About

A little bit about Me

My name is Dennis and this is my blog, my garden and my history – some of it anyway.

About Rough Cut Kitchen

Rough Cut Kitchen is about cooking from what’s there.

That might be what’s coming out of the garden, what’s ready all at once, or what needs using before it’s wasted. The approach is simple – take what you’ve got and turn it into something worth eating.

This way of cooking didn’t start in a kitchen. It started on a farm.

I spent years farming cattle and pigs, and selling produce through farmers’ markets. That’s where I learned to think about food properly – what’s in season, what’s ready now, and how quickly things can go from perfect to wasted if you don’t use them.

At the same time, I was always growing things at home. The garden wasn’t separate from the kitchen – it fed it. Most meals started with a walk outside to see what was ready, or what needed picking before it was too late.

Cooking itself started simply. The sort of food I grew up with. Nothing complicated. Over time, that expanded into trying different styles – a lot of it rough, not always authentic, but always practical.

Later, I spent time working through the French Cooking Academy, which helped tighten up technique – understanding when it matters, and when it doesn’t.

https://www.thefrenchcookingacademy.com/about

That’s the balance this site sits in.

It’s not about perfect ingredients or perfect recipes. It’s about making good food from real conditions – seasons, gluts, storage, and whatever happens to be on hand.

Sometimes that means cooking something immediately. Sometimes it means preserving it, stretching it, or building meals around what needs to be used next.

If there’s a thread through all of it, it’s this:

Make do. Eat well.