Stephanie Alexander, an Australian food educator, feels that it is very important to concentrate on the enjoyable aspect of cooking and not just skills. By Team Viva
Sharing food and wine with family and friends is very important for her. Brushing past scented leaves in a garden, picking parsley outside the back door, pulling a cork from a bottle of wine, setting out a picnic on a bush table — all these things push her to live another day and eat another meal. Stephanie Alexander, an Australian food educator, believes that there is no greater joy than sharing food, conversation and laughter around a table.
You emphasise more on joyful and healthy cooking. Do you think people nowadays are more aware of fresh and organic ways of cooking?
Yes, I think it is very important to concentrate on the enjoyable aspect of cooking. We also need to make sure that young people, who are in the process of learning the skills of cooking, not only get efficient in that but also understand how important it is to enjoy the process. For me, cooking is one of the most wonderful things to bring a family or group of people together. So I spend a lot of time trying to encourage people to enjoy their food choices.
I choose organic food only. The organic movement is growing everywhere, as more and more people are becoming aware of their food choices. We have great emphasis on fish too.
Melbourne is known as Australia’s food capital. What reasons would you attribute that to?
I am very proud of Melbourne as it is a great food destination. Though we are a country of just three million, there are a lot of things we can do. We have a range of cafes and restaurants catering to every need. Some of the reasons for its popularity are: The Queen Victoria Market, fish food, Wagyu beef tartars and chilli baked mussels.
What do you have to say about the current food culture of Melbourne? What does it have in store for Indians specifically?
There are no special food trends there. You can have good food everywhere in Melbourne, not only in the city but even in the vineyard or sea side. Wherever you go, you will find one commonality fish.
One in every third person in Melbourne is born elsewhere or there parents were. So we have all kinds of ethnic foods you can imagine. The population there has a huge choice. So any visitor, Indian or otherwise, can choose what they would like to eat. There is nothing specific.
What is your signature dish and how did you come up with it?
I don’t think I have a signature dish. I only have certain things which I cook all the time. One of them is roast chicken, my children are very fond of it. My speciality is garlic chicken and potatoes and lemon garlic chicken. It tastes delicious. I always like to serve a dish with green salads. Even choosing a favourite dish is very hard for me. I really like lamb cutlet and fresh fish.
What are the new global food movements?
Now more and more restaurants are interested in using indigenous ingredients. If you go into a good restaurant in Melbourne, you will find ingredients that you have never heard of such as fingerlions. As the name suggests, it is the size of your finger and are grown on very small trees in the rain forest.
You are the author of 17 cookbooks. Are there any more on their way? If so, what will you focus on?
Yes, I am writing a book on home cooking. It will cater to the family cooking basically. However, it will take a year for it to come out.