Thomas Allen is an established star of the great opera houses of the world. He has appeared in over 40 roles at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and in 1996 celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his debut with the company. He is known throughout the world and has been particularly acclaimed for his Billy Budd, Pelleas, Eugene Onegin, Count Almaviva, Sixtus Beckmesser and Don Giovanni roles. Thomas Allen's first book, ÔForeign Parts: A Singer's Journal' was published in 1993. His many honors and awards include Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music, Prince Consort Professor of the Royal College of Music, the Hambro Visiting Professorship of Opera Studies at Oxford University, Fellowship of the Royal College of Music, Fellowship of the University of Sunderland, D.Mus. from Durham University and M.A. from Newcastle University. For New Year's Honors of 1989, he was made a Commander of the British Empire and was made a Knight Bachelor for the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honors. It was a great joy to see my old colleague Tom Allen again. We were both young singers when we embarked on our careers with the Welsh National Opera. Not having seen each other for many years, we still had that precious connection of two people who share a history of an important time in our lives. Tom impressed me as a very inventive chef with his huge array of ingredients that went into his delicious tortellini sauce. I was amazed as he added zucchini, mushrooms, basil, cream, pancetta & tomatoes. He expertly assembled the whole dish with me as his able assistant. He looked very much the master of his kitchen and was very proud of the result. I remarked that it was not every day I could be "served" by a Knight of the British Realm!!! His wife Jeannie looked in on the proceedings with amusement. She confessed that he has always preferred to cook and was certainly the "pasta "expert in the family. Great fun!!! Ingredients  1 Spanish onion finely chopped  2 oz pancetta  1 finely chopped zucchini bette (cut the zucchinis into sticks rather that rounds)  1-5oz carton cream  1 tin good Italian tomatoes  Parsley  1 lb ready made tortellini with either chicken or meat filling  A few mushrooms  1oz butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for sauteing  2oz freshly shelled peas (put the little members of the family onto this job!)  A few fresh basil leaves Place oil, butter, onion and pancetta in a pan. Saute lightly and then add the zucchini. When the flavors are mixed, add the tin of tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook gently for ten minutes until the tomatoes are soft and squishy. Then add the carton of cream, parsley and fresh peas and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes until the cream has reduced a bit. Then add the basil leaves. Tom used the freshest of basil from a home grown pot. Cook the tortellini in boiling salted water as per the instructions. Serve the creamy sauce over the tortellini. A glass of pinot noir would be perfect with this dish. The recipe seemed to use every ingredient in the pantry. It all combines to be utterly delicious! It tasted authentically Italian although Tom referred to it as Geordie Pasta (North of England). That doesn't sound very Italian but was indeed a delicious combination. A recipe fit for a knight of the British realm!!