WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY SHARE THEIR FAVOURITE CULINARY MEMORIES
WE ALL have cherished food memories that make us close our eyes, or that one ingredient or dish that an occasion just wouldn’t be the same without.
To celebrate women in the food and beverage industry, we asked chefs to share their favourite food memories and a recipe that goes with it.
Tarryn Coetzee – Executive Sous Chef at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront
What have been your favourite food moments?
Getting the chance to play with new menu ideas and the excitement of when a dish comes out better than you expected!
The simplicity of food, the cleanliness of the look and feel of a dish, and the moment you know you made your exec chef proud, but most importantly, the moment you get that “compliments to the chef” would be my alltime favourite food moment.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
That would be my mom. Funny enough, I wasn’t the type to be in the kitchen with her. I never really had that interest in cooking.
But my mom’s food was always the best; so when I eventually started my culinary career, I challenged myself to try and cook all my mom’s favourites and trust me, there are still some dishes that she does better.
After all, mom’s food is always the best! Another person has to be Jolene van Zyl – the first chef I worked with. The passion she had for cooking really rubbed off on me and inspired me to study cooking professionally.
She got me my first cookbook which 16 years later, I still have and make use of.
Tarryn Coetzee’s bobotie Ingredients
2 slices white bread
2 onions, chopped
25g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed 1kg packet lean minced beef 2 tbsp curry paste
1 tsp dried mixed herbs 3 cloves
2 tbsp chutney
3 tbsp sultana
6 bay leaves
For the topping
300ml full cream milk
2 large eggs
Method
Heat oven to 180°C.
Pour cold milk (not the milk needed for the topping) over the bread and set it aside to soak – the milk should just cover the bread.
Meanwhile, fry the onions in the butter, stirring regularly for 10 minutes until they are soft and starting to colour. Add the garlic and beef and stir well.
Ensure that you crush the mince into fine grains until it changes colour. Stir in the curry paste, herbs, spices, chutney, sultanas, and two of the bay leaves with one tsp salt and plenty of ground black pepper.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Squeeze the liquid from the bread, then beat the bread into the meat mixture until well blended. Place mixture into an oven-proof dish.
For the topping, beat the milk and eggs together with seasoning. Then pour over the meat mixture. Top with the remaining bay leaves and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the topping is set and starting to turn golden.
Serve with rice, chutney, sambals.
Grace Stevens – Cookbook author
What have been your favourite food moments?
When I have to teach someone to make something tricky, like macarons and they succeed. That look of pleasure on their face is amazing.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
I’m a huge fan of Abigail Donnelly and Katelyn Allegra (née Williams), a food stylist, food photographer, and recipe developer.
Grace Steven’s sticky cinnamon buns
(Serves: 12)
Ingredients
750ml flour
75ml salt
60ml castor sugar
100g butter (room temperature) and 120g for filling
15g fresh yeast
250ml tepid milk
2 eggs
Filling
120g soft butter 60ml dark brown sugar 15ml cinnamon
Frosting
90g butter
90g full-cream cream cheese 500ml icing sugar
60ml full cream milk
Method
Place flour, salt, sugar, and butter into a large mixing bowl.
Dissolve yeast in milk and add eggs. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until gluten is stretchy (about 5 minutes).
Place in a large clean bowl and allow to double in size (about 45 to 60 minutes).
Grease a rectangular cake tin or baking tray.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1cm thick.
Combine all filling ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Spread the filling onto the rolledout dough.
Roll up the dough in a tight roll. Cut off each end and then divide into12 smaller lengths.
Arrange each bun in the cake tin, keeping some space around each one to allow for proving.
Prove for 30 minutes to 40 minutes, until doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC for 15 minutes to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin. Frosting
Combine the cream cheese and the butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Add icing sugar and beat well. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add a little more if it is not spreadable enough.
To finish
While the buns are still warm, spread the frosting on top, making sure to cover the entire surface of each bun.
Allow to cool or serve warm.
Kerry Kilpin – Executive Chef at Steenberg
What have been your favourite food moments?
It must have been sitting outside Tickets restaurant in Barcelona waiting for a table. They were fully booked and I couldn’t get a table so I told them I would wait outside until a table came available. I arrived at 5.30pm. At 11pm they came to me and said we can show you to your table, by this point I was starving! Every aspect of the dinner lived up to my huge expectations. Each course was served in a different room with different decor. Finally, desserts felt like we were sitting in Mr Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, a room decorated in candy. It was a mind-blowing experience and I am so grateful to have eaten at the restaurant of one of the cheffing greats, Ferran Adria.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Jackie Cameron is a wonderful chef and has followed her heart and passion for the industry, opening up her own chef school, and finding a balance being a new mom.
Kerry Kilpin’s seared beef tataki with truffle and corn
Ingredients
300g beef fillet
1 sweetcorn
1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 spring onion, finely chopped 50g wild rocket
150g shimeji mushrooms
1 lime cut into wedges
Preparation:
Season the beef with salt and pepper.
In a hot pan, sear the meat for one minute on each side. You want the corn to turn slightly black but not completely burned. Allow to cool and slice off the cob.
To assemble: Slice the beef as thinly as you can and lay flat over a large platter. Cover the entire surface of the platter with slices of beef. Sprinkle the meat with charred corn, chilli, and spring onions. Season the meat with the remaining vinaigrette. Drizzle the truffle mayo over the meat. Garnish with the marinated mushrooms and wild rocket.
Serve with sliced lime wedges.
Vinaigrette
50ml olive oil
25ml lemon juice
25ml soy
5ml sugar
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, soy, and sugar. Mix well. Divide into half. Pour half over the mushrooms and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
Truffle mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
125ml sunflower oil
5ml truffle oil
10ml red wine vinegar
10ml water
5ml hot English mustard
Salt
Place the egg yolk, truffle oil, red wine vinegar, water, mustard, and pinch of salt in a food processor. While the food processor is running slowly, add the sunflower oil to form an emulsion. The mixture will slowly start to thicken as you add the oil. Season with salt, taste for acidity. You may like to add a little more vinegar.