If my childhood memory is right, Norm was adventurous when it came to food. He introduced my parents to the many taste sensations of Chinese food which from tentative beginnings ultimately expressed itself as “It’s Saturday night let’s get Chinese” and many happy nights around the family piano. No doubt Norm’s friend Harry was influential in this. The first and possibly the only time I met Harry, the first Chinese person that I ever saw, was when I was about 18 months old. I screamed and was inconsolable to the great embarrassment of my parents and possibly everyone else who was at the Louis Street house that day. My dad, Billie, picked me up in his arms to try to stop my tears. I bet he wished he was anywhere else but there with his baby daughter on that day. Harry was of slim build, dressed, possibly cloaked, in black, with long glossy black hair, a Mandarin moustache, and long ebony cigarette holder and a top hat. In fact I am told that he was nothing like this and my mother until her dying day assured me that he did not wear a top hat.
We often visited the Louis Street house but I can’t remember eating there. I remember standing beside, and looking up at Aunty Bobbie as she worked in the kitchen, Cousin Joan playing the piano (Cheff method) in the back room, Cousin Yvonne coming home from school in her blue Parramatta High tunic, Cousin Brian about to go out on a date, Cuddles the pampered Pomeranian, even trips to the beach and a holiday house somewhere well north of Sydney where Joan tried to teach me to swim but nearly drowned me, hot Sundays in summer water skiing on the Hawkesbury River, but no food memory. There are two possible reasons for this: 1) we didn’t have dessert and 2) we didn’t have to eat anything terrifying to eat e.g. overcooked vegetables such as watery green beans.
The years have rolled on by and I have had the good fortune to meet up with Yvonne again and we have shared many culinary moments since that time. She has a real feeling for food and cooks at any opportunity. Whereas I am easily tempted to have baked beans on toast if I am alone after work, Yvonne will prepare a lovely soup from scratch. Entertaining after work comes easily to her and there have been many nights when I have cooked with her and been lucky enough to be a part of her circle of friends. Probably the most memorable occasions though have been when the two of us have opened a bottle of wine, cooked and then enjoyed the sharing of an autumn evening meal together.
As to wine we’ve savoured several. Yvonne did a Pinot Noir course not so long ago. This was not entirely about training the palate to the various nuances of the vintage. It started with growing the grapes, pruning and harvesting them before making the wine and bottling it. I had the pleasure of sharing her first bottle. It was not surprisingly superb.
Yvonne sometimes serves olive oil Tortas; Ines Rosales being the brand. These flatbreads are about the size of saucers and the shape of elephant ears; slightly sweet and slightly oily and carefully individually wrapped in waxed paper. They are delicious to nibble on with an antipasto plate and a glass of wine.
The setting can be a table out by the pool where we sit in the warm twilight finely chopping garlic, parsley and preparing a salad to go with the best beef imaginable cooking on the BBQ. If it is cold we cook indoors, chat, reminisce, exchange stories and listen to music as we cook. In particular I love the tenor Vittorio Grigolo. You can listen to him by following this link to his website… http://www.vittoriomusic.com/
You might also like to visit Yvonne’s other website to find out more about her skin care range ...
Griffin & Row
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