Chapter seven
Simple Comforts
The stages at MasterClass, filled with a roll call of the world’s Best chefs, have witnessed more than their fair share of culinary derring-do over the past two decades. And though that derring-do has included dramatic new technology, crazy ingredients and obscure cooking techniques, the power of simplicity, of a well-known homely dish done perfectly, has been similarly effective in capturing the imagination of audiences. Perhaps it is the achievability of Bill Granger’s buttermilk pancakes or Fergus Henderson’s chocolate ice cream. Or perhaps it is the spicy aromatic memories of Jill Dupleix’s gingerbread or the comforting old-fashioned waft of Sophie Grigson’s steamed apple, orange and ginger suet pudding. Whatever the reason, these are the simple comforting recipes that are in many ways the most satisfying to get just right. Nigella Lawson’s spirited defence of home cooking at the 2011 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and the overwhelming surge of positive reaction from the crowd that followed shows that, in a culinary world where whizbangery and celebritydom can sometimes get in the way of the food, there’s no substitute for the everlasting appeal of simple comforts.