Featured Foodie: Lorraine Elliott

by Andy Miller - 26th August 2009 | 03:41 AET

Lorraine Elliott from Not Quite Nigella talks to SBS Food about her passion for eating.

What's the best advice you've received in the kitchen?

It may sound trite, but, as a home cook, if you cook with love and care, it really shows. When you see how much the care and added little touches a home cook puts into a dish to make sure their family loves it, versus the way a takeaway store does the same dish, you can really see how something as intangible as "love and care" really affects a dish.

Taste and smell are everything, so you know exactly what you’re serving and whether it's well seasoned. Also, people eat with their eyes, too, so never neglect presentation. Even a humble stew can be plated up nicely. Let your inner Colin Cowie go wild!

Name three chefs – marry one, work for one and fire one.

Marry: Gordon Ramsay or Anthony Bourdain, although Anthony's dress sense shows that he never really left the '80s or the Village People behind.

Work for: Marcus Wareing. Not only is he a brilliant chef, but I saw him in his element (in the Petrus kitchen) and things were run smoothly and calmly with swift efficiency.

Fire: Any chef that has ever sought revenge on a diner by messing with their food, or has abused a blogger [winks].

What would you eat for your last supper?

That's easy, I have an obsession with asking people their last suppers, and, consequently, I know exactly what I'd have. It would consist of: Bluff oysters au naturel; cream croquettes; Peking duck; honey king prawns; lobster; caviar; fresh Turkish bread; salmon tataki; Spanish salami; sun-dried tomatoes; roesti; okonomiyaki; fresh black figs and Medjool dates; a fat, fluffy peshwari naan; wagyu beef; and desserts including copious macarons and cakes from Herme or Laduree in Paris, or Zumbo in Balmain.

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