Dave “Yeti” Newell

WHATYOULOOKIN’AT!?

So this biographical thing… Is it like the A/S/L of old? Well, 26/M/UK. Problem?

Favourite Bands:
Too many to list really..  Most recently it’s been Aeternam, Nightwish, Poets of the Fall, Kartikeya, Seth. Ect, Souldrainer, Keep of Kalessin, Behemoth, Cyanotic,  Ghost Brigade, Septic Flesh, Two Steps From Hell.. The list could go on and on and on, I’ll probably change this as and when

Favourite Chilli:
I want to say naga jolokia, but those things burn you twice, and I’m not so keen on the second round.  My favourites are probably scotch bonnets or habaneros, but for now I’ll say scotch bonnets as I’ve cooked with them more – they’ve got a brilliant fruity flavour and if deseeded you can get away with using them quite liberally

Mike Leach

I’m a 25 year old web developer with a passion for cooking, strongly leaning towards the eastern side of the world in terms of cuisine, music, photography and extreme sports.

Eastern cuisine is my forte and is by far the cuisine I cook the most of, with particular favour given to Indian cuisine.  The vast array of spices, herbs and cooking methods make it one of the most interesting cuisines to follow.  I am particularly fascinated with the history of Indian cooking and how spices and cooking methods vary between India’s many regions.

Anybody who knows me knows I teeter on the mental side when it comes to heat levels in food and the use of chillies.  I’m a self confessed capsaicin addict and the vast majority of dishes I cook will use a chilli in one way or another.  I am, however, a firm believer in flavoursome dishes and I will be bearing this in mind when posting recipes. I will post a few super hot recipes for any fellow hot-heads out there: these will have clear warnings 🙂

Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese, Mexican and Spanish are cuisines which get my close attention, and you can be assured these will make up the majority of my posts.  Recently, however, I’ve taken a firm liking to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his River Cottage book collection, imparticular his books ‘Everyday’ and ‘Meat’.  These contain many English and French style dishes and of the ones I’ve tried so far, are absolutely excellent.

I am really looking forwards cooking in 2012, and it’s great to have metalchef.co.uk around to document the recipes, and as Rick mentioned, the cock-ups, to be placed online for everyone to try.

Favourite Bands: Pain of Salvation, Orphaned Land, Amorphis, Opeth, Haggard, Amon Amarth, Evergrey, Devin Townsend, Sonata Arctica, Katatonia, Eluveitie, Skyclad, Therion, Nightwish, Pagans Mind… This list could grow huge, though much of this music has been discovered through festivals such as Bloodstock Open Air, Waken, Grasspop and gigs up and down the country.

Favourite Chilli:  I’d say this needs to be broken down in to three further categories.

Favourite ‘Every day’ chilli: Thai Red.  The Thai Red is a small, skinny and firm skinned chilli with a sharp bite yet isn’t incredibly powerful and with seeds removed provides a pleasant ‘fresh’ taste with a nice ‘kick’.  They’re used abundantly in Chinese, Thai and and Vietnamese recipes, and they’re great for spicing up a bolognese or finely chopping and sprinkling on a pizza.

Favourite ‘Flavour’ chilli: Orange Habanero.  It has to be said, the best tasting chilli’s are the super hots.  It’s a shame, because unless you’ve built up your chilli tolerance to being able to handle around at least the 150,000 scoville scale mark, you most probably won’t be able to taste through the razor sharp bite of a super hot to appreciate the incredibly beautiful, fruity, peach like flavours that chillies such as the Orange Hab, Scotch Bonnet and even the Nagas have lying underneath their bite.

Favourite ‘Pain’ chilli: Dorset Naga.  Yes, you read that right, ‘Favourite Pain’ chilli – I must be mental right?  There’s science behind chillies and the associated pain, that ‘buzz’ which you get.  It’s all to do with endorphines being released and a high you get from your body’s reaction to it.  But seriously, a Dorset Naga tastes incredible, but at the same time your face is turning bright red and you forget where you are for 5 minutes.  The smell of the Dorset Naga is out of this world, and they look devilish.  Oh, and they’re grown on UK soil in Dorset (you wouldn’t have guessed) and they were the SHU champion for a while.

Rick Ogden

Rick is the keyboardist for the UK female fronted metal band Liquid Sky. He is particularly keen on the melodic and progressive metal styles. Aside from music he is also an avid computer enthusiast (by trade) specialising in PHP and web development and loves food. He is particularly partial to Indian, and Mexican food, but also thoroughly enjoys Middle Eastern, Greek, African and and Continental cuisine.

Favourite Bands: Pain of Salvation, Opeth, Sonata Arctica, Devin Townsend

Favourite Chilli: Scotch Bonnet – rather hot but with an incredible fruity flavour that cuts through most dishes

Peter “Spainy” Spain

In Mourning, Wolverine, Arcturus, Scar Symmetry, 2 Times Terror, Devin Townsend Project, Pain of Salvation

Favourite Chilli:

Anything that has some flavour is always preferred. I do also like the Thai Red Mr Leach discusses above, as I do like the kick in many Asian dishes. Food should taste great, especially if it is trying to kill you!