footballer Robbie Earle - ready for his appearance on Celebrity Masterchef. I looked up at him to make a point, took my eye off the ball/chicken while cutting down and within 30 minutes I was in East Surrey Hospital A&E with a doctor practising her embroidery on my thumb. Thankfully, her sewing was neat and I heal quickly, but it was a close shave, literally.

So, my final thoughts are these: look out for fresh spring veg coming soon, don't be tempted by the first flush of spring lamb (it hasn't got the full flavour yet) and give plenty of respect to big sharp knives if you want to preserve your digital health!

• The Dining Room, High Street, Reigate. Tel: 01737 226 650. Website: www.tonytobinrestaurants.co.uk.
• POST, High Street, Banstead. Tel: 01737 373839. Website: www.postrestaurant.co.uk

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