Let John Tovey show you how to be a star in your own Kitchen while entertaining

Caption: Me in my kitchen in 2018 before the body cooperate vandalized it.

Welcome to another Tuesday book scrutiny slot.

 As we close off the month of July, I thought why not do that with some  food to say bye bye July and hello to women's month.

Caption: Baking in my stove before my property was vandalized and the new built in stove destroyed by the  body cooperate members of the building.

Yes, I love food. All sorts baking and cooking for consumption and entertaining  people. The first ever person who made me fall in love this art of making food was my father. 

That one complimented every meal I produced for him when I was a little girl.

Thanks to my  Sunday school teacher from Naledi Assemblies of God, Mam’ Lizzie Mogale, I also ventured into baking  and as if  was working in some classy Sandton restaurant, I had to serve her guests with a tray with all that fork and knife and water or drinks served with a sorcery plate.

 Youtube on the day I visited Mam’ lizzie Mogale at her house in  Protea North Soweto. Only to be told she's late.

 While the boarding school I attended, Rand Girls High in Braamfonteing Johannesburg. I learnt how to set up tables like they do in the Rosebank, Sandton restuarants.

You Tube video of green market lady showing his cooking skills. 

You know the ones  with different knives for this and that. Where the fork should be placed between the different dishes starters, main meal and deserts …. blah, blah blah.

Caption: pictures of cooking books I have collected through the years.

So whenever I pick up a cooking book I am reminded of my beautiful colorful childhood.

Time will just go back to the days of either cooking for my father or helping my aunt, Nomathemba in Alexandra Township set up her many Sunday dishes.

 

Her and friends who worked either as domestic workers or cookers at the affluent Sandton restuarants would share dishes like you are watching an announced  cooking competition with the competitors in a healthy and developing cooking club.

 

 

Youtube video at the Alexandra township Museum

So I knew who made the best fried cabbage, who preferred it cooked and spiced with the white pepper spice.

 I copied from the them the different kinds of making a beetroot salad.  The traditional grated with onion and vinegar for taste.

 

The diced and then dressed up with chutney source and the ones that are just done with Mayonnaise. As well as copying how to make the traditional Chakalalaka salad, with chillie and without chillie.

 The plain traditional Coleslaw salad or add raisins or apple.

 

 

The traditional Coleslaw salad pic from internet

While I was staying with my aunt, I was still in Primary school then, she taught me the basic food preparation.

 Weekdays were my turn to cook while Sundays, she took over as the senior woman of the house.

My dishes were very simple, especially in a house headed by a traditional Sotho man who preferred Pap in his main meals.

So every day I cooked pap, with minced meat on Mondays, Tuesday Pap with fried Ox Liver, Wednesday Pap with steak, Thursday Pap with fried Boerewors, Friday Pap with beef, Saturday Pap with tinned staff either  bull Brand or fish.

A picture Idea of my dishes

As you can see, it is true that in Johannesburg meat is the real deal hence the Eastern Cape say Apho inyama ingapheli kuphela izinyo lendoda. Coming from the Eastern Cape, these people made me enjoy pap and eating it with my bare washed hands instead of using a spoon.

While my weekend visit to my father in Protea Glen Soweto, I would grasp almost every recipe for scones, biscuits etc as the Christian woman loved entertaining guests and her house from Monday to Sundays were always frequented by different church people.

 Others from Assemblies of God and Faith Mission. Saturday mornings were her evangelism day for children so she would also gather kids from our street after a session of Biblical lessons and games. We would have a meal together before dispensation. So you see, I’ve always been a food lover. I may have lost interest in cooking over the years but the love of food has always been there.

 I’ve always collected and bought cooking books but never really had a chance of trying all of them.

Entertaining with Tovey- How to be a star in your own kitchen is one of the books I bought during the many Sunday Times book sales.

The paper had a slot to review new books at the end of the year,they gave journalist a chance to buy the books reviewed throughout the year.

John Tovey, a former theatrical company owner and now operate the Miller Howe Hotel in the Lake District.He has appeared in many Television and Chat shows, runs gourmet competitions and cookery courses at the hotel. He likes going on cooking tours of South Africa and the United States.

In this book, Tovey whose hotel- the Miller Howe- was singled out for its ultimate accolade of tureen, pestle and moratar and bottle for best table, best hotel and finest wines in the Good Food guide of 1978 and 1979. Want to build the confidence of those who love to play in the kitchen. In this book he compares the preparing food as the art and the kitchen the same as the theater where actors need to practice and polish their skills as well as be ready to deliver that excellent piece to their audiences. He describes the interpretation of the recipe being the same way as the actor interprets a part.