English Chef and Author

May 17, 2000

Whether you want to know about traditional teatime or the writing life, this esteemed British chef and author will answer your questions about food, cooking, and entertaining!

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HomeArts: Hello and welcome to our chat with English chef and author Frances Bissell! Whether you want to know about traditional teatime or the writing life, this esteemed British chef and author will answer your questions. Welcome, Frances!

Frances Bissell: Thank you very much! I'm delighted to be here, and very much looking forward to talking with you about food, cooking, and entertaining!

Chefette: Frances, I noticed at an online bookstore that your newest book is about cooking with organic meats. What prompted you to write this book? Do you find organic meats to be of superior quality?

Frances Bissell: That's a very interesting question. It's something that has concerned me, really, ever since I began writing about food. I think it's very, very important to know where our food comes from. And so, for me, buying and cooking with organic meat means that I can always be assured that the animals have been properly raised, that they've been fed on a diet most suited to them, and that they will have been slaughtered humanely. As both a cook and a consumer, that is simply something that is important to me, and I'm quite prepared to pay the small amount extra that it costs, and not to eat meat that often.

TeaAholic: I read on Victoria's website that you are having your own blend of tea produced. What distinguishes it - and other high quality teas - from regular supermarket teas?

Frances Bissell: I think there are many fine single-estate teas, and there are many fine blends of tea. For me, the key is to choose tea that has come from a single estate, because each estate, like each vineyard, has its own particular characteristics - its own flavor, its own color, its own texture. The more I drink teas from a single estate, whether from India, or China, or Ceylon, the more I realize that it is not an expensive pleasure at all. It doesn't cost a great deal more than buying a standard supermarket blend; but you are getting an infinitely superior quality. What I do, in making up my own special blend, is something that our grandmothers used to do all the time - they would choose teas, or they would ask their tea merchants to mix them a blend of tea according to the tastes of that particular household.

Rockjoc: What is your favorite meal to cook?

Frances Bissell: I'm often asked this, and it's impossible to answer, because usually I find that what I'm cooking at that moment is my favorite thing. It depends on the season, where I am, and who I'm cooking for. But, as long as I have good, fresh ingredients, then I'm happy to cook anything!

Truiettbriggsx4: How many books do you have out now?

Frances Bissell: Since 1985, I've written twelve books, including the most recent one, called "An A to Z of Food and Wine in Plain English" which I wrote with my husband, Tom Bissell. Not all of the books are still in print, but some are available through various websites.

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