about me

Ey up! I’m Paul

Welcome to PopUp Chef

I’ve been fortunate over the years to have worked all over the world and PopUpChef is my way of sharing amazing recipes and hopefully inspiring you to try them and create cherished memories with your friends and family.

I’ve always enjoyed making people happy and as a young kid in the scouts, winning an annual cooking competition gave me this realisation that food can bring people happiness.

So after attending college for 3 years, working briefly in London and Sheffield, I decided to take to the seas and become a Super Yacht chef. 15 years later I’ve had the pleasure of discovering dishes from around the globe while meeting some great people and experiencing different cultures. What I love about food is how it brings people together to socialise and have a great time.

My Family

I live in Sheffield, England, with my wife Claire bear, our daughter Alice bear whos 20, our son Bradley bear who’s almost 3, our granddaughter Isabelle bear who’s 1 and our furry spotty bear, Basil, our dalmatian who’s 9. I’m super grateful to have a loving family. When we have our extended family around, cooking at home is like a PopUp restaurant operation which I love.

Food I love.

My favourite food is Thai and Japanese whilst I could never be far away from a good old Sunday roast dinner. I also love Italian, French, Indian, and Mexican cuisines.

I love to travel and see different cultures and how they live. That’s why I love Thai food, the culture of street food and it’s people, amaze me. It’s a great culture of beautiful people who share food that is so fresh and so tasty.

My ambition for PopUpChef

Firstly, I’d like to share my recipes and inspire you to cook more and create cherished memories.

Secondly, I’d like to do some future PopUpChef events, so watch this space.

Thirdly, I like to teach and help you to cook exciting meals and show you how to save time and money with better preparation and planning.

He who dares, ….?

Who knows where PopUpChef may lead me, yet I’m excited to be on the journey.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments or advice, I’m always happy to connect.

Happy cooking.

Paul

Ey up! Nice to meet you.

We’re the bear family.

Yellowtail Sashimi with a Kimchee Dressing

by Paul Deehan | July 28, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Sashimi is an art form and only the best quality and freshest fish should be used. This dish is light, refreshing and tasty. The Kimchee dressing gives the yellowtail/hamachi, a nice sour, spicy and citrus kick. Above is a fillet of yellowtail/Hamachi. Not to be...

BBQ Beef Ribs

by Paul Deehan | July 13, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

If you love beef, you will love these BBQ beef ribs. A real crowd-pleaser. Above is bite-sized portions served on the bone as decoration. Great if you are doing an Asian night with multiple dishes. The secret to these soft succulent BBQ beef ribs is the slow cooking...

Goat Cheese Fritters

by Paul Deehan | June 24, 2020 | British, Home Cook, Side dishes, Snacks, vegetarian | 0 Comments

Goats Cheese fritters with sweet red onion marmalade and dill yoghurt. Delicious, crunchy and creamy, these fritters are great for a canape or sexy starter. Simply mix the goat's cheese with the other ingredients in a bowl. Roll the goat's cheese mixture into small...

Chicken Tikka Masala

by Paul Deehan | June 21, 2020 | Enthusiast, Home Cook, Indian, Meat & Chicken, Sauces | 0 Comments

The best Chicken Tikka masala recipe. The secret is marinating your chicken for as long as possible. Overnight will produce great flavours for the chicken tikka. You can also make the masala sauce the day before for amazing results. Everyone knows that a curry always...

Peshwari Naan

by Paul Deehan | June 20, 2020 | Bread, Enthusiast, Indian | 0 Comments

If you've not had Peshwari naan before, it's a surprisingly delicious addition to a normal naan, it's sweet, nutty and the coconut gives it a unique taste. Fantastic served with my Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. I personally love coconut so once I tried this Peshwari...

Easy Smooth Hummus

by Paul Deehan | June 15, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

5-minute hummus, so simple and super quick to make. Who doesn't like some creamy smooth hummus with some nachos or grilled flatbread as a mezze starter? Great with my best Tabbouleh salad or Spicy beef samosas. A simple blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic,...

Spicy Beef Samosas

by Paul Deehan | June 12, 2020 | Home Cook, Meat & Chicken, Middle eastern, Snacks | 0 Comments

Spicy and crispy beef samosas are delicious with sweet chilli sauce or for a mezze lunch with grilled flatbread and hummus. The spicy beef filling with cumin, coriander, chilli, garlic and pine nuts make these little morsels an absolute delight. You can make the the...

Yakitori Grilled Baby Chicken

by Paul Deehan | June 9, 2020 | Asian, Home Cook, Japanese, Meat & Chicken | 0 Comments

Baby grilled yakitori chicken is so delicious. Succulent and super tasty with the yakitori glaze. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and grilled asparagus. Have a little extra yakitori sauce to drizzle more over the chicken and rice. The Yakitori sauce recipe is the real...

Sushi with my Family

by Paul Deehan | June 5, 2020 | Cooking with family, Fish & Seafood, Japanese | 0 Comments

Japanese food is an art form and even though I'd say I'm pretty good at making sushi, I am by no means a master. Sushi masters take 5 to 10 years to earn that title. Fresh sushi and sashimi are all about quality ingredients. You need the best fresh fish, the best rice...

Smoked Aubergine Salad

by Paul Deehan | June 4, 2020 | Home Cook, Middle eastern, Salads, Side dishes, Vegan, vegetarian | 0 Comments

This is a healthy salad that is great as a mezze side dish. Smoky, lemony and full of flavour. This would be perfect with a nice grilled piece of fish such as Sea bass or Sea trout. Or if you are vegetarian, a mezze platter of falafel, hummus, grilled flatbread and...

Thai boat soup in Bangkok, 2017.

Follows