BLURB: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is an autobiographical adventure story that unfolds upon the metaphoric battlefield of a chess board, a place Michelin Star Chef Richard Neat uses to describe and make sense of a lifetime spent in service to gastronomy.

Set within the sweatshop kitchens that have been his home, it is a journey that takes the reader from the frenetic chaos of the London’s West End to the narcissistic playgrounds of the Cote d’Azur, through amazing India and magical Marrakech to the snow-covered domes of the Kremlin before ending in the steamy jungles of beautiful Costa Rica.

The Cook invites different companions, the people who have touched him, made his life something other than mundane, to join him ‘à table‘, where, whilst preparing his signature dishes, they discuss such themes as Ambition, Loyalty and Contentment and whether such ideas are comprehensible to anyone other than the person who utters them.

LITERARY REVIEW: “OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is rather wonderful. You’ve created an extraordinary work here, and a beautifully crafted one. I found myself thinking that every creative should read it regardless of what industry they’re in or skill set they’re mastering. It raises such important questions, and is so refreshingly forthright about them. This work is unique in many ways… It’s such a smart, thoughtful, brave discussion about some really difficult (dare I say unresolvable) issues. It strikes me as a meditation, a parable, an exploration of the creative journey.”

PRICE: To access the Observations from the Kitchen, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber (or better, a patron). Should you “subscribe as paid” from one of Richard’s chapters, the proceeds will be shared equally between the editor (ie me) and the author —and you will get access to all of Guerre and Shalom’s material for a year!

So sign up and I’ll see you the other side of the paywall!

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Contents:

Chapter 1: Ambition // Chapter 2: Faith // Chapter 3: Loyalty //Chapter 4: Struggle // Chapter 5: Sovereignty // Chapter 6: Creativity // Chapter 7: Shame // Chapter 8: Exclusivity // Chapter 9: Recognition // Chapter 10: Tyranny // Chapter 11: Hubris

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 12: CONTENTMENT

Braised Pigs Head with Pumpkin Purée

Another day was ending in Marrakech; the sun made for the exit, rambling off in the direction of the Koutoubia.

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Set within the sweatshop kitchens that have been his home, it is a journey that takes the reader from the frenetic chaos of the London’s West End to the narcissistic playgrounds of the Cote d’Azur, through amazing India and magical Marrakech to the snow-covered domes of the Kremlin before ending in the steamy jungles of beautiful Costa Rica.

The Cook invites different companions, the people who have touched him, made his life something other than mundane, to join him ‘à table‘, where, whilst preparing his signature dishes, they discuss such themes as Ambition, Loyalty and Contentment and whether such ideas are comprehensible to anyone other than the person who utters them.

LITERARY REVIEW: “OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is rather wonderful. You’ve created an extraordinary work here, and a beautifully crafted one. I found myself thinking that every creative should read it regardless of what industry they’re in or skill set they’re mastering. It raises such important questions, and is so refreshingly forthright about them. This work is unique in many ways… It’s such a smart, thoughtful, brave discussion about some really difficult (dare I say unresolvable) issues. It strikes me as a meditation, a parable, an exploration of the creative journey.”

PRICE: To access the Observations from the Kitchen, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber (or better, a patron). Should you “subscribe as paid” from one of Richard’s chapters, the proceeds will be shared equally between the editor (ie me) and the author —and you will get access to all of Guerre and Shalom’s material for a year!

So sign up and I’ll see you the other side of the paywall!

Subscribe now

Contents (to date):

Chapter 1: Ambition // Chapter 2: Faith // Chapter 3: Loyalty //Chapter 4: Struggle // Chapter 5: Sovereignty // Chapter 6: Creativity // Chapter 7: Shame // Chapter 8: Exclusivity // Chapter 9: Recognition // Chapter 10: Tyranny

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 11: HUBRIS

Turbot Fillet with Shrimp Lasagne

The Cook stared out onto the Thames which flowed slowly beneath him, the usually fascinating activity that took place on and around the river for once offered him no distraction, its rhythmic movement unable to alleviate the noxious taste of failure that choked The Cook that morning.

The proverbial humble pie, as always rather unsavoury, was on this particular occasion decidedly foul tasting. The Cook tried to swallow a few sanitized moments of the venture as though they were aspirin, vainly hoping their recollection might ease the throbbing sense of humiliation that pounded incessantly inside his head. The melody of disappointment was one he could not expel as a pitiable parade of ‘what-ifs’ marched by, presenting themselves for inspection yet offering little elucidation.

The well-fingered opening reviews of the restaurant lay scattered around him. Everyone involved thought them to have been exceptional, so the result was unsurprising: the Cook considered himself immune from the fluctuations and arbitrariness of public opinion, something which surely only happened to other people.

Written by journalists he despised, he now clung pathetically to their generous words as they were the only voices who lent him any solace. ‘It should be a major step forward for eating-out in London’ thought The Independent. The pounding continued. ‘Utterly, utterly delicious’ before adding that ‘the man is evidently a brilliant cook’ opined The Telegraph, yet the filthiness of failure clung as tightly to The Cook as before. The rolling, murky Thames remained silent too.

He ordered an understandably morose-looking waiter to polish the eponymous nameplate above the entrance for what they both knew would be last time. The waiter complied, though The Cook felt his legitimacy to give orders ebbing away, as indubitably as the directionless debris on the Thames below. The Cook had not even been able to look at the waiter, instead lighting the umpteenth cigarette of the morning, one which provoked a wheeze, while his subordinates choked and coughed upon the acrid taste of inexplicable failure.

It was a truism of the business that no matter how many partners and players were involved, nor how much advice, finance and skills they contributed, the bearer of the name upon the entrance plaque would ultimately experience the pain and humiliation involved in its demise alone and in horrible privacy.

Tactitus observed that “Those who aim at Empire have no alternative between the highest success and utter downfall”. And today was The Cook’s utter and most spectacular downfall.

F8-H8!!

The game still had to be concluded.

The Cook prepared what he knew to be his last dish in London. He threw the picked flat parsley leaves into some boiling salted water. He slightly over-cooked the leaves so that they could be crushed between thumb and finger, then squeezed out the water and blended the leaves to make a puree, as thick as possible.

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Neat’s latest chapter,"Tyranny”, is a brutally honest reflection on how to achieve results in a top-level, high pressure environment. In this mea culpa (?), Richard lays out how he achieved culinary perfection and asks whether it was worth the human cost. Digest. Consider. And ask yourselves whether “being nice” would have got him anywhere. - Daniel Clarke-Serret (editor)

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Contents (to date):

Chapter 1: Ambition // Chapter 2: Faith // Chapter 3: Loyalty //Chapter 4: Struggle // Chapter 5: Sovereignty // Chapter 6: Creativity // Chapter 7: Shame // Chapter 8: Exclusivity // Chapter 9: Recognition

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 10: TYRANNY

Tian of Skate Wing and Crab and Cucumber Velouté

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The Cook slammed down the telephone, still screaming invectives at the caller.

The kitchen bore witness to yet another display of his volatility. Like a crime scene, though before the police had arrived to tape-off specific areas, evidence of some felony was perceivable. Splashes from a multitude of sauces hung across the wall by the service table like a savoury-themed Jackson Pollack canvas. If this had been a movie scene, the director would have shot in grainy black and white with a villainous role for Vincent Price, emerging from a bank of artificial fog, while the orchestra struck-up a sinister musical score. Evidently, it had been a very bad service.

“Do you think they’ll come back?” asked The Cook, only now realising that his behaviour had repercussions beyond that ecstatic moment of deliciously wild drama.

“Not sure” replied The Saint. “The Fish Cook was pretty rattled and said he couldn’t operate in this type of atmosphere but the Fat boy will be back as he has no where else to go.”

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Contents (to date):

Chapter 1: Ambition // Chapter 2: Faith // Chapter 3: Loyalty //Chapter 4: Struggle // Chapter 5: Sovereignty // Chapter 6: Creativity // Chapter 7: Shame // Chapter 8: Exclusivity // Chapter 9: Recognition

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 9: RECOGNITION

Tian of Skate Wing and Crab and Cucumber Velouté

The boat rocked gently at its mooring. Small waves lapped idly against its sides, hopelessly out-of-tune with the riff the crickets, playing their impromptu concert amongst the olive trees. A languid breeze sniffed unenthusiastically around the cove as the cloudless afternoon sky challenged this patch of Mediterranean Sea for “Most Spectacular Tone of Blue” award. Nature and the boats occupants had colluded in passing a lazy afternoon. Welcome to Millionaires Bay.

The Cook admired the Scotsman enormously and felt privileged to consider him a friend. Whether it was his writing or his sculpting work, he exhibited a poignancy and thoughtfulness that was rare and made a lasting impression. Thankfully, it appeared that many people, some even without the direction of an efficacious Public Relations team, thought so too. In short, The Scotsman bathed in the recognition of people he respected and wanted to be respected by.

The Cook finished his swimming and clambered back on board the boat. The Scotsman was pouring an ice-cold Gewürztraminer, which they all agreed would work perfectly with the dish The Cook had brought along.

Live crabs had been boiled in salted water before leaving them to cool naturally. Once cold, he had picked the white meat from the claws and legs and mixed it with a very thick mayonnaise. To this he added a little finely chopped shallot, chives and seasoned it with salt, pepper and lemon juice. The brown flesh from inside the shell needed to be ‘hung’ to drain off the maximum amount of liquid, then passed and seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper and a spoonful of mayonnaise.

E3xB6
Though the victory might be certain, White should consider the style of the ending.

The Scotsman loved good food and was a fan of The Cook’s work so it seemed apparent that the causal relation between recognition and reward was responsible for this invitation to the paradisiacal Millionaires Bay. Despite being a capitalist apostate, The Cook still liked to use the word earn. He thought he had a wonderful girlfriend because he’d been sufficiently kind and considerate —whatever it was that women wanted, to earn and keep her love.

Sufficiently decent to earn his excellent circle of friends. Sufficiently skilled to earn the clientele. That was how it worked didn’t it? That was how the entire, beautiful idea of reciprocity worked? You received back because you behaved, or produced what someone else expected. You earned it.

The Cook, basking in his good fortune, thought it best to pursue this ‘acknowledgment’ thing. The recent press coverage celebrating The Cook becoming the first Englishman to win a star in France would, with any luck, go a long way to that end.

“So you’ve had a lot of extra business because of the star?” inquired the Scotsman.

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The baton of Richard’s fight for quality has now been passed to next generation, those who must face the same financial fears and the same nagging doubt that they should surrender to populism. Richard is our mentor. May we follow his lead, attracting the very best investors in the process. So help us. Become a Guerre & Shalom Founding Member. - Daniel Clarke-Serret (editor)

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Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition // Chapter 2: Faith // Chapter 3: Loyalty //Chapter 4: Struggle // Chapter 5: Sovereignty // Chapter 6: Creativity // Chapter 7: Shame // Chapter 8: Exclusivity

Please support me in my quest for quality. Please subscribe as paid:

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OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 8: EXCLUSIVITY

Fillet of Tuna with Cerviche of Red Snapper and Aubergine Purée

Oxfordshire’s countryside was especially beautiful in the springtime and on this particular morning she was effortlessly charming her admirers. Birds lent on hedgerows, chirping to one another about their good fortune in having found such a glorious spot, while the soft light and rolling landscapes seemed so smitten with each other, they were practically amoureux. Winding roads meandered aimlessly through golden fields of rape, and along the walls of ancient stone-lined graveyards, passing through villages where cricket was played at weekends, the locals all knew everyone and drank warm beer without complaint.

Sitting proudly on a hilltop, surveying this pastoral scene, was a temple unashamedly dedicated to pleasure and good taste. The hedonistic super-rich often visited this shrine and placed black embossed, card-shaped offerings upon its altar.

The Cook sat at one of these tables as he waited for the arrival of his friend. He was taking a break from his travails in London, puffing casually on a cigarette as he gazed absent-mindedly into the beautifully manicured gardens through gaps in the stonework. This was the most expensive and arguably best restaurant in the country where the wealthy flocked at weekends to graze amongst the canapés and water themselves on ludicrously expensive bubbles. Here was a place that dared to ask the question: what was the value of a truly memorable sensory experience?

The crunching gravel alerted The Cook to the arrival of the Lawyer. He was a trouble-shooter, advisor and maybe The Cook’s conscience. He was also one of those strange creatures who genuinely revelled in the good feeling of luxury products yet ludicrously thought that such products should and could be available to the widest audience possible. He was the archetypal ‘Champagne Socialist!’

They hugged and exchanged pleasantries, with The Lawyer nonchalantly ordering a bottle of champagne. A waiter miraculously appeared at the table the moment The Cook’s wealthy friend arrived, highly attuned to knowing who was of consequence and who just made up the numbers.

“I’ve got last months figures and I’m afraid they’re not pleasant reading,” began the Lawyer. “We need more people. You should make the menu more accessible, less esoteric. Try keeping it simpler; prepare some dishes that are more recognisable,” he pleaded.

So repetitive was his argument that The Cook knew it by heart and quietly hummed the chorus of ‘Just one fillet of Beef with Béarnaise Sauce’! His restaurant manager, sommelier and non-executive directors had all become convinced that a cameo role for a well-bred bovine would be the white knight, a panacea for the perennial under-performance that had so far plagued their restaurant.

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Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition

Chapter 2: Faith

Chapter 3: Loyalty

Chapter 4: Struggle

Chapter 5: Sovereignty

Chapter 6: Creativity

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 7: SHAME

Duck Breast with Cannelloni of Confit Leg and Red Wine Chocolate Sauce

The Cook was finally alone. He sat back into his favourite chair and closed his eyes, allowing the calming and melodic waves of Barber’s Adagio to roll over him. It was a fine autumnal Sunday afternoon, and most people would be at the nearby beaches, conducting one last heliolatrous mass before the winter arrived. So much the better, thought The Cook, who was determined to enjoy such a rare moment of inactivity. He let out an almost audible purr as the Azorean sun massaged his troubled shoulders, while the jasmine plants that bordered the terrace concocted wondrous potions to amuse his sensitive nose.

His eponymous restaurant in the glorious South of France was beside a pretty garden at the end of Cannes’ illustrious La Croisette. The Old Port was visible from where he sat, and when he mustered sufficient strength to open his eyes, the masts of the boats could be seen jabbing and thrusting skywards as their hulks bobbed up and down in the water.

The Cook had considered Cannes his spiritual home ever since he had visited the town more than a decade earlier, and he had kept a precious image of the place in his mind throughout the intermittent years, in the sure knowledge that he would one day settle there. He appreciated the generous climate, the closeness to the sea, and the beauty of the Provençal countryside that lay enticingly behind the town.

He loved the smell of lavender, bright sunflowers, the obligatory pastis at sundown; even the venality of the local business people and municipality had a certain charm. Since he had lived in Paris, The Cook had considered himself an honorary Frenchman and had embraced and imitated his compatriots’ mannerisms, proclivities, and even their condescension towards all things that had the misfortune to be other than French.

On this particular afternoon, The Cook wallowed insalubriously in the rhythm of life that was probably incomprehensible to the serious Anglo-Saxon. He might have toasted the good fortune that had carried him to this earthly paradise if he didn’t believe that somehow he deserved to be here. He was home.

C8xD8

Sometimes there is a stream of events that, once set in motion, take on an apparent inevitability that we can thereafter only look upon as passive spectators.

Without warning, as though a solitary cloud had passed in front of the sun on a hot summer’s day—or one had discovered a rat hair in your consommé—The Cook’s paradisiacal state was violated by the unexpected arrival of unwanted company. Worse, it was the loathsome character known as Lander. The man had written a spiteful, horribly personalized, and wounding article a few years previously about one of The Cook’s restaurants and now, without summoning, had reappeared in his life.

Also from the Guerre and Shalom Publishing House:

Lander was so accommodatingly dislikeable, not merely because of his bilious writing and sense of righteousness, but even in his deportment. He desperately sought to cultivate an eccentric appearance with his countrified attire and unkempt hair, but instead came across as comically artificial—a dilettante.

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Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition

Chapter 2: Faith

Chapter 3: Loyalty

Chapter 4: Struggle

Chapter 5: Sovereignty

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 6: CREATIVITY

Snails with Morilles and Asparagus

The onion-shaped cupola of Christ the Saviour dazzled in the morning sunlight, winking conspiratorially at the other basilicas of the town as they deceptively radiated messages of warmth and comfort beneath a wintery sun.

The Cook and Nikola Vsevolodolvich sat huddled on the terrace above the restaurant, alternating between greedy mouthfuls of nicotine and vodka in a hopeless effort at alleviating the pitiless chill, fetched by the icy winds that swirled around them.

Stalin’s nineteen-fifties gothic masterpieces lay menacingly around the town, the eerie wedding-cake-shaped tiers, a sinister testament to the troubled times of their construction. Towards the west, the Kremlin walls sagged heavily under the burden of its wintry load —or maybe its troubled conscience.

The other Travel Week instalments can be found here:

Moscow was an architectural gem and while other European cities had their share of memorable buildings, Moscow’s monuments alone displayed an air of culpability having been crafted upon an anvil of misery.

Dostoyevsky wrote:

What makes matters especially desperate is Russian naiveté, the native genius for belief and enthusiasm, which causes Russians to carry out in action what the West with its coldness and caution only conceives in art and abstract thought.

Russia was a nation of victims - long before the word ‘victim’ had been expropriated by shameless celebrities and unscrupulous politicians- and the cruelty and bleakness of their winters merely heaped further suffering upon them. Bitter cold gnawed at their exhausted bodies while cavernous snowfalls made a simple walk to the shops a painful exertion.

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Richard Neat’s OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is far more than a memoir, a travel book, an ode to food or a paean to chess. It is a work of political philosophy that takes its rightful pride of place on Guerre and Shalom. And no chapter gets more political than this in its fierce defence of economic liberty, freedom from the State and the sovereignty of the financially independent individual. It deconstructs the myths that the West tells itself: that we value the marketplace; that we nurture innovation; when in fact the Moroccan trader could claim to have these blessings in greater abundance. It's a must-read for any politician and a testament to a man who fought to be free. - Daniel Clarke-Serret (editor).

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Book Launch:

Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition

Chapter 2: Faith

Chapter 3: Loyalty

Chapter 4: Struggle

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 5: SOVEREIGNTY

Quintet of Scallops

Marrakech lay within sight of the slumbering, snow-covered body of the Atlas Mountains. According to one version of events, the Titan once made the mistake of treating Perseus discourteously, believing him to be a thief intent on stealing Hesperides’ golden apples. Thus he suffered cruel Perseus’ wrath who, displaying Medusa’s head, turned poor Atlas into stone; his huge frame constituting the mountain range that separated the Maghreb from a very different sub-Sahara.

The dusty pink city was the venerable guardian of that and many other myths, witnessing so many of man’s vanities and follies as history had ebbed and flowed around its ancient walls. Yet, on this particular evening, the city quietly prepared itself for imminent nightfall, as the day’s once resplendent sun transformed into a glowing red ball, tottering almost drunkenly upon the roofs of the buildings.

As usual, a wonderland of storytellers, snake charmers and henna painters had ensconced themselves around Marrakech’s Place Jemaa El Fna attempting to charm even the most hesitant of tourists out of a handful of coins. The last tremulous sheaves of light illuminated an august cast of players, showering honey-golden hues that fingered their grizzled ancient features.

The rhythmic drumbeats of the snake charmers, and the street entertainers who colonised the square, cha-cha-charred from terrace-top to terrace-top above the old Medina of Marrakech.

Clouds of spicy, pungent smoke, spat from the charcoals of merguez-grillers, roamed around the diners before departing onward upon their celestial journey, illuminated by a star-laden night sky.

Article 1 of TRAVEL WEEK by Cymposium:

A click, then an audible crackle. The microphone sprang to life. ‘Akbar Allah’. The evening call to prayer began.

On one such roof terrace The Cook was reclining upon a sun-lounger, deep in conversation with his friend The Guitar Man who plucked a last chord before listening to the melody from the minarets.

“I’m so glad you’re thinking of settling here. It’s such a magical place,” said The Guitar Man, throwing a glance at The Cook.

The Cook had spent twenty-five years on a circuitous route to find home, taking him from London to Cannes, through India and Russia, before finally settling in this place of magic potions and fakirs. Having worked his formative years for other people, and then in his own precariously financed restaurants under the ever vigilant eye of his shareholders and penury, it was a welcome relief to finally be in a place –excluding a docile bank manager- of his own.

C1xC3

Finally, White managed to mobilise the last of his major pieces.

His Riad was situated within one of the sleepy labyrinthine backstreets that slinked away from the hectic Jemaa El Fna Square. The architecture was such that it created a wholly self-enclosed environment. Like huge sentries, the solid clay-straw walls kept guard against unwelcome noise and visitors. From the open courtyards, in the heart of these buildings, a glance towards the orderly heavens afforded the onlooker a moment of utter tranquillity.

In the bedrooms, fabrics trembled seductively upon the ornate four-poster beds, while incandescent light caressed the tadelakt walls through locally purchased jali lamps. Marrakech challenged anyone to be apathetical.

The Cook drew deeply on his cigarette:

“Of course I’m grateful to the share-holders and investors who trusted and invested in me over the years, but I must honestly say, to finally have a place of my own is such a liberation. No more prying eyes, no more unwelcome suggestions and no more well meant interfering”.

The Cook stood up, making his way towards the terrace kitchen area and started to prepare their dinner. The Scallops required much work, as there were many different preparations. The first was wrapped in smoked salmon and sat upon fennel coleslaw, which lay, in turn, upon a slither of cooked beetroot. The Cook saved a few sticks of fennel and cut shavings from them, which he would go on to flour and deep fry.

“Your share-holders were always supportive though,” said The Guitar Man as he settled back into a sofa.

“They gave you your first opportunity in life. They had faith in you and gave you a platform to be who you are today. Everything, and I mean everything, that you have done since was because people with money set you free. They provided financial security, which allowed you the freedom to express yourself and become the cook that you ultimately desired. If you can now create what you want, it shouldn’t matter whether you are alone or have a handful of voices beside you.”

The Cook continued making the curry sauce, crafting magic from onions, curry powder, coconut milk and a little diced mango and pineapple. He seasoned another scallop with curry powder and cut some baby onions as finely as he could before passing them through milk and flour.

“I know that; but what I meant was that having this Riad on my own has been a release from responsibility to other people. It doesn’t matter whether your partners are silent or troublesome, I always felt an obligation to explain and justify why we should do anything. It was the constant need to consider their opinions that cast a shadow across my reasoning —or lack of reasoning as in my case.”

D6-D5

Neither player could be sure how the next exchange might unfold.

“But, surely, that kind of responsibility is beneficial” said the Guitar Man. “Maybe now you are disciplined enough to enjoy your own business. At last you have learnt a little respect for money having spent years looking after someone else’s?”

The Cook had made a paste from toasting some sesame seeds with oil and spread this upon a third Scallop. He shredded a red pepper with a similarly-coloured onion and seasoned the vegetables with sesame oil, chopped coriander, salt, pepper and lemon juice. This would be the third member of the assemblage. It would eventually be sat upon a crispy Romaine leaf.

The Guitar Man was not only a great friend and a great musician but he also dwelt amongst The Cook’s pantheon of business gods. He had created a fortune that afforded liberty —arguably the only type of liberty that was worth fighting for. Financial liberty!

The Cook pondered this idea for a moment. In his short lived experience, all his other liberties had crumbled in the absence of capital. He wondered how free a person really was if he had to rely on the goodwill or benevolence of somebody else, whether an investor, an employer or especially a government.

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Book Launch:

Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition

Chapter 2: Faith

Chapter 3: Loyalty

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 4: STRUGGLE

Pigeon with Confited Neck and Liver Sauce

“Start the next table,” roared The Cook with sweat pouring over his glowing face, his uniform covered in various juices and debris from the previous tables. He orchestrated this maniacal ballet whilst screaming orders and gesticulating wildly, knowing that he alone had to keep the momentum of the service at fever pitch.

The Cook was convinced that by manufacturing an anarchic environment he could expect his team to function at its best. By creating the impression that catastrophe was imminent, or that the arrival of one more table would prove disastrous, it focused the minds of his assistants, allowing no time for their thoughts to wander to distraction and error. Twice a day, for two-and-a-half hour sessions at a time, he drove himself and his team into a frenzy of production.

It was his hell. It was his heaven.

Reservations were deliberately taken at the same time, orders were allowed to build up and preparation was forbidden before the very last moment. This is how it had to be!

B2-B4

You need to constantly occupy your opponent.

“Give me a casserole, quickly” barked The Cook, in the direction of nobody in particular.

“We don’t have anymore” replied Ginger.

The Cook took one large stride to his right, the furthest distance he was willing to travel during this period of mayhem and grabbed a saucepan lid. The sixteen tiles he occupied were the epicentre of all the subsequent madness that occurred. The space between the stove and the tiny table, only big enough for four plates at a time, represented his pedestal, his podium, his personal asylum.

The Cook knew there were only five casseroles. He had never bothered to buy more and the subsequent pressure had proven to be a good lesson. Five casseroles for fifty customers. It would have to be enough! Comfort and plenty were their enemies.

He started to seal the pigeon on the saucepan lid, which would have to do in the absence of the right equipment.

A5-C7

At this point, White is not actually playing, just denying his opponent the opportunity to do so.

“Don’t make an effort then” spat The Cook in the direction of Ginger.

He felt contempt for that certain young assistant, who had recently arrived from the cosiness of a hotel, working in an environment where notions such as organization, preparation and practicality were the soulless mantra of the management. It was a language as unintelligible to The Cook as his own dogma of passion, will and chaos were to them.

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Book Launch:

Introduction:

Chapter 1: Ambition

Chapter 2: Faith

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 3: LOYALTY

Darne of Sea Bass with Sardine Vinaigrette

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Set within the sweatshop kitchens that have been his home, it is a journey that takes the reader from the frenetic chaos of the London’s West End to the narcissistic playgrounds of the Cote d’Azur, through amazing India and magical Marrakech to the snow-covered domes of the Kremlin before ending in the steamy jungles of beautiful Costa Rica.

The Cook invites different companions, the people who have touched him, made his life something other than mundane, to join him ‘à table‘, where, whilst preparing his signature dishes, they discuss such themes as Ambition, Loyalty and Contentment and whether such ideas are comprehensible to anyone other than the person who utters them.

LITERARY REVIEW: “OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is rather wonderful. You’ve created an extraordinary work here, and a beautifully crafted one. I found myself thinking that every creative should read it regardless of what industry they’re in or skill set they’re mastering. It raises such important questions, and is so refreshingly forthright about them. This work is unique in many ways… It’s such a smart, thoughtful, brave discussion about some really difficult (dare I say unresolvable) issues. It strikes me as a meditation, a parable, an exploration of the creative journey.”

PRICE: To access the Observations from the Kitchen, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber (or better, a patron). Should you “subscribe as paid” from one of Richard’s chapters, the proceeds will be shared equally between the editor (ie me) and the author —and you will get access to all of Guerre and Shalom’s material for a year!

So sign up and I’ll see you the other side of the paywall!

Subscribe now

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 2: FAITH

Mango with Creamed Rice and Lime Puree

“So what do you actually believe in?” asked The Sage. “What do you acknowledge as being greater than the present moment?”

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OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is set over twelve chapters, each in a different country where Richard has had the privilege to live and showcase some of his best dishes. The book involves twelve friends and personalities who, in some way, have influenced Richard over the course of his life, and these characters converse with The Cook as they wrestle with important themes that have confronted him over the course of his creative journey.

Find the book launch here:

Find the introduction here:

Richard’s Chapter 1 Summary:

Ambition. An idea that has both driven us forward as both individuals and as peoples, not to mention caused so much misery and discord. However, at its most basic level, ambition is surely just the desire for self-improvement, a vague inducement to be a better person today than you were the day before. I remember reading something years ago about ‘the perfectibility of the human condition’ and wondering whether it was possible, and if so, was a worthy ambition of which to dedicate one’s efforts. Spoiler alert. Years later, I guess its just made me miserable and difficult to be around. Never mind — maybe metempsychosis is real and I can have another go at things?

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OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN by Richard Neat

Chapter 1: AMBITION

Smoked Foie Gras with Onion Puree

C2-C4

The Cook made his first move.

An ambitious opening, full of daring and intent.

The Cook and The Pawn had embarked upon seemingly identical journeys, journeys 
that appeared at the outset daunting, perhaps even futile. Their probable fate? Frustration, ineffectuality or defeat. For how could either of them seriously hope (that cruelly illusional state of mind) that their apparent common ambition, that of reaching the eighth rank and metamorphosing into something better, something other than what they were at the beginning, was remotely realistic?

Theirs had been a convenient relationship, one that temporarily shared the burdens of a common dream before collapsing under the weight of different expectations. Like huge tectonic plates, the partners’ ambitions had rubbed uneasily beside one another before cracks inevitably began appearing. 

“Curse this damn ambition that drives you,” lamented The Pawn, shaking his head as he approached The Cook. 

The familiar smell of simmering stocks, disinfectant and discarded scallop trimmings lent the kitchen an air of normality. The extraction fan hummed its usual melody. Conversation from his chefs was minimal, their volume respectful. 

The Pawn visited the kitchen as little as possible, preferring the company of perceived friends draped in Gucci and Prada to the rag-clad lunatics encamped in the basement below. To him, the smell of luxury was vastly preferable to the smell of physical labour.

As he picked an imaginary speck from his suit, he continued. “It is a master that allows us neither rest nor peace, jeopardizing everything we’ve worked so hard for, whilst all the time I am forced to endure your increasingly ridiculous antics.”

Everyone agreed. The Cook’s behaviour had become increasingly irrational as he drove the whole machine furiously forward to a destination only he had the right to envisage.

Tap-tap-tap, as ingredients were chopped in preparation for the evening service.

“Your ingratitude seems so churlish,” replied The Cook with mock indignation. “You pretend to loath ambition, pretend to hate the exhausting, seemingly impossible demands it imposes, but hasn’t my ambition satisfied all your grubby desires?”

The Cook continued. “Think of the alternative. Think of the futility of your life’s toil without the prospect of some worthwhile achievement. Without ambition you would simply be a labourer and that you would equally despise.”

The Pawn listened with exasperation to the laments and ranting of The Cook. At twenty-five years old, both his arrogance and youthful inexperience were on full display.

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The Pawn knew that his ambition was one of tangible ideas and realisable goals. He had started out in life with few advantages, yet had managed to propel himself, through his guile and hard work to an arguably better place. It might not be the stuff of legends, but it was surely a fine achievement. Wasn’t this something everyone could aspire to?

The Cook, by contrast, was still sufficiently immature to believe that any ambition, whose sole gratification stemmed from money and an elevated social status, was beyond contempt.

According to The Cook, ambition in any field represented great strides for humanity. It was Hegelian in its purposefulness and principle. The Cook’s ambition was beyond his control, he was simply obedient to the diktats of his inner voice. It was raw and idealistic, an imaginary ideal of one-dimensional movie heroes, of men with square jaws and earnest faces. It was Howard Roark or Gary Cooper. It was an ambition that was pitifully quixotic with elements of Grecian tragedy in its strive for perfection. It was also both tedious and tiresome for those within its proximity, as it required constant attention.

Lest we forget Schopenhauer’s observation:

“If we achieve what we strive for –which is the removal of nagging dissatisfaction – then we are confronted with the nullity and pointlessness of life.”

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Today is quite a day. An important turning point in the dreams of this publication. For today, the Guerre and Shalom Publishing House has the honour of welcoming Richard Neat to serialise his sparkling memoir — a work decades in the making. Over the coming 13 weeks, every week, Richard will present a new chapter of his highly original Magnum Opus OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Richard was the youngest recipient of 2 Michelin stars for his establishment Pied à Terre in London’s Charlotte Street. His second recognition by Michelin in 1999 was for his restaurant in Cannes where he became the first Englishman to receive the honour in France. Richard honed his talents under the mentorship of Raymond Blanc at Manoir Quatre Saisons in Oxfordshire, Joel Robouchon at Jamin in Paris and Marco Pierre White at Harveys in London.

His years in London were followed by “a nomadic life”, the very subject of this much awaited book. Having lived five years in Cannes, he went on to spend two years in India, two years in Moscow, two years in Marrakech, Morocco and the last eighteen years in Costa Rica where he is currently on cheffing duties at the Park Café, San Jose.

Outside of food, Richard has many interests from photography to art to politics to philosophy to chess which he plays at just below Masters level. All of these - particularly philosophy and chess - will be very much on display in “Observations from the Kitchen”. Needless to say, he is a highly accomplished writer.

BLURB: Of course I had to write a book like “Observations from the Kitchen”. It is a synthesis of the many themes that have obsessed me, given me the greatest pleasure (and greatest suffering) over the years and provided me with a partial explanation for getting up in the morning: gastronomy, travel, grown-up conversation and a curiosity for the abstract ideas that drive us as individuals. And of course, chess, a game that has awarded me hours and days of welcome distraction from the burden and horrors of life.
The book is set over twelve chapters, each in a different country where I have had the privilege to live and showcase some of my best dishes —what someone once described as ‘the hero-dishes’. The book involves twelve friends and personalities who, in some way, have influenced me over the course of a life, and these characters converse with The Cook (me) as we wrestle with important themes that have obliged me to think over the years.

A chess game weaves its way through the story, the game being a great metaphor for life.

PRICE: As per Guerre and Shalom policy, all new published book chapters are behind a paywall. Where the author is someone other than the editor, there is a 50-50 split. So if you subscribe to Guerre and Shalom from one of Richard’s chapters, Richard will receive 50% and Daniel will receive 50%, giving you the right to to this Substack’s material for the entire year.

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So get a cup of tea, subscribe and let the adventure begin….

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN - Introduction

by Richard Neat

The Cook had sat peering over chessboards for the better part of four decades. Initially as a rapt observer watching grown-ups with their thoughtfully knitted brows pondering their options and planning their strategies, then, as soon as he could convince someone to indulge him, as a player himself. The sixty-four squares held a hypnotic fascination for The Cook, offering an alternative world, inhabited by characters he imagined as real as the players who actually breathed life into their iconic, wooden bodies. The concentration required became an escapist retreat, while the strategies and tactical considerations of the game appealed to every boy’s Napoleonic pretensions.

Over the following years, it seemed perfectly natural to The Cook, as he blundered through his own adventures and occasional disappointments, to apply its rich metaphoric language to qualify and explain the events of his life that would otherwise have perplexed him. After all, the game is not lost until the surrender of the king!

Firstly the squares; like the places we occupy, and the places we would like to get to if only we were able. A good player will have already recognised the spaces he wants to dominate during the chaotic opening flux. Apparently, a similar decisiveness in life is just as important!

Then the colours; Black and White, polar opposites that permit no ambiguity. This or that, one or the other. A schizophrenic colour scheme as bold as the different moods and responses we are capable of assuming.

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Guerre and Shalom is excited to announce that Michelin-starred superstar Richard Neat will be exclusively serialising his fantastic new book over the coming period. It’s an extremely original work: part novel, part memoir, part travelogue, part philosophy text, part creative journey, part Republic-style grand metaphor set on a chess board. It’s difficult to place the work in a (err..) Neat category, but as an erudite audience, you are the class of readers that Richard has been looking for. So what is Observations from the Kitchen about?

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is an autobiographical adventure story that unfolds upon the metaphoric battlefield of a chess board, a place The Cook uses to describe and make sense of a lifetime spent in service to gastronomy.

Set within the sweatshop kitchens that have been his home, it is a journey that takes the reader from the frenetic chaos of the London’s West End to the narcissistic playgrounds of the Cote d’Azur, through amazing India and magical Marrakech to the snow-covered domes of the Kremlin before ending in the steamy jungles of beautiful Costa Rica.

The Cook invites different companions, the people who have touched him, made his life something other than mundane, to join him ‘à table‘, where, whilst preparing his signature dishes, they discuss such themes as Ambition, Loyalty and Contentment and whether such ideas are comprehensible to anyone other than the person who utters them.

In the words of a prestigious figure in the literary world:

“OBSERVATIONS FROM THE KITCHEN is rather wonderful. You’ve created an extraordinary work here, and a beautifully crafted one. I found myself thinking that every creative should read it regardless of what industry they’re in or skill set they’re mastering. It raises such important questions, and is so refreshingly forthright about them. This work is unique in many ways… It’s such a smart, thoughtful, brave discussion about some really difficult (dare I say unresolvable) issues. It strikes me as a meditation, a parable, an exploration of the creative journey.”

In this short podcast, Richard introduces himself to the Guerre and Shalom Community with the aim of - so to speak - whetting your appetite for the journey ahead.

To access the Observations from the Kitchen, you will need to become a paid subscriber (or better, a patron). Should you “subscribe as paid” from one of Richard’s chapters, the proceeds will be shared equally between the editor (ie me) and the author —and you will get access to all of Guerre and Shalom’s material for a year!

So take a listen, sign up and I’ll see you the other side of the paywall!

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To learn more about Richard, read this exclusive Guerre and Shalom interview:

Also from the Guerre and Shalom Publishing House (for paid subscribers):

PAX ARABICA by Daniel Clarke-Serret

Introduction: The time to change the narrative is now! // Chapter 1: On Arab Imperialism // Chapter 2: On the Vanguard //Chapter 3: On Dictatorial Oppression // Chapter 4: On Islamist “Freedom” // Chapter 5: On Islamist Misery // Chapter 6: On Arab Apartheid // Chapter 7: On Middle Eastern Minorities // Chapter 8: On the Masters of Ethnic Cleansing // Chapter 9: On Genocide, Slavery and Racist Indifference //Chapter 10: On Unjust “Justice” and the Inversion of Language // Chapter 11: On Appeasement // Chapter 12: On the Man who stood against Pax Arabica // Chapter 13: On Nations, States and the Nation State // Chapter 14: On Sykes-Picot // Chapter 15: On Zionism and the duty to protect // Chapter 16: On the New Regional Sheriff // Chapter 17: On the Psychology of Strength // Chapters 18-20: To come.

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TEN LIES THAT KILLED DEMOCRACY by Ashok Panikkar

Preface: The Ten Lies that killed Democracy // The First Lie: Liberalism //The Second Lie: Cosmopolitanism // The Third Lie: Progress // The Fourth Lie: Freedom and Liberty // The Fifth Lie: Justice // The Sixth Lie: Open-Mindedness // The Seventh Lie: Equality // Eighth Lie: Power and Oppression // Next chapter out over the coming days.

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