I'm a retired head chef and a published writer on cooking matters. With over forty years experience of cooking, kitchens and training would-be chefs, I still find myself discovering new things about this most universal of activities. When I do, I like to pass them on.

This is an ongoing process and I am just beginning to move from written articles, of which there are some 300 in existence, to podcasts. I'm still experimenting with these but the first of them has just been published. You can listen to it on my web album at http://thecoolcook.magix.net.

My personal websites at http://www.all-about-cooking.com and www.thecoolcook.com contain a wealth of information, hints, tips and recipes for busy home cooks. The former also features video how-to guides on a variety of cooking matters.

There are other websites, too, all dealing with food related matters and links for these are published on the main sites. Please feel free to visit. I do accept outside contributions of merit, although I've removed the automatic way to do this. Just send me an email if you have something you would like to see published on one of my websites. You get full credit and a one-way link to your website, if you have one.

My passion is ...

Teaching others to cook

I know too much about ...

What apparently sane, civilized people are capable of

My parents always told me ...

Duck!

My childhood ambition ...

...was to avoid making a million. I'm bang on target.

My favorite memory ...

Woodstock

Why I write ...

Because I can

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

There are always four or more widely varying books on my night table

My first job ...

Ploughing and sowing and reaping and mowing

My best moment ...

They happen daily

My inspiration ...

A batchelor pad, two eggs and a frying pan.

Food & Drink > Diet, Health & Organic Foods The most common food-borne illnesses

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Food-borne illnesses are caused by microbes and their toxins. These come in the form of both bacteria and viruses, some of which will be familiar to you. They have one thing in common, given the right conditions they can kill us.

It's also true that we can kill them, but to do that we need to understand who they are and what they get up to. In the battle for supremacy as far as kitchen hygiene goes, it pays to know your enemy.

Campylobacter
If you have a bug in your kitchen (and you have) this is it. I'm grateful to the UK's FoodLink organization for the following quote:

"Campylob...

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