Eat like a prince during the credit crunch

Celebrity chef Tony Tobin has unveiled his top tips to help consumers save money when it comes to surviving the credit crunch and soaring food prices in the UKs supermarkets and restaurants.

Tobin, who runs his own Surrey restaurants in Bagshot and Reigate, shared his top tips in the magazine Surrey Life where he writes a monthly column.

His first tip is obvious - keep the ingredients simple, and they don't have to be top of the range, he said.

He told Surrey Life: "For chefs, bringing out flavour on a budget is part of the alchemy of cooking – and we love it much more than just turning a steak over in a pan!

I have introduced a set menu for £19.50 at both of my restaurants in Reigate and Banstead. It changes every fortnight and doesn’t feature fillet steak or suckling pig but I get huge enjoyment from finding ways to tease fantastic flavours out of quality, middle-priced cuts of meat and untrendy fish so that people can get real taste sensations from three courses that cost less than £20 a head."

Tobin, who is a regular on the popular BBC programme Ready Steady Cook, added: "when it comes to cooking on a budget, meat is not the be-all and end-all. With your veg, you can make substantial savings by buying produce that is in season rather than courgettes that have been flown in from Australia so we can all believe that everything is available all year round.

To become a good veg shopper, don’t go into town with a recipe in your head and then buy all the ingredients you need. Half might be out of season. Go to a greengrocer or supermarket and buy the good value in-season veg and then build your meal around them."

He also said that while the mainstream press report the doom and gloom of the UK economy, there is much excitement to be gained from cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

He said: "In short, tomorrow morning when you’re not reading the depressing headlines and the Bank of England is secretly swapping your mortgage for government bonds, don’t get too down. When it comes to food, you can still eat like a prince when times are tight so long as you’re prepared to shop around and leave your oven on a little longer."

Visit http://www.tonytobinrestaurants.com/ to view one of Tobin's eateries in Surrey.

And visit www.plentyonyourplate.com for more food stories.

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