My name is Kaushik and I love cooking and eating in equal measures. I was born and brought up in Kolkata, India before moving to the UK. We are currently living in Jersey, Channel Islands. I have a school going daughter and my wife is from the west coast of Ireland. I do most of the cooking at home and our food is an amalgamation of influences from our different cultural backgrounds, learning some basics in the food production classes of my Hotel Management Course, our travels and from the food blogs that I manage to read. My main influence is food that I grew up with at home in Kolkata. Apart from the usual Bengali food fare (known for their love of fresh water fish, lentils, rice and lots of sweets) that I was used to at home, Kolkata offered a variety of food options. The street food in Kolkata is second to none. Over the centuries Bengali cuisine has absorbed the influence of the colonial flavours of the British, Portuguese and the Dutch. The immigrants from China, Armenia, Iran brought their own influences too. The Chinese food in Kolkata cooked now for over three generations is considered one of the best in India.

In UK, I have worked and managed Italian Restaurants, multiple branches of one of the largest Pizza Chain and a restaurant serving Modern European Cuisine. I have also worked in Corporate Hospitality Events. Though most of my work experience had been in the service side of things I have maintained a keen interest in food preparation. I regularly rescearch current trends and constantly look for fresh ideas in all kinds of cuisine. Since being in UK I have tried expanding my knowledge of Indian Cuisine beyond the ones I grew up with and the obvious generic food that’s available in the Curry Houses here. I love and regularly cook dishes from the world over and am not scared to experiment in my kitchen. I believe that cooking should be kept as simple as possible and that children should be exposed to different flavours at an early age.

Our daughter is allergic to some nuts and is not very keen on eggs so some of the kids food we make are a bit limited but us parents eat almost anything. We also love eating out and travelling where we seek out local dishes as much as we can.

Through this blog I aim to share my experience at creating simple dishes that are suitable for young and old. I draw my influence from different sources and acknowledge where possible. I try to be as creative as I can using combinations from my head or something that I might have seen or heard somewhere and love to learn from Travel Cookery shows.

You can follow me on the following Social Media Sites

Twitter @kaushikpauluk

Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Loving-Dad/525787877563255

Instagram https://instagram.com/foodlovingdad/