Interview: Melissa Hemsley
Getting a tasty and healthy meal on the table yourself is nowhere near as complicated and time-consuming as it seems, is Melissa Hemsley’s message. That’s why her new book Eat Happy is packed with recipes that can be made within thirty minutes. And no, not just by her: all the dishes have been tested by a real test panel.
A test panel?
‘Yes! I may find something easy or be able to do it quickly, but I’m not writing this book for myself. I wanted to make a book that would actually be used. Not just once, but very often. That’s why I asked all kinds of different people – people with children, people who hate cooking, people without time, you name it – to choose and test a number of recipes. Then I asked them to rate the recipes: Was it tasty? Easy? And most importantly: Did they manage to make it within thirty minutes without stress? That last part is very important, because if you spend half an hour stressed out in the kitchen, the recipe misses its goal. Only the dishes that received a “yes” across the board are in the book.’
And what about the rest?
‘I’ll save those for another book. No recipes go to waste!’
Another important pillar of your book: waste.
‘Absolutely! If you cook smartly, you can keep food for much longer than you think. The freezer is my best friend. Overripe tomatoes? You can’t freeze them directly, but you can make a delicious tomato sauce that you can freeze. Leftover bananas? Peel them and put them in the freezer! Ginger, meat, everything… Well, almost everything. What I’m saying is: nobody likes grocery shopping in an overcrowded supermarket. With a bit of planning and by shopping smartly, you don’t have to.’
What is the worst excuse you’ve ever heard for not cooking yourself?
‘Ooh, I’ll probably only come up with the perfect answer tonight in bed. But I mainly think that the general consensus now is: Why bother? Ready-made meals and ordering takeaway have become so commonplace. They’re seen as faster and cheaper, and sometimes that may well be true. In cities like Amsterdam or London, the quality isn’t always bad, but cooking for yourself simply makes you happy. It’s satisfying, relaxing, and you enjoy it more.’
Crispy chicken skin is the holy grail and this is how you achieve it
Did your test panel experience it that way too?
‘Yes! My friend Ruth is a single mother and hates cooking. She comes home from work tired at seven o’clock, and the last thing she feels like doing then is standing in the supermarket with a little one and still having to cook. She’s always been very enthusiastic about my books, but I realised I’d never asked her whether she ever cooked from them. She didn’t. Until she joined the test panel and discovered how easy it could be and how much her little daughter enjoyed it too. Now she gives the book to everyone as a gift, so lovely!’
Do you always cook yourself?
‘I never buy ready-made meals, but sometimes I order Thai food. Although that’s really only when it’s my boyfriend’s turn to cook. He can cook incredibly well, but once a month he doesn’t feel like it and we get takeaway.’
What are your go-to recipes when you don’t feel like cooking yourself?
‘Everything from the chapter Bowlfood. Miso soup with noodles, dahl… Things you can happily eat by the spoonful are the nicest on days like that.’
And since it’s Easter this weekend: Any tips?
‘The chocolate pots with raspberries! And the halloumi salad with chickpeas. This Easter, I’m going for the spiced lamb chops with mint oil.’
Title: Eat Happy, 30-minute Feelgood Food
Author: Melissa Hemsley
Publisher: Fontaine Uitgevers
Price: €29,95
