Well who would have thought I would make it to this landmark!?
I am three hundred and ninety-nine recipes in, and there is but fifty more to go before I complete the project. I’ve always found it a little annoying that there is 449 recipes and not 450, but then, Ms Grigson wasn’t counting them as she wrote.
My approach to food now is really a world away compared to when I wrote my first post #1 Smoked Finnan Haddock Soup all the way back in September 2007. I can now bake bread and cure meat, roast a woodcock and make a good stock. The blog has travelled two continents, and inspired me to start up my own food business. At the moment – and this explains why the number of posts have decreased of late – I am writing the business plan with will hopefully result in me opening a little restaurant next year. Fingers crossed on that one!
In order for me to complete the book, I need to track down some tricky-to-find ingredients, and so I’m going to list them below and if you per chance know how I can get hold of them, do please let me know. Here goes:
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ptarmigan
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calves’ brains
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Harvey’s sauce
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snipe
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elvers (baby eels, sometimes called glass eels)
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sea kale
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roach (the freshwater fish, not the creepy-crawly)
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a goose, capon or turkey with the head still on (surprisingly tricky to find!)
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a cold-smoked chicken
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gigots of primitive-breed lambs
Neil Cooks Grigson 
For the goose, turkey or capon you could try Johnson & Swarbrick at Goosnargh near Preston. They slaughter their own birds & will sell direct. I used to get my Christmas birds from them when I lived up there. For the smoked chicken, Cheshire Smokehouse? Perhaps they'd do a special request if all else fails. There's a game dealer in Lytham, they might know about ptarmigan & snipe.
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Cheers for the heads up, Anth. I'll definitely be check out that poulterer iin Preston xx
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I'm a bit far away for this conversation, but have bought cold smoked chickens at several Polish delis in New York, so perhaps there's a Polish grocery shop somewhere in the north-west? And I second the Lytham game shop as a resource. They've been around for many years – I remember the place as a child in the 60s and 70s – and should be a good source of information.Well done with the recipe count, and the restaurant plan sounds fantastic!
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Good going on the -50 point.Perhaps you already know all about this, there's a recording of Jane from Roy Plomley's Desert Island Discs from 1978 on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/d1d23b40 The lady speaks. Mike Inkansascity
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Hi Neil,Well done on your milestone, and very best wishes for the restaurant!The links below may help in your search for elvers:http://www.cefas.defra.gov.uk/our-science/fisheries-information/eels/eel-fishing.aspxhttp://fishonfriday.org.uk/the-return-of-the-elvers/Smoked chicken can be found here:http://www.uptonsmokery.co.uk/catalogue_item.php?catID=1607&prodID=8261Snipe will be an occasional treat from a game dealer, but the marshes around the south Cumbria, north Lancashire coastline are good habitat for them, so maybe seek out a game dealer or a shoot in those areas? The Wildfowlers' Association may be able to help. I have occasionally bought them over the counter from the shop of Teesdale Game & Poultry:http://www.teesdalegame.co.uk/Might be worth giving them a ring?Anything else I think of, I will add later!
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If by Harvey's sauce you mean Harvey's ketchup it is available, or was about 6 months ago, in Sainsbury's
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Thanks so much for all your help with my odd 'to do' list!I feel that I am going to get a good few steps closer in the coming months to really finishing it!
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