A Boy in the Kitchen

Where It All Began

After moving to New York, I have been reunited with my cookery books. It reminded me of how I was first drawn to cookery as a child. Watching my mother…

Nov 20 • 

PhilipDundas

12

4

3

October 2025

Listening to the Voices

Ten years ago, closing the restaurant almost broke me. So I went to walk in the mountains. It is my meditation. Somewhere that nothing is asked from me…

Oct 16 • 

PhilipDundas

14

5

2

September 2025

On the Ropes

The quiet reliance on those who matter, the courage to face the unknown, and the understanding that friendship, trust, and loyalty are the true measures…

Sep 24 • 

PhilipDundas

18

6

August 2025

Observation #6 Tell Me What You Eat

New Yorkers seem to cry out the mantra “can’t cook, won’t cook” with pride.

Aug 1 • 

PhilipDundas

16

4

2

June 2025

Observation #5 Why Pride Matters

On every sidewalk, in every restaurant, gallery, bar, café and business in this city there is someone profoundly, singularly, projecting and defining…

Jun 23 • 

PhilipDundas

9

May 2025

Observation #4 Looking at Babel

Living here is a Faustian contract. Life in the great cities of civilization must have always been so. But as much as there is poverty and hardship…

May 31 • 

PhilipDundas

12

4

1

Observation #3 Sounds Familiar

Something I thought I would miss is recognising the sounds of birds. Since I was a boy growing up in the Scottish countryside, birdsong has followed me.

May 7 • 

PhilipDundas

7

April 2025

Observation #2 First Steps

I must push myself out onto the streets to find what I will learn to love here, to map the outline of my new city beyond the superficial impressions. To…

Apr 14 • 

PhilipDundas

12

1

1

Observation #1 Arriving

Here I am in my sixth decade and finally I have arrived to live in New York City. You can listen to or read my first observation.

Apr 3 • 

PhilipDundas

13

14

2

March 2025

The Idea of Home

More than anything, home for me is symbolised by emotional connection. And though I have lived in other cities, I have felt this nowhere more than…

Mar 6 • 

PhilipDundas

17

February 2025

Scotland and the Divided Self

Scotland has always had a crisis of identity. There is no single version of who we are. Though certainly argumentativeness seems to have been at the…

Feb 28 • 

PhilipDundas

4

Turbines

Bronwen Sleigh Turbine II, Etching

Feb 23 • 

PhilipDundas