Women's Nook
Sue Jenkins’ favourite song is ‘Bat out of Hell’ by Meatloaf. Read on and you will understand why.
Sue owns Accoutrement in Mosman, Sydney. As the name implies, it provides all the bits and pieces required to make food and cooking the hub of the home. Her large store combines the Accoutrement Cooking School with homewares, giftwares, kitchenware and a food store.
Sue is blessed with amazing energy. It sustains her through days that include being in the store giving personal attention to customers; ordering new stock; visiting trade shows and suppliers; shopping for ingredients for each cooking class; making cappuccinos to welcome everyone to a class; working with visiting chefs till late in the evening… All this, as well as taking food tours overseas, spending time with her family and more recently, flying to Tasmania regularly to spend a few days gardening, preserving fruit…Sue just goes on and on. Like a bat out of hell, really.
Sue is self-taught in most things - not knowing is simply the challenge to learn and implement as she goes. She has grabbed opportunities that life has presented and reaped the rewards both personally and professionally. Her family, including 5 grandchildren, are the cornerstone of her life. Both her children are involved in the business. She has seen Accoutrement grow from 2 combined stores to 5. The Accoutrement Cooking School presents over 100 cooking classes per year, with local and overseas chefs. Sue also personally guides small groups on food tours of Europe.
I have been an avid follower of Accoutrement’s cooking classes for years. They have opened my eyes to produce, techniques and dishes, from basic to exotic. I have cooked so many of the recipes. They are a testament to Sue’s appreciation of what home cooking is all about; practicality and inspiration.
Sue was nominated for Telstra Woman of the Year, 2008. Like so many women, her journey is an inspirational one. She exudes curiosity, energy and openness to any opportunity, personal or professional.
Over a cup of coffee I asked Sue about her life. She’s a great example of following your passions and enjoying every moment.
Sue, what is your personal philosophy?
What are your earliest food memories?
I grew up in a family of 8, which included my grandfather. I can recall going to Paddy’s Markets with my mother every week, when it really was a produce market. My grandfather looked after the vegetable garden and the chooks, all located on our house block in Mosman, Sydney. My mother had a Fowler preserving kit and was constantly bottling fruit with my aunt, who lived nearby. Our meals were big family affairs, often with a guest or two.
My parents had lived in Malaya, as it was then called, so spicy food like curries were made, along with everything else. After school we were expected to help with the meals by shelling peas and making the daily ice cream from a can of Ideal milk -you don’t see that recipe around any more.
As a treat for us all, especially my mother, my father would go every Friday night to the local Chinese restaurant with saucepans and billycans to bring home a meal. There were no takeaway containers as we know them today.
How did food become so much a part of your adult life?
As you can see, food and cooking were part of my life from an early age. I was expected to do something for the evening meal every day. When I married David at 20, we lived on a pittance, so I learnt to cook such things as rabbit and tripe because they were cheap. I got my inspiration for cooking them from European cookbooks, where peasant food traditions included such recipes.
In 1968 David and I moved to Tamworth, in country NSW, where I discovered great hospitality and many good cooks. There was no such thing as ‘eating out’ so everyone did lots of entertaining at home. It was the era of the dinner party. Unlike today, there were no convenience foods available, and things like stock had to be made from scratch. It took days of preparation. My inspirations were Robert Carrier and the Cordon Bleu series of cookbooks. I even taught myself basic butchery, like boning, because the cuts of meat offered by the local butchers were not what the continental recipes required.
A funny but true piece of advice was given to me not long after moving to Tamworth, by one of the matrons of the town. She said to never share a good recipe because it’ll be served back to you many times over (and never buy your clothes locally because everyone will know how much you paid for them).
What else nurtured your love of cooking?
Initially people asked me to help them learn to cook. I really enjoyed this.
My interest in all things culinary led me to be the manager a very stylish shop selling Marimeko and Arabia ware in Tamworth. Those who were entertaining in the 60’s and 70’s will remember these brands as being the height of sophistication. I resigned when my daughter Emma was born.
A new kitchen shop opened in Tamworth around this time and I was approached to do cooking demonstrations there. This led to more demonstrations, particularly for charities such as the Black and White Society, in other country towns of the region.
This was all well and good but I was conscious of my lack of formal qualifications. France was the place for food at the time so I enrolled in Ecole Lenotre, at Versailles. This famous school is for professional chefs and all classes are in French. I was accepted for a month long course in pastry and desserts, so off I went. I guessed at the language throughout the course by watching the techniques carefully. All the chefs were incredibly helpful.
Then, whenever I was in Sydney I always tried to attend cooking classes at Accoutrement and check up on their latest equipment.
And after Tamworth?
We moved back to Sydney because the children were nearing high school age and we didn’t want them to attend boarding school. I was asked by the then owner of Accoutrement to run his store in Chatswood, which included the cooking school. After 8 months I was offered the whole business to buy.
At the time Accoutrement was the only such cooking school in Sydney. My husband, David, would come home from work to be with the children while I ran the evening classes. It was a great opportunity for him to share time with them, not to mention improving his cooking skills. He is a good cook.
Around this time I also compiled a book 21 Great Chefs of Australia that sold 5000 copies. I am very proud of the book. Many of the chefs featured are still at the top of their profession and I’m delighted to be working with many of them today.
Did you have any doubts about buying the business?
Apart from a huge mortgage and very high interest rates - around 17%, can you believe it? - I had no doubts about the opportunity. I had managed stores but had no experience of the intricacies of running a retail business; buying stock, managing accounts and the like. I was fortunate that it was the 1980’s and everyone was interested in home wares and cooking so the business was strong.
Owning a retail business is different to just managing one so I set about learning any skill that would help me to make my business succeed.
My biggest regret has been to not own my own premises. In saying that, Mosman Council has been a very good landlord over the years. I now have 5 shopfronts combined into one large area, including the cooking school.
Where do you get your inspiration?
What are the trends with food that you see emerging?
What are some of your favourite things?
Go to the website to view specials, sales, register for the newsletter and peruse the cooking school schedule for 2009:
21 Great Chefs of Australia by Sue Jenkins. Simon & Schuster 1991. I was lucky to stumble upon a copy in a second hand bookshop so you may have to do some hunting if you want one.
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