About

I learned to cook in my mother’s kitchen. She was and still is a tough teacher and a fastidious cook, but has the talent of turning everything (not just cooking) into a fun activity. When I was growing up, my Mom would make me laugh so hard, I would end up snorting my yoghurt drink through my nose. Perhaps this would explain my fierce love for yoghurt.

When I was five, my Mom gave me a children’s cook book, called “Let’s Play and Cook” and shortly thereafter my parents came home to a battlefield of a kitchen, with me proudly displaying a couple of deviled eggs, stuffed tomatoes and two “crocodiles” made of cucumbers. That was the epic beginning. My cooking (and cleaning up) abilities have improved marginally since then, but I’ll always be a sous-chef in my mother’s kitchen. I still have that cook book (somewhat worse for wear) and intend to pass it to my children, together with my love for cooking.

There are several crucial things I learned about cooking from my Mom:

• Healthy food is delicious;
• Herbs and spices make for great flavours;
• Food should be a feast for the palate, as well as for the eyes.

Most importantly, I learned that serving people good food is more than just feeding them: it’s a form of love, and just like my Mom, I love feeding people.