CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

My dad had two pieces of advice for me when it came to working: ‘Get a job you actually enjoy,’ he would say. Check. And ‘don’t ever start your own business’ (like he and Mum did), as ‘it’s bloody hard work’. Whoops! Sorry Dad. One out of two isn’t bad!

What a fantastic eighteen months it’s been since the first Starter Kitchen book hit the shelves. Between starting Sprout, my own cooking school with dietitian Themis Chryssidis; designing a range of food products with the Thankyou™ team; working with Adelaide Produce Market, Wesley Mission, Chef de Quota, Jamie Oliver’s Home Cooking Skills and Connect Pink; becoming a presenter on SA Life and winning $20,000 for the Cancer Council on MasterChef All Stars, I’ve had my hands full!

The sources of inspiration for the recipes in this book are varied. I grew up eating mostly Australian/European and vegetarian-style dishes, so some of these recipes are things I ate as a child. A few are from friends and others were discovered on my travels. You may notice I’ve lifted many of the recipe ideas from countries outside Australia, most noticeably North America, South Africa and parts of Asia. These are the places I’ve been lucky enough to travel to during my twenty-four years. As food is such a universal language, I find meeting new people from different cultures to be incredibly inspiring in the kitchen.

I’ve also been lucky to learn from friends and family. There are various Asian recipes from Adam, burgers from Dan and Rob, vegetarian food (where you don’t even miss the meat!) from my sister, Kirsty, and a comforting chilli from Kyle (here). I have learned about precision, baking and how to make a darn fine salted caramel popcorn fudge (here) from Chloe, who now owns four sets of measuring cups if that gives you an idea of the sort of person she is. Technically, I melted one of the sets, but that’s a story for another day …

I’m always looking for shortcuts in recipes, whether it’s the potato-free gnocchi (here) or the sort-of paella (here) made with couscous instead of rice. Some would call me a lazy cook, but I prefer the word efficient (I was an engineering student prior to becoming a cook). Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking, but if you can get a delicious meal on the table that is quicker and easier to prepare than the original recipe, yet sacrifices nothing in terms of taste or enjoyment, which would you choose?

The average person has about nine different recipes in their repertoire that they cook over and over again. Nine meals?! That doesn’t sound like a heck of a lot of variety to me. I hope this collection of recipes you hold in your hands gives you the skills and, more importantly, the enthusiasm to become a better cook. Even if you only pick up an extra handful of recipes that you like and want to make again, you can sit above that average and eat a greater variety of meals.

My goal is to turn you into more of a foodie than you already are. Feel free to change, bastardise, scribble on, leave stuff out of or add to my recipes. This book isn’t about me, it’s about you. I want you to become a better cook, a more knowledgeable cook, and a happier cook. Try something new. If the worst thing about today is a lopsided soufflé, then that sounds like a pretty darn good day to me. Cook dishes for no other reason than to make yourself and others happy. That’ll make me happy. I’ll be around for dinner next week!