Meet Tom Ewer, the "Gypsy Chef"
Tom Ewer isn’t just proud of his Romany heritage: it’s a constant inspiration to him in his work as a professional chef. In this special feature, “the Gypsy Chef” tells us about how food, fire and family have influenced his trade
“One of my strongest childhood memories is making bubble and squeak with my Granddad on a Monday morning,” says Tom Ewer. “The smell of potato and cabbage combined with some bacon: food heaven. I have always linked food with family, and quality time talking about times past and stories of old.
“Having been in the kitchen from a very early age, it was only natural that I would end up working in them. I started from the bottom when I was sixteen: working in kitchens helped pay for my education.
Romany culture and tradition offers the modern chef a wealth of intrigue and interest, says Tom. “Food is life-giving but it also brings the family together. I love nothing more than slow cooking an inexpensive piece of meat with a selection of humble vegetables, served with some homemade bread to clean my plate.
“I would give up all the modern equipment you find in a kitchen today for a couple of green sticks, a good fire and some locally caught rabbits and foraged produce.”
Tom tells of his Grandad John, whose family originally came from South Wales but settled in Birmingham in the early 1900s. His skill with his hands has been an inspiration to Tom.
“He is the most industrious person I have ever known, able to fashion anything with limited tools and time, never needing to measure anything: just using his eye! I learned how to be a true man from my Granddad and this will be something that I will never forget and will pass on to my own children.”
“I would sit for many an hour listening to his stories of when he was a child, stories he’d heard from his own mother, whose hair came down to her knees!
“I will make sure that his stories live on and that his traditional understanding of life and the world will never die,” says Tom, as his unique approach to cookery definitely proves.
Read the full length interview with Tom Ewer, and get his special recipe for spit-roasted rabbit, in the issue 53 of Travellers' Times.
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