Our forum star: Louise de Jager
Where are you from?
Although I was born in Middelburg, I was lucky enough to end up in Cape Town at the age of 10.
Are you just a natural born foodie, or do you have a background in food? Who taught you to cook?
No food background at all, just a natural born foodie all the way! I’ve been blessed to have various influences here. My mother who to this day still makes the best ‘putu pap’ and oxtail ever; my late mother-in-law with her homey cottage pie and rich bean curry; a late aunt who herself loved to pore over cookbooks; a lifelong friend who works as a private chef; and my husband, as there is no better way for us to spend time together than being in the kitchen and seeing what we can come up with.
Would you say you’re a baker or a cook? And if you could recommend one tool, what would it be?
I love both cooking and baking but I tend to lean more towards the cooking side – so many more flavours and styles! Seeing as I do more cooking than baking, I’d have to say an extremely good quality knife (and remember you get what you pay for!) We have the 16cm Wüsthof Classic Ikon Cook’s Knife and I would not trade it for any other. It fits in my hand perfectly and cuts anything and everything expertly. If you have the right knife you can’t go wrong!
Is there one piece of advice or kitchen tip or trick that you can give us?
Butter, butter, butter all the way! Never ever try to substitute with margarine as butter adds an amazing richness to anything you cook or bake. Adding a small dollop of butter to sauces gives them a beautiful shine and one cannot make mashed potatoes without loading it with creamy butter. My epitaph one day shall read: She Ate Butter!
And what are your pantry essentials?
In my pantry (and fridge), I always have (you guessed it!) butter! I like Kerrygold. I also have vanilla pods and pure vanilla extract, Kikkoman soya sauce, fresh herbs (we have a little herb patch in back garden), good quality stock, fresh nutmeg, coriander seeds, Maldon salt, black pepper corns, Italian tinned tomatoes and last, but not least, a good bottle of white wine. Cooking is very thirsty work, and you can even use the wine to deglaze a pan, if there’s any that escaped your glass.
If you could learn to bake or cook anything from a pro chef what would it be and from who?
There are so many amazing chefs all across the world and Heston Blumenthal with his molecular gastronomy is definitely at the top of my international list! But, keeping it close to home, I have to say Luke Dale-Roberts. We were lucky enough to eat at The Test Kitchen and his gourmand menu is absolutely mind blowing. Just when you think you’ve eaten the most amazing thing ever your next course arrives and your taste buds go into heavenly overdrive all over again! If I had to choose one thing to learn, it would be how to make the sweet breads we were served that evening!
So, there you have it, folks, the personality behind all those amazing answers.
Head on over to our Forum and see if you can help out some like-minded foodies or share your burning questions with us. Each month, we’ll award a Forum Star (and the winner will get a little something from us).