Maggie Beer
Tell us about your new book.
My new book continues to surprise me. I hadn’t realised I had written such a tome and it’s a very beautiful cover; design and every single detail is more beautiful than I could have imagined. I began simply updating Maggie’s Farm and Maggie’s Orchard which in itself was fascinating given the huge changes over the past 14 or 15 years but then there was so much more to say that of course I had to include some of the recipes, where I could fit them, from The Cook and the Chef. Seasonally-focused, I hope it encourages the reader to be first seduced by the produce available and then find an idea or a recipe to cook the ripest produce available.
You believe in ‘cooking from the heart’. What does this mean and why is it important?
Having not been ‘trained’ to cook, my cooking relies far more on instinct and a passion for produce. I guess I also mean I’m not hampered by restrictions. I simply cook by feel.
How important is seasonal produce to your cooking?
It’s the very essence of my cooking. Living in such a rich rural area, it’s as simple as being connected to the rhythm of the seasons. Really, I’m simply a produce-driven cook.
Do you have a favourite cooking season or occasion? If so, what is it?
It would be a toss up between spring and autumn. I say spring as we’re in it right now and the asparagus pushing through the straw every night and the bowl of strawberries, more than we can eat between ourselves daily is pretty seductive. Having said that, autumn when game is mature; when the tomatoes and aubergines are at their peak; the quinces, pomegranates, persimmons … and of course, almonds and walnuts. It’s hard to beat that.
How did you get your start as a professional ‘foodie’?
By sheer chance. We were farming pheasants and had difficulty selling them as people didn’t know how to cook them. I just had a go and it all began.
What is your favourite recipe and why?
Possibly something as simple as the ripest tomato, grown without much water to diminish its flavour; a bottle of green and fruity extra virgin olive oil; good sea salt and the best pepper you can find. Not a recipe but a way of life.
Do you have a favourite ingredient – or one you try to avoid?
How could I possibly have a favourite ingredient, given all that I love? I do avoid chillis …
What was your most memorable meal?
One of the many I had in Tokyo with a great friend who was a true gourmand. He sadly died two weeks ago, way, way before his time but each meal over the 10 years of friendship was so memorable that I had to record each one. I was privileged to know him and share his love of food.
Maggie’s Top Ten Food Books:
- French Provincial Cooking (Elizabeth David)
- The Cook’s Companion (Stephanie Alexander)
- Cooking of South West France (Paula Wolfert)
- Chez Panisse Café Cookbook (Alice Waters)
- The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking (Madeleine Kamman)
- The New Book of Middle Eastern Food (Claudia Roden)
- Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book (Jane Grigson)
- French (Damien Pignolet)
- Balance (Lyndey Milan)
- Passion for Mushrooms (Antonio Carluccio)
