Penguin Books Australia

Introduction

As a kid I used to sit at the end of the kitchen bench while my mum cooked. It was during these times that I learnt about the wonderful flavours of our family food. I'd watch as she skilfully knotted Greek biscuits. She'd let me help, even though my own knots looked clumsy compared to hers. I used to taste, smell and touch everything. I was always getting into trouble for eating raw dough. My passion followed me to kindergarten, where I'd hang out in the little play kitchen area, in my own imaginary world, cooking.

Food formed the basis of our family life. It drew us to the table and taught us the joy of sharing a meal with loved ones. Food was part of our many celebrations. I remember watching my dad line the bathtub with a black plastic sheet, which he then used to marinate a whole lamb. Later he showed me how to skewer the lamb and put it on the spit. I remember everyone coming home after midnight mass and sharing bowls of soup, not because we were hungry, but because it was an important part of our family ritual.

These experiences made me realise food was about something more than simply satisfying hunger and providing nutrition. Food was a part of who we were. It was linked to our family stories and interwoven with our memories. It was an integral part of my experience of growing up.

My mum was not my only inspiration. Both my grandmothers were wonderful cooks. Their influence is evident in several of the recipes in this book. My Nonna (Grandma) Nicoletta was Italian, and she introduced us to the food of her homeland. When I eat dishes such as the simple pasta with ricotta and parmesan (see page 108 for the recipe), I'm transported back to her table. She'd follow this dish with more fresh ricotta for dessert, which she'd dust with icing sugar and cinnamon. It was absolutely delicious.

Yia Yia (Grandma) Kaili had a Greek-Cypriot background, and she cooked many Turkish-style dishes, which had lots of spices. I remember her making filo pastry and rolling it out with a narrow rolling pin, which she told me helped make the dough thin. I remember a funny story she told me about arriving in Australia, of how the customs officers took away her treasured mortar and pestle because they thought it was a weapon. Of course, we all know now that this is a very useful piece of kitchen equipment, but things were different back then.

When I was fifteen, my parents sent me to Greece to stay with my great-uncle Chris. I remember eating wonderfully simple food, such as freshly made yoghurt that was set in a ceramic pot, drizzled with delicious Greek honey and scattered with fresh walnuts. We ate it for breakfast. I still make this dish and, in fact, I love it so much that I have included a recipe here (see page 180) for you to try.

Travelling to Greece gave me more of an understanding of my heritage and helped cement my desire to become a professional chef. I wanted to start my apprenticeship the minute I turned sixteen, but my father made me finish school. At the time, I wasn't happy, but now realise this was the right decision. I would give the same advice to young people today.

There's so much to learn about cooking and it's never too late – or too early – to start. These recipes will help you get going, but you also need to learn by doing. You have to get into the kitchen and touch, smell and taste the food – just like I did as a kid. Learning about food in this way makes you a more instinctive cook. I don't remember my mother or grandmothers using recipes at all when I was growing up. But recipes are important in their own way, and it's good to follow a recipe at first so that you get to understand the techniques and ingredients. Once you're familiar with a dish, you can then start improvising by using different ingredients depending on what you have in your fridge or pantry at home. This is the very best path to home cooking.

Everyone makes mistakes when starting out – this is true not just of cooking, but of life. Making mistakes is how you learn. You have to stop and think about why something went wrong, and then work out how to fix it. Cooking is about learning skills and practising them over and over. Not everyone wants to become a professional chef, but everyone should know how to cook for their health and their happiness, and, of course, because it's great fun.

I've written the recipes in this book for kids aged eight years and up, but also for the kid in all of us. Some recipes are really simple and some are more complex – perfect for those of you who want a bit of a challenge. Many are based on my memory of the tastes and aromas that came from the kitchens of my mother and grandmothers. Others are versions of dishes from my restaurant menus. There are sweet and savoury treats, as well as the sort of meals that will encourage you to experiment with different flavours and textures and, of course, develop your skills in the kitchen.

I hope this book will inspire all of you, not only to cook but also to try new dishes and share and enjoy meals around the table with your family, as I did with my family and hope to do some day with my kids.