FB: How would you rate your cooking skills?
EM: I am a certified chef from William Angliss, I worked as a culinary producer on MasterChef North America and taste test for raw food restaurants in Bali and India as well as luxury hotels around the globe. My grandpa was a shearer’s cook and my mum makes the best scones on the planet. But really my style is very basic. I love home grown, no fuss grub.
FB: What is your signature dish?
EM: Maple lemon rind butter glazed Atlantic salmon with smashed potatoes, balsamic asparagus and grilled zucchini OR roasted sweet potato, lemon juice, rocket, pine nut, goats milk feta salad. The veg side for winter, salad side for summer.
FB: If you could only have one more meal, what would it be?
EM: This is tough, I love all food! King prawns from Australia, a crispy free range roast chicken with rosemary, mussels in garlic broth, butter chicken, chola, gopta and garlic naan, and anything with cacao for dessert.
FB: What is your favourite TV food show and who is your favourite TV food person?
EM: I have to say Stephanie Alexander because her daughter is my best buddy and her Easter buns are incredible. I love watching Maggie Beer as well. Her Barossa Valley kitchen is incredible.
FB: What is your favourite food?
EM: Anything sweet minus the gluten, dairy or sugar. I’m into finding ways around refined sugar these days by using coconut sugar, maple syrup and dates.
FB: Which 5 people would you most like to invite to dinner?
EM: I saw pictures on Facebook of my old film producers at a dinner party with Jimmy Fallon, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett. Now THAT sounds like a very interesting mix of Hollywood royalty.
FB: Do you have a kitchen tip for us?
EM: Invest in a really good set of knives. I still have my Victornoix from chef’s school. Sharpen them regularly with a stone. A set of graters from Microplane is a must. Also, if you are cooking a lot, wear a good clog like Dansko as they will save your back and make cooking more comfortable, especially if you have tiled floors. I cannot live without a Vitamix for smoothies and juices. It keeps the fibre of the food. You can also blend soups and make hummus, cheesecake bases, crumbs and nut milks.
BANANA COOKIES
So often people ask me: “What can I make with overripe bananas?” Normally I’d say whack them in a cake, but there are only so many banana cakes one can make! A quicker (and healthier) school lunchbox option is banana and oat cookies, with coconut, ground cinnamon and whatever other little fillers you like – think raisins, dried cranberries and choc chips! I added some chia seeds to mine and – as you can see by the photos – I never can resist a drizzle of dark and white chocolate.
There are many easy recipes online, but you can’t beat The Healthy Chef banana and oatmeal cookie recipe at www.thehealthychef.com.
Don’t forget, you can freeze overripe bananas to use later!
