When I was a child, the Galloping Gourmet was one of the high points of my television-watching life: it wasn’t merely a programme but an event, family viewing just as much as Morecambe and Wise. Those of my vintage and above will know exactly what I’m talking about. It was such a good-natured cookery programme, flamboyant, full of bonhomie, a lot of butter and wine and it all led up to the drama of the final moments, when Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet himself, would pluck someone out of the audience (inevitably female, I seem to remember) to come up and eat the meal he’d cooked with him. I’ve never forgotten the excitement, and yet I have never remembered a thing he cooked, apart from a hazy memory of sauce pans bubbling with cream or foaming with butter. And while I am thrilled with the reissue of The Graham Kerr Cookbook (and have already given two copies as presents for friends also brought up on him), I am not sure I plan to cook my way through it. It is, however, fascinating social history and a wonderful read.
I’m afraid I’m much a lazier cook than he is. Writing about appetisers, he admonishes “Hosts who provide nuts, potato chips, and olives before dinner announce to the world their total indifference.” A hotelier by background (who also served for a while as Chief Catering Advisor to the Royal New Zealand Air Force) and always in Mine Host mode, his food is very much of another time. But I must say, I do enjoy reading his quips and tips. About some fried squid with sauce — Strip Dip — he writes in his serving note: “Excellent as a dunk dish for a cocktail party, especially when the guests don’t know what they’re eating. They will rave about its oyster and chicken flavor and when they have drunk as much as you can afford — tell them!” The recipe I’ve chosen here, Parramatta Chicken Pie has, I feel, an enduring appeal.
The Galloping Gourmet: The Graham Kerr Cookbook by Graham Kerr with introduction by Matt Lee and Ted Lee is published by Rizzoli priced at £25.00.
