Planning and prior preparation are the key to an organized and successful kitchen and the start of the year requires plenty of kitchen management in readiness for the months ahead. All too soon the spring will bring more entertaining and it pays dividends for chef to start thinking now about restocking depleted freezers and pantries.

Of course we are not talking about dairy produce, vegetables and day to day goods with short shelf lives. We need to be cleaning out the back of our pantries, removing any out of date canned and packet produce. Asking ourselves with each item "did I purchase too much of this or is this something that the family just wouldn't eat or use?" Do we need to replace those goods or not? If we do, then perhaps with not as many this time.

Make a note of the most popular dishes that you prepare in the kitchen. Think about dishes that weren't. There is no point in buying ingredients for those again if we aren't going to be cooking them anymore. Take a look at the staple ingredients that we use and make a list to make sure we have plenty of each. It is just bad kitchen management to be popping off to the store every five minutes for a jar of jelly or a can of chopped tomatoes so plan to stock up on those ingredients that you know you will use so that there is always one or two cans/packets in the pantry 'just in case'

I keep a notepad and pen in my pantry and as soon as I am down to my penultimate can or box I make a note to replenish on my list. By keeping the pantry stocked, albeit with the 'right' ingredients we are always prepared for a surprise visitor that needs feeding or event that needs catering. When I say 'right' ingredients it is the wise chef that stocks their pantry with these products. Having five types of flour and several bags of each may look pretty and appear like you are ready for action but strategic planning is more important. For example, I like to always have cans of tuna in my pantry. Automatically I now always have something to make a 'quick sandwich' with when the cheese and meats in the refrigerator have all gone. A box of dried pasta, even though I usually do make my own fresh is a perfect standby for a surprise called upon meal, hmm, especially if you have the tuna in too.

At Buckingham Palace we used to have an 'emergency deep freeze' It was stocked with items like beef tenderloin steaks, pork loin, salmon fillets and game etc. Often on a weekend a member of the royal family made a surprise trip back to Buckingham Palace from Windsor Castle, Sandringham or Balmoral and a hasty phone call had one of the chefs rushing to the kitchen to prepare a meal. During the week of course this wasn't a problem. If for example Princess Anne, the Queens daughter had an engagement in London and after landing her helicopter on the back lawn decided that she wanted to stay for lunch we just had to call Harrods and have a motor cycle dispatch rider deliver a "rack of lamb" to the palace at breakneck speed.

Think about dishes that leave your kitchen, look at the ingredients. See if you can find one or two dishes that you could make using non perishable ingredients then make those your 'emergency' meals. It doesn't have to just be the pantry though. Once the pantry is ready for any "last minute orders" next step is to think about the freezer and the dishes from your menus that can be made during a quiet spell in the kitchen. Think of dishes that can be frozen without any deterioration and then cooked or reheated from frozen or maybe with little thaw time. When I was in the Kensington Palace kitchens Princess Diana would often pop into the kitchen and inform me that "William has a dentist's appointment and will want lunch before going back to school" Of course I didn't always have time to scoot off to the store so having a dish of his favorite Cottage Pie in the freezer ready for last minute requests like these prevented any sort of crisis.

I always try to cover every meal from an emergency point of view. Afternoon tea is popular for some families, especially weekends and of course at Buckingham Palace it is a must. If the Queen is on her own for tea then a large cake is not required. Should the children turn up suddenly then the light tea turns into a full blown event. Having half a dozen vanilla sponge cakes (some chocolate ones too) in the freezer is a great help on these occasions, just split them and sandwich with some jam and whipped cream, the sponge has thawed before the scones come out of the oven and the sandwiches are cut.

I like to keep a selection of canapés in the freezer too. Stilton and Walnut Shortbread (from my book Eating Royally) is a fabulous canapé for when suddenly guests or friends arrive in the evening, just to visit or even prior to dinner. They can be made, rolled in parchment and frozen for up to three months. Then sliced and baked direct from the freezer. A little goat cheese or cream cheese on the top and garnished with pecans, dill or poached pears has a canapé in minutes.

Don't just stop at the food though; take this time to look at kitchen equipment too. Has the Teflon on the non stick pans started to peel, if so now is a good time to think about replacing them. This time of the year most stores have huge sales on kitchen equipment. Are the wooden spoons chipped? Have the whisks lost their shape? The favorite mixing bowls get broken over the holiday period? Go through the china and crystal and inspect for chips, much easier to replace now than the night of an important dinner party later in the month. Is it time for new kitchen cloths, are the old ones worn.

With a little preparation, planning and thought your kitchen can be ready for any surprise guests or visitors that need feeding, without that mad dash to the store.

One of the highlights of working for the Queen for me was during the summer when we would head north to Scotland. Firstly to Edinburgh (Holyrood Palace) and then on to Balmoral Castle. Following the huge success of my culinary trip to the UK last year I have decided to do a "royal foodie" trip to Scotland in August and I can't wait to get there.

With a packed schedule that includes a tour of Holyrood Palace, HMY Britannia and Glamis Castle (the royal bit) and The Edinburgh food festival, tour of the farmers market, hands on cooking class with me and a night at the Balathie House Hotel (where I first started cooking) as well as some amazing restaurants (the foodie bit) and then to top it off a night at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (bring your video camera) this is going to be a trip to remember.

To hear about the trip in full, click on the link to the video where I talk about each day of the trip and who to contact for more information... CLICK HERE

Read the testimonials from past events...

Absolutely awesome!!!!!!! Darren is quite the chef and personality. I really can't believe how fortunate we were to have him in Door County. My phone has been ringing off the hook with congratulations!
~ Shaun Tauber, United Way of Door County

Where do I begin?????????????? Darren is remarkable, the event was spectacular! LOVE him! Thank you so very much!
~ Cathie Upton, Meals on Wheels

Thank you again so much for introducing us to Chef McGrady. Darren was absolutely wonderful!
~ Larry Airey, Lake Norman Home Show

Darren was a superstar.
~Tiffany Flanagan, John Hancock

Darren, EVERYBODY was in love with you. Diageo, the crew, the media, the guy from the fruit tent and myself included. I could not imagine a better professional than you. As I told you before, you are a complete show man and you will always have a friend in Brazil. Thank you very, very much.
~Flavio Sampaio, Diageo of Brazil

Darren is the best chef in the whole wide universe but never kept his bedroom tidy.
~Darrens Mum, UK. (LAUGHS)

Darren is available for;

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Restaurant review - Craft, Dallas....
The last time I went to a restaurant with a celebrity chef figurehead was in New York and Gordon Ramsey at the London. I didn't expect the man to be there but did hope he had left his standards in capable hands. I needn't have worried, the food was amazing. With this in mind I ventured into the W hotel in Dallas for dinner at Craft. The figurehead chef here is Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio - recipient of five James Beard Foundation Medals for his cooking accomplishments, if you like - and with so many restaurants around the country I didn't expect him to be manning the hotplate either. He wasn't.

Craft Dallas kitchen is run by Anthony Zappola and a peek at his resume lets you know Colicchio has his restaurant in safe hands. Cordon Bleu trained; with stints in Chicago and New York under Alain Ducasse leaves you in no doubt the food will be good. I had been to Craft before though not surprisingly my attention was more focused on the lady I was brunching with Cheryl Burke of Dancing with the stars fame and not the food. But that's another story for another day.

When you enter the restaurant at night the first thing you notice is the lighting, the signature glowing filament bulbs guiding you to the comfort of the hand crafted walnut tables like landing lights at DFW airport in the fog. Warm and soft lighting, so close, yet a million miles away from the glaring "look at me" flashing neon of Victory Plaza across the road.

Crafts kitchen philosophy is - the best seasonal ingredients prepared simply and with finesse. And boy was that spot on. Food is presented family style and often in little copper pans - I love copper, I have done since using it at the Savoy and the Palace - We (my wife Wendy and me) ordered the Berkshire (famous breed recognized for the perfect combination of juiciness, flavor and tenderness) rack of Pork and Muscovy Duck. Sides were not included and cost extra, some $10 a side extra - so this is where the restaurant name came from "Craft" from the word "Crafty" (smiles)

We ordered the sweet potato puree, the braised red cabbage (I love this dish, in fact it's one of my dishes that I have on the American Airlines first/business class menu this month) and parsnip agnolotti. ( a sort of ravioli from the Piedmont region of Italy. Agnolotti means priests hat and refers to the crescent shape of the pasta, though most chefs prepare it square or rectangle nowadays - the change made famous by Thomas Keller at the French Laundry.

The duck melted in your mouth and both looked and was cooked magnificent. Same for the pork, it fell apart beautifully, braised to perfection. The sides, each in copper pans placed between the two of us by waiters so well trained you'd have thought they had come from Paris - where food service is a skill and a Craft (pardon the pun) Each server gliding around the room with one arm tucked behind their back like the opening scene of Riverdance and certainly as impressive.

The sweet potato puree was delicious, just enough spices to remind us it was winter and this was an earthy comfort food. Braised cabbage was a disappointment; it tasted more like it had been stir-fried. Braising is a slow cooking technique that breaks down the food as it cooks, ours was crunchy. Then the agnolotti, little pasta pillows filled with parsnip puree. These were just incredible and I wanted to eat them all but so soft and light were they that I also wanted to rest my head on them and drift off into a food scented dream and hibernate for the winter.

We both ate quickly, partly because the food was so good and partly because we both wanted to attack the "seconds" before each other. On the way home, wishing I had saved an Agnolotti pasta pillow to rest my head on I mused over whether Craft had taken over Aurora as my favorite restaurant in Dallas. Avner Samuel creates a dining experience like no other with dishes like"Scallop tartare with white truffle cream and chlorophyll sauce," that leaves customers wondering "how did he do that ? But at Craft "simple ingredients prepared with finesse" just blow you away. How can you take a regular old sweet potato, that we all cook every day and turn it into something so amazing you will remember the taste for weeks? How do I talk Febreze into making a "parsnip" scented flavor to spray onto my pillow at night ?

Well that's about all for this month except for one last comment. I may be wrong, just may be wrong but watch the news this coming FRIDAY for what might be a surprise engagement announcement. Perhaps in the back of his Prince Williams mind the fear of history repeating itself when a "not sure if I love her enough to marry her" prince goes off to the military ( William is about to leave to join the Royal Air Force) leaving the lady behind to marry someone else, only to return and realize the big mistake. (yes I am talking about his father who did just that with Camilla)

Prince William and Kate Middleton returned from a vacation to Birkhall in Scotland on Tuesday. Birkhall was the former home of the Queen Mother and I have been there many times, though not as many as William (smiles). It truly is a fairytale and romantic place and the ideal place to "pop the question"

Of course, if he has proposed, it may have been deemed bad luck to announce an engagement in the Scottish highlands - it didn't do his mother any good - and instead announce it on Friday. Ironically, Kate's 27th birthday !

Happy Birthday Kate and dare I suggest Congratulations?

Remember where you heard it first (laughs)