On the spot
The Age
Friday December 18, 2009
Is it true you have a book in every bag?I have books everywhere, in fact sometimes I have to take them off my bed to get into bed to go to sleep.What are you reading at the moment?Sara Maitland's A Book of Silence: A Journey in Search of the Pleasures and Powers of Silence; this book is making me want to become a hermit. In my other hand I am reading Why Italians Love to Talk about Food by Elena Kostioukovitch.Why is Elizabeth David such a hero?Because she was the first person writing about food in English professionally; she literally created food writing as a career.What ingredients inspire you?So many, but I love seeing and cooking vegetables that are so fresh they are almost stiff and if they have come from a friend's garden I am even more inspired.What foods can't you live without?Olive oil, tomatoes, bread, garlic and salami, and let's not forget parmesan cheese.Is there anything you don't like eating?Bad food and marshmallows.Favourite meal?Roast chicken with bread sauce and all the trimmings.Most memorable meal?I have many, but one would definitely be with my father in New Zealand eating food that had come from the land and water nearby. Another would be in a roadside restaurant in a village above Monaco. I ate a pasta dish with wild mushrooms that was heady and meaty and absolutely heaven.Most disastrous dinner party?I had just split up from my partner (my daughter Olive's dad) and I was having a few people round to try and get myself back on the entertaining circuit. It was too early and my tears mixed with my cooking and I ended up leaving the table.What will you be cooking for Christmas?It will be very relaxed. A good friend of mine's son is having a wedding party just before Christmas in Byron Bay and I am helping to cook for that. So when my friends and I discussed Christmas we decided we'd have leftovers from the party or whatever else we could find €” or maybe just champagne on the beach.Rachel Grisewood's cookbook Manna from Heaven, Allen & Unwin, $59.99 is out now.
© 2009 The Age
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