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Sourdough pizza at home ๐Ÿ•My first attempt at sourdough baking altogether (shocking, I know). Seeing the dough rise durin...
06/03/2026

Sourdough pizza at home ๐Ÿ•

My first attempt at sourdough baking altogether (shocking, I know). Seeing the dough rise during proofing with no added yeast was far more exciting than I care to admit.

I made a few variations, but this one's a simple Marg - tomato, basil, mozzarella, and a drizzle of quality EVOO.

I've eaten pizzas everywhere from Naples to questionable 3am takeaways, and somehow a good Margherita still holds the top spot for me.

A few things to refine, but I'm pretty pleased with how they came out. Cooked in the Roccbox, of course.

Credit where it's due - 's dough recipe is fantastic. Even with a few mistakes and changes it turned out brilliantly.

Noma Projects HQ โš—๏ธ The day after the cooking workshops at , I had the opportunity to tour the  production space - a beh...
10/01/2026

Noma Projects HQ โš—๏ธ

The day after the cooking workshops at , I had the opportunity to tour the production space - a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the most unusual flavours in the world are created.

We moved through a series of stations, starting with a miso masterclass led by the wizard . We were given 4 options for bases, 2 koji variants, and 4 flavour variants to create our own unique miso pastes. Once ground, we vac-packed them and mine is still in my freezer ready to ferment! I'll post the progress once started.

The choices were:
- Base: Yellow split-peas, fava beans, rye bread, lupin
- Koji: Rice or barley
- Flavouring: Elderflower pulp, rose pulp, chilli paste, sun-dried tomato powder
- Essential: salt

I went for lupin, barley koji and sun-dried tomato. Chef Kevin explained the months-long process of sourcing, drying and re-testing tomatoes to land on the perfect product. Essentially a one-off Noma sun-dried tomato - I just had to.

After that, we A/B tested and gave feedback on 16 unreleased products, met the foraging team, and had a snack of baby pinecones and wood ants - which I swear is tastier than it sounds. The ants had a citrus flavour - and if it helps, they bit me first!

We finished with soft-serve made from blackcurrant wood, peach tree sap and buttermilk, topped with a sauce of pinecones, wood-ants and elderberries.

I learned so much from this experience and loved every second. Such a rare insight into one of the most innovative and unique food labs on earth.

Char Siu Pork with Sushi Rice ๐Ÿฅฉ๐Ÿš Improvised recipe based on some rushed research - couldn't make it again the same way i...
28/07/2025

Char Siu Pork with Sushi Rice ๐Ÿฅฉ๐Ÿš

Improvised recipe based on some rushed research - couldn't make it again the same way if I tried, but then again I'd rather spend more time researching and coming up with something closer to authentic.

Pork shoulder, cut into large steaks, marinated all day and then pressure cooked. Finally, thrown into the pizza oven at insane temps. Removed a few times to turn and re-glaze, and it fell apart in the process into these lovely chunks. flsviured the rice with the cooking juices.

Very excited to do this again properly soon.

ย 

Cooking at Noma ๐ŸŒฟYeah, you heard that right. Last week, I attended two workshops at  - Chef's Skills and Hospitality, pl...
24/07/2025

Cooking at Noma ๐ŸŒฟ

Yeah, you heard that right. Last week, I attended two workshops at - Chef's Skills and Hospitality, plus some other incredible experiences which I'll post soon. We explored their approach to hospitality, from their focus on the smaller details such as noticing left handed guests, to the larger themes like their lack of dress-code and choices of cutlery.

Then into the prep kitchen, where Chef showed us their formula for an often-used glaze/sauce at Noma, which they call 'fudge' due to its texture. It can be adapted to any flavour combination, and we were given various ingredients and seasonings to create our own unique 'fudges' which we were able to jar and take home. After that, we were shown a less home-friendly technique using liquid nitrogen to preserve the green colours and flavours in herbs before turning them into a pesto-like paste.

I managed to keep all of my limbs intact whilst using the liquid nitrogen, grinding the quick-frozen herbs to a fine dust, before combining with flavoured oils and seasonings to create a unique pesto. I ate all of mine by dipping various leaves and flowers.

This experience far-exceeded my hopes and expectations, and among other things, I can officially say I cooked in the Noma kitchens. I was hoping they'd let me crack an egg or slice an onion just to be able to say that, but what we did in those kitchens was far more meaningful and rewarding. Might even buy myself some liquid nitrogen - but don't tell my wife.

Bonus pic - Ponzu, Defender of the Garden.

Garlic paprika chicken in the Roccbox ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿง„Spatchcocked chicken marinated in a mix of paprika oil (paprika + olive oil, hea...
07/07/2025

Garlic paprika chicken in the Roccbox ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿง„

Spatchcocked chicken marinated in a mix of paprika oil (paprika + olive oil, heated for 10 minutes on low) and garlic for 24h, then cooked to perfection in the pizza oven. Paired it with blanched asparagus, finished in the Roccbox, along with spinach salad and toast infused with the chicken juices and flavoured oils.

Finished it off with a drizzle of wild garlic oil and plenty of .

Unbelievably good food, and loved using the Roccbox for every aspect of the meal.

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