Mum & I
Picnics on the beach under blue skies and sunshine, set against a soundtrack of laughter and lapping waves.
Backyard BBQs with small mounds of jacket potatoes wrapped in tin foil; the sight, sound and smells of sizzling meat on charcoal were a prelude to the feast that was to come – and something that my dad marvelled in.
Dishes – all hearty, homemade and full of flavour – generously doled out in the home.
Ever since I can remember, food has been a huge part of my life. Growing up, food was the centrepiece of happy occasions for my family – from the epic to the everyday, many of my fondest memories are of eating and being surrounded by love.
Dinnertime was about sitting down as a family and connecting with each other over delicious dishes that have been lovingly prepared, and swapping stories about our days. I would help mum make the meal, my brother Garth would set the table and my dad would clean up – everyone had a role in this collective culinary love affair.
My mum is an amazing cook with an uncanny ability for conjuring up tasty concoctions – everything from simple stews to Thai beef salad with coriander pesto (which was considered fancy in those days!).
Mum always involved me in cooking, and taught me all her motherly tips and tricks for achieving the perfect family meal. I remember being age five, asking mum if she could open a café at the end of our garage, because I loved her cooking so much and I wanted to share it with the world, or at least my neighbours!
In some way, I am doing that now... it is my mother who nurtured my relationship with food; and in doing so, set me off on the start of a lifelong journey of gastronomic discovery and delight.
Thank you, mum... and dad, of course.
Within this chapter, I share with you the beautiful comfort food meals that are so much a part of my wonderful childhood memories.