Al Brown chef of the people
Amazing food, elbows on the table, arguments, conversation and laughter. New Zealand’s down-to-earth chef just wants us to be comfortable,
There is no chef – possibly no human – more concerned about your comfort than Al Brown. He is like a flight attendant, combined with a cushy sofa, mixed with your loyal childhood dog. The 52-year-old is a caricature of the Salt of the Earth bloke; a hearty hug personified.
‘‘My big thing is making people feel comfortable,’’ he says with a jolly drawl. ‘‘I hate the thought of people feeling uncomfortable.’’
Book after book, restaurant after restaurant, dish after dish, Brown has crafted an image as the unpretentious everyman, a chef of the people, at one with the land and sea.
‘‘I’m a happy, jovial sort of chap.’’
Brown’s go-to lazy meal is cheese and tinned spaghetti sandwich on white bread. He eats Vogels for breakfast (avocado, tomato, salt, pepper) with a Berocca and instant coffee.
Asked what he dislikes, Brown says ‘‘bad service’’ and ‘‘people being unkind’’.
Another thing he dislikes: ‘‘I need to say that there’s not a whole lot that I actually enjoy about writing cookbooks,’’ he writes in the opening section of his latest book, Eat Up New Zealand. Despite that, and despite his dyslexia, he’s written six of them, which his publisher Allen & Unwin say have sold a combined 100,000 copies.
He’s your pal Al, forever smiling, permanently capped – ‘‘Cause I haven’t got much hair, so I have to put something on my head.’’ But, also, because the cap has become a symbol of his casual, down-to-earth schtick.
‘‘I think that’s probably all part of it. I like making people feel comfortable. That’s sort of my ace card.’’
He projects ordinariness: the aesthetic, the wine served in tumblers, the Hyundai he drives.
‘‘I don’t want to be driving around in a flash car. I don’t want people looking at me like that. I just don’t feel comfortable,’’ he
‘‘The [finedining] jacket didn’t fit. I feel uncomfortable in a formal situation and I feel many Kiwis do.’’ Al Brown
says. ‘‘I’m not wealthy at all. I have a massive mortgage and a small house in Ellerslie. I’m certainly not poor but I’m just not wealthy.’’
He’s a relatable man who cooks relatable food. His dishes summon a sort of cultural nostalgia.
Eat Up contains new takes on old favourites, a love letter to bakeries, a whole section on whipped cream. Of all the new recipes, Brown’s favourite is the ‘‘Breakfast of Kings’’ – sauteed whitebait on buttered white toast with tartare sauce and a fried egg. ‘‘That dish would have been made on the side of rivers and in cribs and shacks up and down the country,’’ he says.