A clef, a chef, throw in food and hey, presto!

MOST regular domestic cooks would agree there are two types of meals. Unless cooking and food are up there on a par with, say, the continued good health of nearest and dearest or the meaning of life, the first is the vague stab at sustenance begrudgingly knocked out after yet another draining day at the coalface.

The second is a different kettle of fish. It is conducted at a much more leisurely pace with real care taken in selection and preparation of the produce and, ideally, it will be shared with good friends and loved ones. The cooking itself may be protracted but should also be immensely enjoyable, providing you do it right. And what’s right? Well, a glass from that nice bottle you’ve opened for dinner always helps but, crucially, you need the right music playing in the background.

Cooking Songs (Sony Music) is a new compilation album which comes accompanied by eight recipes from TV chef and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here winner Gino D’Acampo. Lovely, says you, let’s give it a whirl. Let’s see, One Direction, JLS, Westlife, hmmm. Not my cup of tea but it’s a free world. Anything else? Dolly Parton’s 9-5? The Nolans? Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’? Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’? ‘Big Ron’ Keating and ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’? Can you spot a theme? No, neither can we. Is there even a food or cooking-themed tune here at all? Annie Lennox’s ‘Walking on Broken Glass’? Kelly Clarkson’s ’Stronger’ (What Doesn’t Kill You)?