Kenny McGovern - More Takeaway Secrets

MORE TAKEAWAY SECRETS

How to Cook More of Your Favourite Fast Food at Home

ONLINE GALLERY

To view photos of takeaway dishes made by readers of The Takeaway Secret and photos of recipes in this book, scan the QR code shown above with your mobile or tablet or simply enter fug.io/ryx into your web browser.

Also in Right Way

The Takeaway Secret*

The Curry Secret

The New Curry Secret

An Indian Housewifes Recipe Book

Chinese Cookery Secrets

Thai Cookery Secrets

Curries and Spicy Dishes for Your Slow Cooker

*Also by Kenny McGovern

www.constablerobinson.com/rightway

HOW TO COOK MORE OF
YOUR FAVOURITE FAST FOOD
AT HOME

Kenny McGovern

Constable & Robinson Ltd
5556 Russell Square
London WC1B 4HP
www.constablerobinson.com

First published by Right Way, an imprint of Constable & Robinson, 2012

Copyright Kenny McGovern 2012

The right of Kenny McGovern to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-7160-2300-5
eISBN: 978-0-7160-2301-2

Printed and bound in the EU
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

My interest in recreating takeaway and fast-food dishes at home was one I never imagined would be shared by others. For many months and even years, I quietly worked away in my kitchen, hoping to please only myself with the dishes I cooked. What began as a fun hobby quickly progressed into something of an obsession and before long I was attempting to recreate several things every day of the week. With every success came a renewed interest in finding other dishes to recreate, to the extent that I looked forward to the newest takeaway menu coming through the letterbox in order that I could decide which new menu items I might try to cook.

As time passed I began to share my recipes with family and friends. I soon found that my interest was shared by more than a few people, particularly among those on various internet football forums who had tried and tested the recipes I passed on to them. Soon I was being sent photographs of various takeaway dishes people had made, along with requests and suggestions for other dishes I might try to create recipes for. The recipes were proving increasingly popular and so I was encouraged to put them together in a book. Initially, the book was seen simply as a further extension of my hobby, something I might create myself that could be enjoyed by a few friends and family.

Over time I was encouraged to aim higher and hope that the book may be made available to a wider audience. With thanks to the great support from Constable and Robinson, this is exactly what happened and The Takeaway Secret was published. I could hardly contain my excitement on its release and, with every day that has passed since its publication, I have been both humbled and amazed by how well it has been received among those people who have purchased a copy. Their support and enthusiasm for the recipes have been beyond my wildest dreams and I cant thank everyone involved enough for joining in my obsession.

In the introduction to The Takeaway Secret I also decided to include the real story of where my interest in cooking these widely available dishes at home had come from. I spoke about my struggle with Social Anxiety Disorder and the effect it had on my everyday life, leaving me almost housebound at times through panic attacks and severe anxiety. While the response to the recipes pleased me very much, I was also hugely delighted by the number of people who got in contact to offer words of encouragement and support in relation to my illness. Even more touching was the fact that I also received emails from people who suffer from the same illness, many of whom had purchased the book purely to enjoy cooking takeaway food and had been surprised when they recognised themselves in my description of Social Anxiety. Its been hugely helpful to me to be able to discuss the illness with so many people and I am delighted that making reference to it in the book has had such a positive effect. I still struggle with the effects of the illness to this day but am hopeful that I can continue to make progress in dealing with the difficulties it brings.

Of course, in relation to Social Anxiety Disorder, my huge thanks go to my fiance Rebecca and my family and friends who have been constantly supportive and understanding. Their help and encouragement have been ever present both in everyday life and in the writing of these books and their influence cannot be underestimated.

Special mention should also go to Roisin and Christy, my young niece and nephew, who have been extremely helpful in taste-testing every dessert included in the book. Even when the results met with instant approval, their perfectionism demanded that the various cakes and biscuits be baked again and again, determined as they were to double and triple check every dessert dish for completely selfless reasons. Even now, with the book completed, they remain eager to carry on testing just one more time

After the release of The Takeaway Secret, it could have been assumed that my interest had reached its peak. In fact, the response the book had and the many requests made for future recipes led to my obsession growing stronger than ever. Within only a few weeks I found myself back in the kitchen with a long list of dishes I had yet to fully master. The beauty of the fast-food industry and the modern world we live in is that the range of foods increases from day to day and week to week. Its just one of many positives in a multicultural society that we learn more about the foods enjoyed around the world and as we share our lives with people of varying ethnicities and nationalities, the fast-food menu becomes ever more diverse. There is always another dish to create or another flavour to find and, on that note, I hope that you are ready to enjoy More Takeaway Secrets

As my interest in recreating fast food at home has grown, the number of dishes Ive attempted to recreate has grown with it. My interest in takeaway dishes initially involved nothing more than frequently purchasing fast food and the number of orders I made to my local delivery restaurants very much reflected my lack of cooking ability!

Ive become much more confident in the kitchen and discovered that, even when things dont go quite to plan, cooking is still a fun and enjoyable process. Many people are intimidated by the idea of cooking and this apprehension isnt helped by various TV chefs whose programmes often involve aggressive tirades and military style instructions, shouted in anger and directed at nervous and timid amateur cooks. The impression is given that cooking is extremely serious business and the slightest mistake constitutes a complete disaster.