Extreme Delsey Dining.

Those of you that have been to my house in the last 20 years will know I'm quite into my cooking. As such my girth has gradually grown in that time to the extent that I thought it about time I did something about it. That started about 5 months ago now I think. I'm not entirely sure because it has been a while now and unlike many diets, I don't find this one much of a chore. I'm doing the Atkins programme whereby I don't eat carbohydrates. I've lost about 15kgs (about 2stone 5lbs to you old fashioned lot) in that time and I'm starting to really feel I'm making progress.

Anyhoo, I've always had a bit of a penchant for Delsey dining (preparing my own food in my hotel rooms around the place) but recently I've taken it to a new level. In the early days it used to be a bowl of cereals to avoid the horrendously expensive hotel breakfasts and the fact that I don't always get up in time for it especially when you get of duty at 3am. Then I started on ready made salads with ham. Tonight's extravaganza was half a chicken with a salad made in room and a huge chunk of Brie.



Some places we stay are easier to do this in than others. For example I was in Auckland last week and had a little kitchenette complete with cooker, oven and even a dishwasher. Here I had to go down to the restaurant and beg for a plate. The last time I was here (Sharjah, UAE BTW) I didn't bother with the plate but just chucked it all in a bag. I had left over roast pork which I turned into a Thai Salad with the addition of some fish sauce, lime juice, corriander, onion and chilli (a bastardisation of Laab Gai which is one of my fave dishes in the world). I have inherited a love of radishes from my Grandfather so you might see that is a common theme here. Another common theme when I am here is an olive preparation called Egyptian Cocktail which are olives with pickled lemon and chilli. They are about as hot as the surface of the sun.



It's something I quite enjoy doing and when you are in a place that is as culinary (sp) barren as this it means I get some nice fresh food that fits my current eating habits without breaking the bank. Living in hotels can get really quite expensive if you are not careful and eating on your own isn't always my favourite option. At least in my room I get to watch the TV.