Dining with Divers Tales from the Kitchen Table Volume 1 by David Strike
Dining with Divers – Tales from the Kitchen Table, Simon Pridmore and David Strike invite you to join them at their table to listen to stories and try dishes served up by a gathering of some of the great and the good of the scuba diving world. Explorers, record-breakers, innovators, designers, entrepreneurs and raconteurs all compete for your attention and taste buds in this first volume of a unique series of diving story cookbooks.
For many divers, the next best thing to being underwater is talking about being underwater. And there is no better occasion for this, than when sitting enjoying a meal together with diving friends. In Dining with Divers – Tales from the Kitchen Table, Simon Pridmore and David Strike invite an international cast of divers to join them at their metaphorical table to share a favourite recipe and the story of a memorable dive.
The personalities who contributed to this project are a cross-section of the professional scuba diving world. Simon and David knew that divers generally love to eat but they didn’t expect to find that so many had such impressive culinary skills. The dishes they propose vary from cookouts to curries, from Thai salad to Flemish stew and from jellied eels to vegan cupcakes: there really is something for everyone. The personal accounts of underwater adventure range from discoveries of unknown shipwrecks to exploration in iceberg alley and encounters with big animals: each dive is a delight.
You won’t know whether to keep this book in the kitchen or on the bedside table.
”It’s great reading! Written as if the diver is telling the tale around the dinner table to friends. As a diver, I’m also inspired to visit some of the dive sites featured and see for myself. The recipes I love because they are “home cooking”: dishes that “normal” people would like to have a go at making.” Penelope Williams Executive Chef and Owner of Bali Asli Restaurant.
”From the first nail-biting story of up-close encounters with crocodiles to the last heart-warming description of how to make Pecan and Pear Bread by first growing a pear tree, Dining with Divers had me hooked from the first dip. Simon Pridmore and David Strike honour their fellow divers in this uplifting compilation of stories from the depths and recipes shared, making it not only a good read but a book to be revisited again and again.”Monica Tindall – Editor, The Yum List.
”Anyone who has ever sat around a table with a bunch of divers, right after they get out of the water, will know that the word "dining"is something of a misnomer. "Gorging" would be better description of the vast, rapid intake of calories taking place. Divers DO love their food, and this book harnesses their passion for both the water and culinary worlds. This compilation of exploits underwater and at the stove stands tall amongst the many books by and about divers - as something entertaining, useful and memorable. Well done!” Rainer Sigel, Founder of Asian Diver Magazine and ADEX: now co-owner of Churrasco Phuket Steakhouse.
ANZEC Member - David Strike
Diving since 1961 – with a background that encompasses military, commercial, scientific, recreational and technical diving – David Strike was an early contributor to ground-breaking oceanographic research and has dived and travelled extensively throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Qualified on open circuit, as well as rebreathers, surface demand, and standard diving apparatus, Strike is a former recreational and technical diving Instructor and Instructor Certifier whose diving credentials include certifications from ANDI, BSAC, IANTD, PADI and SSI, as well as the legendary diving company, Siebe-Gorman.
Establishing a successful, internationally-affiliated media organisation while simultaneously continuing to teach diving and study for an external university degree, he was one of the first travel writers to visit Vietnam and Laos; and one of the first divers in Australia to embrace Technical Diving. A prolific writer, Strike has authored a number of diving manuals as well as penning several hundred articles covering all aspects of diving that have appeared in publications and websites around the world.
Continuing to maintain a passionate interest in an activity that has dominated his life, David Strike has organised several world class technical diving events; is a regular speaker and presenter at regional and international diving events; and a recipient of the ADEX ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for contributions to Technical Diving.
