I’m Tom Goodenough. I am studying hospitality and catering at City of Oxford College and I work in the college’s Waterside Restaurant. I have wanted to be a chef since I was at school.

As well as working and training at The Waterside, I have worked for over a year at Giraffe restaurant in Abingdon and also work at The White Horse in Abingdon.

My cooking style is traditional and French cuisine and my signature dish is Pork Blanquette.

When I’m too tired to cook, I like Chinese takeaway and my favourite places to eat and drink around Oxfordshire are Oxy Chinese, O’Neill’s and the Bell and Compass in Oxford My favourite kind of cuisine is Italian and I am inspired by Jamie Oliver.

The recipe I chose is chicken stir-fry as I am preparing a Chinese themed evening on April 30 at The Waterside.

Ingredients
* Oil
* 1 chicken breast cut into pencil thin strips and seasoned
* 1 tbsp honey
* Finely sliced red pepper
* 2 spring onions
* Diagonally halved mange tout
* sliced water chestnuts
* finely sliced pak choi (keep white and green separate)

For sauce
* 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
* ½ tsp diluted cornflour
* 1 tbsp hoi-sin sauce
* 25g/1oz cashew nuts

Method
Heat the oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Keeping a high heat add the chicken and seal all over, pour over the honey and brown slightly until fully cooked through.

Remove from the pan, set aside and keep warm.

Add the spring onions, fry for a few seconds then add all the other ingredients except the green parts of the pak choi.

Add the soy sauce, hoi-sin and cornflour and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and the green parts of the pak choi and bring back to simmer, add the nuts and serve.

Egg fried rice
Ingredients
* 1 egg lightly beaten
* 2 tsp sesame oil
* Salt
* 1 tsp groundnut oil
* 200ml quantity of cooked long grain rice
* Black pepper
* 1 finely chopped spring onion

Season the eggs and add the spring onion, set aside.

Heat the wok over a high heat add the groundnut oil and when it reaches smoking point add the rice and stir well, not allowing it to stick.

When the rice is fully cooked through, add the egg mixture and a little sesame oil.

Cook until the eggs have set and the mixture is dry. Season with pepper and serve.

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