Cooking with Jenny Morris, by Jenny Morris

Cooking with Jenny Morris, by Jenny Morris. ISBN 9781920289386 / ISBN 978-1-920289-38-6

Jenny Morris, author of Cooking with Jenny Morris, welcomes you into the warm, fragrant kitchen of The Cook's Playground, her culinary school based in Cape Town.

Jenny Morris  

There is a little alleyway in the heart of De Waterkant that leads to one of my favourite places. As you walk along the cobbles, you might hear the clattering of pots and pans, or the whirr of a blender. Passing an open window, you will be enveloped by the most intoxicating aromas; bread baking in the oven, spices tempered in a pan, or something garlicky bubbling away on the stove. When you get to the end of the alley, open the door - go on, don't be shy! And there you are; at the Cook's Playground, the place where all my dreams as a chef have come true. It must be nearly nine years ago now that David and I decided that we needed a dedicated kitchen from which to run our catering business and a permanent home for my growing culinary school. The building we were in at the time was being redeveloped and during the finishing stages of the revamp, I noticed an alleyway across the street. As I walked down that little alley, I just knew that I had found the perfect spot. Since then the Cook's Playground has played host to countless feasts and foodie events. I especially enjoy our corporate Team Cooking evenings (or lunchtimes) and our Cook's Parties for celebrating special occasions. Nothing excites me more than seeing how a bunch of raw, nervous recruits, who all claim that they can't cook, end up making the most spectacular meals. I just love to watch their faces when they tuck in to the food that they have made by themselves from scratch! Although most of my experiments and recipe development happens in my own kitchen at home, it is at the Cook's Playground that they are put through their paces. It is here that the recipes are tested and tasted and finally come into their own. I love to cook and I love to share my joy in food with others, and with the Cook's Playground I have had so many opportunities to do exactly that. But where did it all begin? If I think about it, my journey as a cook started many years ago in the gardens of my childhood. I was lucky enough to have parents and grandparents who were passionate about growing the most spectacular fruit and veggies imaginable, and using them to prepare honest, hearty meals. I think that is why I am still so crazy about anything that is fresh. All those simple, beautiful tastes and flavours from my childhood are forever stored in my memory bank. Like the gorgeous omelettes turned into a feast just by stirring chopped herbs into the beaten eggs. And the jewelled babies from the uterus of the glorious pomegranates that grew on the edible windbreaks my grandfather built, because he believed that even something functional could be a source of food. Even the petals from my grandmother's pride and joy, her rose garden, could be sugared and used to decorate a luscious, home-baked cake. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book: Cooking with Jenny Morris, by Jenny Morris.

Title: Cooking with Jenny Morris
Author: Jenny Morris
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa 2011
ISBN 9781920289386 / ISBN 978-1-920289-38-6
Hardcover, 21x27 cm, 288 pages, throughout colour illustrations