Stir, whisk, cook, upload

First there were websites, then blogs and now there are vlogs – or video logs to the uninitiated.

Amateur chefs with a passion for food and showmanship are getting busy in the kitchen in front of wobbly tripods, in order to demonstrate their culinary skills to the world.

Simon Rimmer, chef on BBC Two's Something For The Weekend and owner of two restaurants, believes everyone's going to be at it soon.

The innovative young chef has become involved with a new website called eatthechef.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.eatthechef.com.

It's a community site where anyone can upload their vlogs, and Simon hopes to create a database of free videos created by the users themselves.

"The content is going to be all user-generated," he explains enthusiastically.

"We could add more videos from professional chefs to make it grow more quickly, but that's not the point."

Launched last November eatthechef.com is steadily growing. And while its progress isn't quite as fast as Simon had hoped, he knows that word-of-web is very powerful.

"I'm looking forward to the point when someone uploads a raspberry cupcake recipe and people say what a fantastic recipe and then the next thing they upload, that gets used as well.

"I want there to be a buzz around people and the things that they cook."

Already food vlogs like mydaddycooks.com, steamykitchen.com and notwithoutsalt.com are attracting thousands of loyal followers.

And now that digital recording equipment is comparatively cheap and editing tools are widely available online, does Simon think that soon everyone will start sharing their food secrets with the world?

"It's quite a big commitment to cook a dish, video it, upload it and send it off," he admits. "This is why I suggested that we start with something easy."

The site recently held a world biscuit dunking championship, so that users could demonstrate their own dunking skills.

"Anyone can make a cup of tea and dunk a biscuit in," he laughs. "But it got them used to being on the site."

The chef is also spreading the word via Twitter (he has 8,500 followers) and a Facebook group.

One of his favourite videos so far is a guy making a simple chilli dish.

"I really like him. The recipe is straight forward, but you watch him and you think, 'Wow, he really believes in this!'"

When he's not filming vlogs for the website, coming up with recipes for Something For The Weekend – "I write four a week, and we're on week 165!" – or running his restaurants, Simon says he somehow finds time to see his family.

"I have two restaurants, two kids and one wife," he says frankly.

"And I try and give a little bit of everything to all of them, but I'd hate to be married to me."

Simon admits that working pretty much seven days a week can be hard on his wife, Ali, and two kids, Florence, 12, and Hamish, aged 6. But he's about to make it up to them.

"Next week, Ali and I are off to St Lucia where I'll do cookery demonstrations and she'll get to sit by the pool. It's the first time I've been offered such a glam gig, normally they happen in Wigan and Coventry."

Serves 4

Ingredients

50g/2oz butter

1 onion, finely sliced

200g/7oz waxy potatoes, peeled and finely sliced

75g/3oz mature Chedder cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark4. Heat half the butter in an oven proof pan and fry the onion until soft, then remove from the pan.

Put a layer of potato in the same pan and fry for a few minutes until golden.

Now layer up onion, potato, onion, seasoning each layer and finishing with potato.

Melt the remaining butter and pour over the pan. Cook in the oven for about 40 minutes until soft.

Before serving, grate the cheese over the top and put under a hot grill until the cheese bubbles.

Serves 4

Ingredients

400ml tin of coconut milk

100ml stock

225g cooked fine beans

225g cooked broad beans

1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

Lime wedges and fresh coriander leaves, to serve

For the curry paste

10 black peppercorns

2tsp cumin seeds

2tsp coriander seeds

10 red chillies (deseeded if you like)

5 shallots

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Piece of fresh ginger

6 stalks of lemon grass

12 kaffir lime leaves

Pinch of ground cinnamon

½tsp turmeric

Splash of vegetable oil

Splash of chilli oil

1tbsp palm sugar

2tbsp vegetable oil for frying

Method

To make the curry paste, dry-fry the peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant, then grind them in a mortar and pestle.

Out them with all the other paste ingredients except the oil into a blender and blitz until smooth – it takes 5-10 minutes.

Warm the oil in a pan and add four good spoonfuls of paste (one per person). Cook on a low heat until it becomes fragrant.

Crank up the heat and add the coconut milk and stock and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 minutes.

Add the finer and broad beans, onions and tomatoes and simmer for about 4 minutes.

Divide the luscious curry between four bowls and garnish with lime wedges and coriander and serve with rice.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For the pastry:

225g plain flour, plus extra for the dusting

75g unsalted butter, cubed

Pinch of salt

100g sifted icing sugar

50ml milk

2 egg yolks

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Icing sugar, to server

For the Filling:

350g cater sugar

150ml water

Pulp and juice of 12 passion fruit

9 eggs

300ml double cream

Method

To make the pastry, put the flour, butter, salt and icing sugar into a food processor and pulse until 'crumby'.

Add the milk and the egg yolks and pulse until it forms a dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, then cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Turn the pastry out onto your floured surface and roll out 5cm/2inches larger than a 28cm/11 inch tart case.

Push the pastry into the base, leaving the excess hanging over the sides, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Mark4. Line the pastry case with foil and rice or baking beans and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the rice or beans and oil, brush with the eggwash and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and trim off the excess pastry with a sharp knife. Leave to cool.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together, then add the cream. Using a slotted spoon, add all the passion fruit pulp to the cream mixture with a little of the juice, probably about 1 tablespoon. Reserve the remaining juice to use as extra sauce.

Pour this custard into the cooked and cooled tart case. Incidentally, a little tip is to fill the tart case while it's sitting on the over shelf, with the shelf pulled out – genius or what?

Reduce the oven to 170C/Mark3 and bake the tart on the middle shelf for about 40 minutes. It should still be a little wobbly, but it will carry on cooking and will set.

To serve, dust the tart with icing sugar and a spoonful of extra sauce.