Desert island dishes

Mark Bodley
Head of catering, Freemans Event Partners

Fried chicken
Fried chicken is my absolute go-to. I lived in Alabama for three years and they just do it right in the Deep South of America.

During the time I lived there I met Brad McDonald, an incredible Mississippi-based chef, and he shared his family recipe with me, so this is the one I use. It’s a three-day long process, but it’s well worth the wait – you just can’t go wrong with Deep South fried chicken! I love the recipe so much that we’re looking at putting it on some of our menus so sports fans can enjoy it too.

Jambalaya
No matter what, I always have a tub of jambalaya in my fridge at home. It’s the perfect meal to have after a long day, and it tastes even better the next day as leftovers. I love to include chorizo, chicken thighs, peppers and chilli, and there’s a lovely heat to this combination that I can’t get enough of.

This is another dish I’ve taken with me from my time in America. The time I spent living there had a huge impact on the flavours and dishes I love.

Eggs benedict
Eggs benedict is the king of breakfasts, and it needs to be done properly with nice ham and a rich, buttery Hollandaise sauce. It’s the dish I always look forward to on a Sunday morning.

Sticky toffee pudding
I love the combination of hot and cold, and I think every dessert should have this contrast! With this in mind, sticky toffee pudding is the ultimate pudding for me. I just can’t get enough of the warmth from the sauce paired with cold ice cream.

Strawberry samosas
The first time I went to Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Hospital Road I tried a strawberry samosa and this was a complete game-changer for me. I came into the food industry quite late and it was this dish that changed my whole world and led me into this career.

It was exciting to taste something so experimental, and the chocolate, strawberries and pastry were delicious. I’ve tried to recreate it myself but have never quite managed to get it to the standard of Hospital Road!

St. Louis Donut Burger
At Freemans Event Partners, we recently created a new food menu with Delaware North at London Stadium for the return of Major League Baseball, and the standout dish for me had to be the St. Louis Donut Burger.

This was a glazed doughnut bun stacked with two 4oz burgers, topped with a bacon crumble, cheese, bacon and dill pickle salad, and bacon mayonnaise. Everything about it should’ve been wrong, but it was so right and a real talking point! The whole menu reflected flavours from the rival teams from St. Louis and Chicago, and the burger had everything you would expect from a standard burger but with a sweet twist. It sold incredibly well.

What book would you take?
Deep South by my friend Brad McDonald. He’s a Mississippi-based chef and this book is like my bible. It’s packed with incredible knowledge of Deep South cooking. 

And what one luxury item?
Probably a ball! I’m very active so it would keep me occupied and entertained.

Which dish would you take if you could only have one?
It would have to be the fried chicken – you just can’t beat it!

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