So you think it’s glamorous to be a private chef?… Think again! I feel like i live in Supermarkets… I get up and shop, after lunch i shop again and on my way home at night, i find Post-it in my pockets with:

“Pick up quart of milk!” written on it.

How unfair life can be!

My circle of friends boils down to a few fellow shoppers waiting online at the cash register.

Maybe i exaggerate a little…

The wonderful thing is, markets can be a great source of inspiration when you like to cook. I love tomatoes this time of the year, beautiful heirlooms juicy and flavorful that do not require fancy preparations, they are perfect in their own irregular way.

There’s a recipe i particularly like in Melissa Clark’s Cookbook “Chef, Interrupted” the recipe is from Chef Dan Barber, here’s an adaptation:

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Sheep’s-Milk Ricotta (serves 6)

• 3 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup cubed seedless watermelon
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese, preferably sheep’s-milk
• 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs such as basil, lemon thyme, marjoram, mint, or chives

Divide the heirloom and cherry tomatoes and the watermelon among 6 plates. Sprinkle with salt
and pepper and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes and watermelon begin to give off some of their liquid.

Dot the tomatoes with spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the herbs. Serve immediately.

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The only thing you could do to improve this recipe would be to follow the advice from a famed Canadian chef named Pascale Carpino, it goes: “If i sing when i cook, the food is going to be happy”.

My daily grind is suddenly worth it once i taste the fruit of my labor (pun intended), that’s my reward for being a cook…in my kitchen I’m the ruler of the Kingdom, and in a perfect selfish way, I’m always the one who gets the first bite.