Chef Errieda Du Toit
ERRIEDA DU TOIT just released her 7th cookbook TUISTAFEL. A self-proclaimed tradition-foodie she has a knack to invigorate delicious recipes from the past with new ideas. She’s the content producer for Kokkedoor, Koekedoor and Kokkedoortjie on KykNET; and authored the books on each series in collaboration with Human & Rosseau.The RSG radio-programme Huiskok Glanskok established her over 16 years as the much-loved Huiskok, with her debut book Huiskok Glanskok winning a Gourmand World Cookbook- award, She wrote the Masterchef SA cookbook, present food talks, runs Talentspens, a talent management agency; do food styling and recipe development with her photographer husband Ian du Toit and collect cookbooks. Her dogs Poeding and Tjoklit are named after two of her favourite things. Spekko sat down with Errieda, heres what followed:
Spekko: What is your favourite local ingredient?
Errieda: Karoo lamb. For my last meal I want to dig into slow braised lamb shoulder with lots of fluffy rice to mop up the gravy, one of my favourite memories of Sunday Lunch.
SP: What would you cook when the days are dark and everybody needs a lifting of the spirits?
ED:Pamper food from childhood days – macaroni and cheese, sago pudding, creamy rice pudding with apricot jam, bread and butter pudding. To warm the heart – my lentil and marrow bone soup with Spanish ñorah peppers.
SP: What is your family’s favourite everyday dish?
ED : A fragrant one pot chicken, lemon and rice dish that comes out of the oven in less than 30 minutes, tasting like a Greek holiday. We fight over the left overs.
SP: What will you eat in Paris – if budget is not an issue? (That is Paris France)?
ED: As money’s not an issue I’ll first pay the high priests of French cuisine a visit – Alain Passard and Pierre Gagnaire. I’ll conclude my epicurean expedition at new generation bistros where a French renaissance is taking place (hoping that it will be truffle season).
SP: Tell us where in the world you the best meal ever. (Elaborate on dishes/ restaurant/ private dinner etc).
ED: Internationally: The ‘puertas cerradas (behind closed doors) secret supper experience at Casa Felix in Buenos Aires, well before private supper clubs, pop-up restaurants and foraging chefs became fashionable. Ancient methods and heirloom ingredients were transformed into a very modern dining experience. Ten years on I still marvel at the uniqueness of it all.
SP: Your personal best recipe ever?
ED: I’m very curious about food, so I keep on changing the goal post of ‘best ever’. I’m always drawn by the simpler ones, recipes with a good back story.
- Slow-braised Karoo lamb neck on a bed of heerbone (an heirloom Lima bean grown in the Sandveld, a rare seasonal find) and saffron slaphakskeentjies, a new way to serve the traditional salad of whole baby onions in a mustardy sweet-sour sauce. I use a treasured 30 year old sherry vinegar from Prince Albert for this dish.
- Pickled fish served bunny chow style in a ‘rosyntjiebrood’-brioche which I flavor with saffron (or curry and turmeric) and glaze it with orange syrup.
SP: Chefs you admire: local?…….International…..? Why?
ED: International:
- My current flame is Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef whose restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena tops the list as the best restaurant in the world. His tasting menu ‘Tradition in Evolution’ is on my bucket list. My grandfather was Italian, which explains the connections.
- I love the new shift towards the vibrant food of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food – Sabrina Ghayour (Sirocco and Persiana), Sam and Sam Clark of Moro-fame and Yotam Ottolenghi are firm favourites. Food from warm countries suit our South African lifestyle and palate.
Local chefs:
Our local chefs do amazing things. At ‘worth a detour’ places, and away from the lime light and top ten listings.
- Chef Nic van Wyk of Bistro 13 – he must cook my last meal one day.
- Forager chef Kobus van der Merwe (Wolfgat & Oep ve Koep in Paternoster)
- Chef Pete Goffe-Wood is the maestro of meat and flames (and he taught my husband to cook with his Kitchen Cowboys-course)
- Johnny Hamman, winner of Kokkedoor 2 and founder of Slippery Spoon pop-ups for the most original, forward-thinking and avant-garde food experiences. He turns familiar food on its head beautifully..
SP: Favourite restaurant here in South Africa?
ED: For understated elegance and beautiful views : De Grendel Restaurant; Platteland seasonal: Mariana’s in Stanford. For beste pizza outside Naples – Vesuvio near Tyger Valley. For old times sake – the century old Kapitan’s Indian restaurant in Joburg for old times sake. Chef Nic van Wyk, wherever he cooks – Bistro 13 or Haute Cabriere. Hemelhuijs, to experience the visionary genius of Jacques Erasmus.
SP: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Do you have your dream job, or is there more?
ED: Doing creative collaborations with young people to stir up excitement for our rich and varied culinary heritage. My latest book Tuistafel is an example of that, involving a young South African graphic designer Roelien Boosyen to illustrate and design the book with modern appeal, combining ‘ouma’ with light-hearted comics!
SP: Your favourite food blogger:
ED: Local Heinstirred.com for Hein van Tonder’s magnificent food photography. Lizet Hartley’s Melkkos and Merlot for the way she combines old and new.
International: Lucky Peach, not a food blog, but a food journal linked to the eponymous magazine, with everything from essays and interviews to recipes and food science. The serious made funny.
SP: Your greatest achievement?
ED: Being able to live a life centered around food – and that what I enjoy doing has turned into seven cookbooks.
SP: If not cooking, what are your “hobbies”?
ED: Collecting cook books. I stopped counting to ease my conscience.
SP: Your favourite author – fiction?
ED :Afrikaans: Karen Brynard, political journalist turned crime write.
English novelist: Ian McEwan
SP: Your favourite author – cookbook/ or food related topic)
ED Diana Henry, an Irish food writer for inspired everyday cooking, such as A Bird in the Hand; Simple; A Change of Appetite; Roast Figs and Sugar Snow.
SP: Your pet hate in SA foodie business?
ED : being trampled at overcrowded food festivals and expos. I prefer farmers markets.
SP: The most underrated ingredient in local cuisine?
ED : Grapes. We are a grape-growing nation, with over 350 years of grape growing and wine-making experience, and still we don’t use grapes imaginatively in our cuisine. A favourite in my rice repertoire combines rice (heady with cardamom, thyme, tarragon and star anise) and hanepoot grapes, chicken, chardonnay and toasted almonds. It’s a lighter, localized version of the classic Chicken Veronique.