Getting to Know: Cook Book Author Belinda Jeffery (Part 3)

If you’ve followed Belinda’s interview on WomensNook up till now you’ll appreciate just how generous she is with her thoughts about life, what is precious to her and cooking, of course. Her generosity comes through in her recipes too. I love her cook books and one of my favourite ‘Belinda’ recipes has already featured on WN.

Women love hearing and reading about other women. What they do; why they do it; how they manage to do it; and what they have learned along the way. I hope that by bringing women such as Belinda into the Womensnook network we’ll all be so much the richer for the experience.

This is the final part of our conversation together and I think you’ll find it just as inspirational as the first and second instalments. I particularly love her 5 key hints for any home cook. If only I’d had such sage advice – particularly point #2 – when just starting to cook. I know that many a recipe would have been the better for it.

What wisdom have you acquired about life so far?

Gosh, I feel as though I learn more and more as the years pass…it never stops, does it?

• I guess I’ve learnt to be less harsh and kinder to myself and, I hope, to others
• To hasten slowly, as I’ve always tended to jump into things
• Not to judge any situation or person too quickly
• To take time to enjoy the simple, everyday pleasures in life – a cup of tea out in the garden, the taste of something delicious, the sound of beautiful music
• And perhaps, most importantly, to accept that I am as I am, and that’s okay.

What is your favourite meal?

A meal I shall long remember was at a friend’s home, or more correctly in the garden, sitting under an avocado tree. We ate avocados from the tree, a salad of sweet little cherry tomatoes, rocket and snow peas from their vegetable garden; chunks of fresh bread and an enormous bowl of sandcrab flesh (they had spent hours removing the flesh from the shells so we could just scoop it onto our plates) accompanied by some perfect homemade mayonnaise. It was divine. So simple and so perfect.

Favourite film, book and destination?

Mmm … this is hard!

• In more recent times my favourite film would be Good Night and Good Luck – George Clooney’s film about Edward Murrow.
• My favourite book – oh, that’s a hard one as I love reading. One I go back to is Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.
• Destination? Well, I have recently returned from Paris, not having been there for more than 20 years, and I would love to go back, rent an apartment for a month or two and slowly re-discover the city and its food.

What would be your 5 key hints for any home cook to hold dear?

1. To me, first and foremost, the most important thing is to enjoy cooking and to cook with care and love…it always shows. Think of it as something you are doing to look after and nurture yourself and your loved ones.
2. Taste, taste and taste again – no recipe is set in stone and ingredients vary all the time so it’s very important to taste things and adjust the balance to suit you.
3. Use a recipe as a guide only, then once you are confident with it, ring the changes. (With baking this is a little harder, as proportions are important, but you can easily substitute things like one nut for another, blueberries for raspberries etcetc.)
4. On a more practical note, clean up as you go … it’s really hard to cook well when you are surrounded in mess.
5. Treat the ingredients with respect, and buy the best you can afford. As far as fruit and vegetables go, it’s a treat and good for the body and soul to cook and eat what’s in season

I know you love to be out in nature. What is your favourite walk in the area?

My favourite spot to walk is the long stretch of Brunswick beach…it’s wild and often windy and very beautiful. As to walks, there are a number through the Nightcap ranges, which are very beautiful.

People are often travelling to the far north coast of NSW. Can you recommend some of your favourite restaurants, cafes and shops?

• Well, if I think of Byron Bay I’d have to mention Zest for clothes and Anna Middleton too. As for places to eat Succulent is popular with the locals; The Beach Cafe has great views and good food and The Bay Leaf, which is like a ‘hole in the wall’ that you can pop into for a quick nibble.
• Bangalow has Wax Jambu for clothes that are a little different and Windhorse Gallery has nice cashmere. Ate is a good cafe, Aurora is a lifestyle store well worth a visit and Fresca offers good casual pub dining.
• Newrybar is a little hamlet nearby and there you’ll find Harvest which is a nice cafe-restaurant.
• In Mullumbimby there is La Table which has French/Australian food and Milk&Honey is very laid-back local pizza parlour with brilliant pizza.

What would you say is your philosophy of life?

Golly…that’s not so easy to summarise.

It’s not so much a philosophy, but I try to live my life kindly and wisely and intelligently…not that I always succeed! I think our relationships with others are the thing that defines our lives, and we need to extend kindness and compassion to those around us…for we never know what lies below the surface. And it never ceases to amaze me what human beings can go through and survive.

Is there another book coming up that we can look forward to?

Oh yes. But it’s a good way off yet!! I suspect it won’t be out until late this year at the very earliest. Basically it’s a book about country life and of course includes lots of food.

I can hardly wait.

back to top