Who is Chris Pople?

The internet is full of 'things'. Some are interesting, some are distracting and some are things that once seen, cannot be unseen. I look at the internet and enjoy watching it shift across the conciousness of our social world like a vast ocean of digital opinion that is in parts deep and calm, or energetic and dangerous or maybe just got a load of crap floating on top of it. As such, it's always fantastic when I find a solitary nugget of common sense, decent independent thinking or just something that makes me laugh uncontrollably.

Recently I've been dredging through the waves of mediocrity that the interwebs can throw up and found a few blogs which are as sharp as a mermaids lingerie shop which I felt must be shared with you lovely people. 

Firstly, and in no particular order, I love BBQ. I haven't managed to talk about it much over the past year or so but as soon as the weather permits (and often when it doesn't), I have the family cooking alfresco. I found:

http://countrywoodsmoke.com/
http://ukbbqreview.com/

Both blogs are run by the same guy and have a mega amount of information on offer. Marcus is a clear and serious BBQ fanatic who posts very frequently. There are a lot of recipes as well equipment and the odd restaurant review was well. The Facebook page is well attended and has loads of people contributing, the community is well established and friendly with more than enough people willing to help with advice and suggestions. I like the straight forward and honest approach as well as tone Marcus manages to strike in his posts, I'm still not convinced by the dirty steak habit that Marcus seems to have developed as I can't quite justify the possibility of ruining such a nice (and expensive) bit of meat. It's just a shame that we are all not as lucky as him to have such ingredients on our doorstep!

Secondly I've been looking at:

http://www.foodmk.com/

This is a big up for my man Ray Harrison who is one of the few bloggers who has a particular penchant (or ponshont as I like to pronounce it when in polite company) for game. In Buckinghamshire, we are surrounded by fantastic produce and game is so underrated. While subjecting the family to a very controlled diet last month a friend tried to tempt me away by offering the results of a recent shoot. I held firm (of course) but now I'm determined to call in that particular favour as quickly as possible. Ray is local to me so that's always a bonus and although he has recently not been as active as in the past, here is a request - let's hear more from you Ray! Inspired by Ray, I hope to be looking at far more game this year, pheasant, partridge, rabbit or grouse bring it all on! 

Finally and more specifically connected to the subject of this particular post, who is Chris Pople? Well, he is the man behind:

http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/

I will readily admit that I, as a general rule, tend to shun the London 'scene'. The trend of following chefs around from place to place or knowing who owns what and dropping names like Atlas stones. If it's good food then it's good food, regardless of whose name is above the door. Reputation is hard fought for and well earned but when the focus is on the person rather than the product then, in my opinion, the focus is a bit adrift. Anyway, my point is that Chris is apparently a serious big fish in the food blogging world. Highlighted in the top 1,000 most influential Londoners for the last four years running, as well as being credited with one of the top ten food blogs by both the New Statesman and The Times (be warned, the link needs a subscription) and I had never heard of him. Not that I should have of course as he is almost exclusively London based, although he does sometimes get out and about to give him his due. One thing that must be said is that the man is absolutely prolific, having read back through his blog for a couple of weeks now I have absolutely no idea about two things:

1) How the hell can he afford to eat out so often? Clearly, as a fully paid up member of the London School of Movers and Shakers, he would get a few freebies but the frequency with which the man posts and the volume of cash that moves through his receipts tells me that whatever he is doing during the day, he must be pretty good at it.
2) How the hell can he afford to eat out so often? I think I mentioned this before but it's worth saying again. Perhaps Chris hasn't got a family, mortgage, bills, car, telephone, TV, friends or anything else that pulls the cash out of my pocket faster than I can put it in, but clearly we move in different circles.

Anyway, I digress, and as my little diatribe shows, I am disgustingly jealous of not just his success and seeming ability to disregard petty things such as money, but also of his writing. It's a fabulous approach of humour and honesty in a style that could, and should, put many other professionals to shame. I lost a good few hours going back over the hundreds of posts laid out on the site and while I have no idea if this is his only job, hints here and there would suggest not. Chris reviews more restaurants that I ever knew existed in London and he seems to be on a one man mission to eat absolutely everywhere and one thing is for sure; I may have come late to the party, but I can certainly make the most of it while I'm here! Having such a list of places that come recommended (or not as the case may be) is fantastic and he hits the perfect point of London's fast moving culinary approach. While the rest of the country can't quite match the pace of the capital, it's great to have that underlying base of knowledge available when I do get in to see family or friends.

So, in conclusion and by the irrefutable law of averages, after finding such gems in the mostly oppressive drudge of the internet, I am destined to be shovelling through crap for the next year. Well, the sooner I start the sooner I'll finish...