The Sixty6 Unofficial World Cup Cookbook

By Malcolm Robinson

The Sixty6 Unofficial World Cup Cookbook is a collection of recipes from all 32 competing nations in this year's soccer World Cup in Brazil.
Featuring a foreword by former England International player, Carlton Palmer, the book also features a look at the 32 teams and hypothetical football recipes for each team.
Last but not least a look at the national drink of each country is had.
Brought to you by Sixty6 Magazine - the only football magazine which is based on the National England team.
The book has been written and produced by Sixty6 Editor in Chief, Mal Robinson, who also includes a personal epilogue at the back of the book.
Illustrations are featured inside from top graphic designer, Andrew Booth.
It is a collection of football culture for fans across the World to enjoy both during the tournament and for many years after.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Malcolm Robinson
• Release date: Jun 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9780992972813

Malcolm Robinson

Mal Robinson is the current Editor in Chief for Media73's range of UK football magazines. He is also the MD for the company.Having been in this role for 3 years, Mal was in the Royal Air Force previously, serving on operations in Afghanistan (twice) and Iraq (once). He has served in Cyprus, Canada and Jordan amongst other places. He has also served on Royal VIP duties for HM the Queen of England.Mal has been involved in 5 books to date. 24 Hour SAFC People, From Afghanistan to Temazepam, Auf Wiedersehen Lads and Magic Carpet Ride - The Story of Niall Quinn's Time At Sunderland AFC and the eBook - The Sixty6 Unofficial World Cup Cookbook.

Book preview

Thanks & Acknowledgements

It has been a crazy old time producing my first eBook and a whirlwind one at that. Having chosen something random to associate ourselves with the World Cup, we wanted to also add a hypothetical selection of recipes pertinent to that nation's chances or hopes for the 2014 finals.

So here we are and let the thanks commence.

Firstly to my family for putting up with me not being around, both producing the magazines and this book. Thanks Stacy, Molly and baby Charlie! Not to mention my parents, in what has been such a hard time for health reasons away from the book. I love you all.

I would like to thank Andrew Booth for the superb front cover design work and inside artwork. Thanks to Nathan Johnson for all his help and proof reading. Gary Johnson for his proof reading.

Thanks to Dave Scott and James Perks for their help with the promotional videos for this book...it was a day and night never forgotten!

Thanks to Jim Fox for his support as ever.

Many thanks to Carlton Palmer for putting his name to this book and sharing his culinary experiences too.

Thanks to our loyal Sixty6 readers for their support and you for taking an interest in something different and reading this as we speak.

I hope you enjoy cooking and tasting the delights of the World Cup as much as I did putting the whole thing together.

Here's to Brazil 2014!

Best Wishes

Mal Robinson.

Editor in Chief, Sixty6 Magazine.

Author's Note

Being the bloke who runs a media company who publish retro football magazines, in particular, Sixty6 Magazine for the national England side, it made sense to make a one half practical and one half hypothetical cookbook for the World Cup in Brazil.

Not make sense? Well before all of these media shenanigans, I was in fact a Commis Chef (self titled) whilst I studied at University. It was one of the greatest carefree times of my life and the kitchen banter was superb...and funnily enough it all started by accident.

The year was 1996; I was at sixth form, attending St Robert of Newminster School in Washington, Tyne and Wear, UK. I was born and partially raised in Sunderland, some 6 or 7 miles away, where I got my first job as a Kitchen Assistant.

I had actually applied for anything going at a new pub opening down the road from my house called The Fairway. It was a place adjacent to a Golf driving ranges hence the name. The interview didn't really mention my role, they were just happy to have people fill the place and I was told to attend an induction evening at another local boozer a few weeks later.

The evening came and I was sat initially with bar staff, until the Head Chef, Gary Chesney told me to sit with them, no reason, just they had a spare seat! It was the best seat in the house for me. From then on I was considered kitchen staff and giving the training for this role, whilst the front of house staff, I could have been a part of, acted out tedious role plays on pretend customers. The chefs so it seemed didn't give a rat's arse about customers...the job was beginning to appeal.

I was put on desserts to begin with and to be honest I didn't have a clue what was going on. I needn't have worried. This was Vaux's (Sunderland's then local and dominant brewery) new flagship public house, the first brand new establishment they had opened in a long old while and no one else knew what was going either. It was organised chaos and would remain that way for another five years and I loved it.

The fact that I was looking after ready-made sweet dishes along with a supposed catering college graduate whom as one chef asked who trained you? Fucking Noddy? made me look even better and I was soon moved to looking after starters and salads.

It was a booming time for just about everything in life. There was no such economic depression then and money was spent wildly particularly on people eating out and the place was jumping. Even the region's football team had come out of the doldrums and Sunderland were just about beating everyone is sight after moving to their new ground - The Sunderland Stadium of Light. They were even getting 40,000 for the reserve side I shit you not.

At the time I was saving up for a holiday with the lads to Faliraki, Rhodes and this was the number one priority. Paying no board at home, attending sixth form and working all the hours I could, I felt like a millionaire. I could just about buy whatever I wanted within reason and always seemed to have money in the bank, something after the holiday I could never quite muster.

Friday and Saturday nights in the kitchen were white hot with atmosphere, orders, staff and banter. The machine printing off the orders would be cursed as print outs became incessant, we had to stop anymore coming through, such was the demand. The hot plate at the front of the kitchen, where all final meals were plated and served to the waiting staff was about six foot long. The whole six feet were filled with paper checks adorned with a whole plethora of orders from 6 rump steaks with all the trimmings to side salads, my domain at the time.

I found myself falling in love with cress over on starters and salads. A strange statement, I agree, however no matter how shit your salad looked, or how rushed you were to finish it off properly - a handful of watercress on top would make the whole ensemble look brand new! Cress was our saviour and lo and behold if we ran out.

Some of the things in that kitchen would make the likes of Anthony Bourdain speechless. The author of Kitchen Confidential (of which I can truly relate to and if your linked to the culinary trade in even the most tedious of ways, I recommend you go out and buy) would find some of these reprobates off his menu and this from a man who had seen most things behind the front of house service placard.

For instance