I am a contributor to Good Weekend magazine's beloved Two of Us column, in which two people talk about their relationship. In this case, it was Melbourne painter Vincent Fantauzzo (left), 41, and Sydney chef Matt Moran, 49. They met in a bar, hit it off instantly and now have a long-distance friendship based on honesty, vulnerability and a shared love of fast cars.
While we had a cake in the oven I grabbed the lovely Sophia from Thermomix Baking Blogger for a chat about sourdough, a topic that's close to both of our hearts, but can seem very spooky and mysterious if you've never encountered it before.
I had a blast chatting all things Thermomix with ace chef Jesse Gerner of Bomba, Green Park and Añada fame along with host Pete Dillon (at left) on 949 Joy FM‘s ‘Cravings’ radio show. Listen in here!
“Jessi loves to feed people and he can do it anywhere,” says his wife Jennifer. He did it as a boy in his Punjab village, getting up at 4am to water the fields, milk the buffalo and make yoghurt lassi for breakfast before heading to school. He did it in Jennifer’s miniature apartment in San Francisco. “He invited people over, I told him it was impossible, but amazing food kept appearing from my tiny kitchen,” she says. Even today, he’s known for rummaging in friends’ fridges and creating feasts, turning his hosts into honoured guests in their own homes. He’s tapping into a Sikh sense of hospitality. “It’s a natural part of my culture,” he says. “Everyone must sit down and eat together and the guest is considered God.” It also, simply, makes him feel good. “After a long day in the kitchen, cooking is a therapy for me,” he says. “It gives me huge satisfaction to know I made my meal from scratch.”
It was a privilege to hear Italian chef Massimo Bottura speak at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art today, Wednesday November 26, and very exciting to have him sign his recipe page in my second book, In the Mix 2: More Great Thermomix Recipes.
