A journey to the heart...
When I was a kid, like most little people, I was totally addicted to my Nanna’s cooking, the savoury and the sweet.
But it wasn't just about the flavours, the ingredients or the generous portions. There was something else unique to her table and her kitchen which I could never quite put my finger on. On a Friday night, or a Sunday dinner together with family, once she would eventually sit down to join us and proudly observe her loved ones immersed in an evening of joy and smiles, and we’d ask her “Nan, this is delicious, how do you do it?”, the answer would always be “the most important thing to remember when you cook; it needs to be made with love”.
In every culture around the world, the best foods are always those imbued with the tastes of home, familiar and heart-warming flavours and those bites and morsels of comforting goodness which remind us that home is indeed where the heart is. And as with all of us, food is part of our familial and cultural memory, either a nostalgic reminder of that we have always loved or sometimes new loves that we have only just discovered.
Although I was raised primarily on Eastern European flavours, Hungarian and Polish food, growing up in Melbourne has meant being exposed to a great deal of variety and with food as a central part of my life, it was inevitable that I would find inspiration and passion for food and cooking in my local and overseas travels.
From learning about real Hungarian goulash in the north eastern Szatmar region village of Fulesd (the hometown of my ‘Anyu’), to discussing the origins of Kreplach and peroghi in Krakow (the hometown of my Nan), even being inspired by local Baklawa in the Arab town of Tira in Israel, finding a zillion fantastic ways to use Pomegranate or learning the fabulous recipe for Egyptain Taamia in the old quarter of Cairo. Then the amazing experience of discovering Korean barbeque in Seoul and the art of steaming sensationally unique, fragrant rice dishes inside bamboo trunks. Or there is my amazing butchers, Daniel and Stephen Lewis, right here in Melbourne, who manage to come up with ever exciting ways of incorporating great new flavours into their already sublime smallgoods range.
If you look through my menu, you’ll see that in the 6 pages of appetizers, entrees, soups, dips, relishes, mains, sides, salads and desserts there is an enormous amount of diversity. You’ll find Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Moroccan, Turkish, Egyptian, Hungarian, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Mexican recipes. And I am always open to learn more, share more and try more.
My ‘Apu’ was a pastry chef, who prior to the war, trained at the famous Gerbaud in Budapest in Hungary; and it was always a huge testament to his passion for food and flavour that he did one thing which any decent chef simply must do…. He took enormous pleasure at eating and enjoying his own food. When you asked him “how is it?” he’d always say “Moreish”.
I can tell you that I do the same. I love cooking, I love sharing my food and I hope to be able to cook for you soon.
So check out the 'Made with Luv' Gourmet Larder and have a flick through the menu ! (or find out more about our 'Restaurant @ Home' service!)
And if you have any foodie adventures or recipes to share, send them along via email and we'll post them on the blog page.
Feedback, special requests and suggestions are always more than welcome, and whether it's a dinner party, lunch, corporate function, family or social event coming up, there’s sure to be lots there to suit everyone's taste buds ...no matter where it is that you and your family call home.
x Malki
Made with Luv
Homemade Fine Foods
0404 129 753
But it wasn't just about the flavours, the ingredients or the generous portions. There was something else unique to her table and her kitchen which I could never quite put my finger on. On a Friday night, or a Sunday dinner together with family, once she would eventually sit down to join us and proudly observe her loved ones immersed in an evening of joy and smiles, and we’d ask her “Nan, this is delicious, how do you do it?”, the answer would always be “the most important thing to remember when you cook; it needs to be made with love”.
In every culture around the world, the best foods are always those imbued with the tastes of home, familiar and heart-warming flavours and those bites and morsels of comforting goodness which remind us that home is indeed where the heart is. And as with all of us, food is part of our familial and cultural memory, either a nostalgic reminder of that we have always loved or sometimes new loves that we have only just discovered.
Although I was raised primarily on Eastern European flavours, Hungarian and Polish food, growing up in Melbourne has meant being exposed to a great deal of variety and with food as a central part of my life, it was inevitable that I would find inspiration and passion for food and cooking in my local and overseas travels.
From learning about real Hungarian goulash in the north eastern Szatmar region village of Fulesd (the hometown of my ‘Anyu’), to discussing the origins of Kreplach and peroghi in Krakow (the hometown of my Nan), even being inspired by local Baklawa in the Arab town of Tira in Israel, finding a zillion fantastic ways to use Pomegranate or learning the fabulous recipe for Egyptain Taamia in the old quarter of Cairo. Then the amazing experience of discovering Korean barbeque in Seoul and the art of steaming sensationally unique, fragrant rice dishes inside bamboo trunks. Or there is my amazing butchers, Daniel and Stephen Lewis, right here in Melbourne, who manage to come up with ever exciting ways of incorporating great new flavours into their already sublime smallgoods range.
If you look through my menu, you’ll see that in the 6 pages of appetizers, entrees, soups, dips, relishes, mains, sides, salads and desserts there is an enormous amount of diversity. You’ll find Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Moroccan, Turkish, Egyptian, Hungarian, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Mexican recipes. And I am always open to learn more, share more and try more.
My ‘Apu’ was a pastry chef, who prior to the war, trained at the famous Gerbaud in Budapest in Hungary; and it was always a huge testament to his passion for food and flavour that he did one thing which any decent chef simply must do…. He took enormous pleasure at eating and enjoying his own food. When you asked him “how is it?” he’d always say “Moreish”.
I can tell you that I do the same. I love cooking, I love sharing my food and I hope to be able to cook for you soon.
So check out the 'Made with Luv' Gourmet Larder and have a flick through the menu ! (or find out more about our 'Restaurant @ Home' service!)
And if you have any foodie adventures or recipes to share, send them along via email and we'll post them on the blog page.
Feedback, special requests and suggestions are always more than welcome, and whether it's a dinner party, lunch, corporate function, family or social event coming up, there’s sure to be lots there to suit everyone's taste buds ...no matter where it is that you and your family call home.
x Malki
Made with Luv
Homemade Fine Foods
0404 129 753
