The Chef: Jim Fisher

Jim Fisher was a self-taught cook before reaching the semi-final of BBC Masterchef. He tells the story...

I have always been into food (indeed, as, it has been into me). I cooked my first meal at the age of fourteen following a recipe from a Margaritte Patten book - my food bible at the time.

Once married, I even cooked most of the meals at home, so I was never the ubiquitous male barbecue specialising hobby cook.

And, of course, it was me who cooked the food - and took the praise - for our many dinner parties.

But was I any good..?

Needing some objective gauge as to my competence in the kitchen gave me the idea of entering the BBC Masterchef competition. One of the judges was personal hero and TV seafood chef, Rick Stein, who's first comment on seeing and tasting one of my my winning dishes was nothing other than, "Wow!"

Fresh from Masterchef, I went on to win the £5,000 1st prize in the Rick Stein/Radio Times sea fish cookery competition with an original dish.

Building on experience...

As a consequence of all this, I was invited to work under the popular TV chef at his Seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, where I learnt many aspects of the restaurant trade. Cooking for 120 covers every lunch time, with even more in the evening, certainly honed my cooking skills leaving me hungry for more.

A stint in the London kitchens of another TV chef, Alastair Little, extended my expertise. Here, I learned the benefits of cooking great food in a simple way - Alistair Little's own raison d'être.

I subsequently appeared on the BBC Food and Drink programme working alongside chef Tony Tobin of Ready Steady Cook fame, cooking for 150 guests at a charity dinner.

A growing desire to travel...

Now confident in my cooking we set up Wine&Dine, a successful enterprise specialising in cooking dinner parties for people in the comfort of their own home. In partnership with wine expert and former wine-buyer for Sainsbury's, Julia Jenkins, I planned, prepared and cooked the meal, demonstrating the various courses. Julia selected and presented wines to go with each course.

Meals were based on my love of traditional regional dishes, not only from British shores, but also the Mediterranean and Pacific Rim.

Though very successful, Wine&Dine eventually took second place to our growing desire to travel with a view to setting up a cookery school. We sold our home, then, armed only with a one-way ferry ticket, scoured Europe in search of a suitable venue for our cooking holidays.

Come and join us...

Seven years later, and now the proud owners of a converted 17th Century farm set amid the rolling countryside of the Dordogne, we invite you to come and learn to cook some great dishes and immerse yourself, for a while at least, in our little corner of rural France.