Q&A with Donna Hay

If anyone can turn a few basics into a divine meal, it’s Donna Hay. That’s exactly what she does in her latest book, Basics to Brilliance.

The book gives you all the basic recipes you need. From a perfectly whipped meringue to Peking duck, which you can then use in all kinds of dishes. Donna naturally gives you those recipes too, kind soul that she is (we tested the book for you here).

FavorFlav’s Emma spoke with her about the ugliest but tastiest shellfish ever and crunchy vegetables with chili jam.

Which food trend should we quit immediately?

Giving things up. There are no rules, nothing has to be given up. I’m done with it. It’s all about balance. Except when there’s a medical reason, of course.

I smuggled a suitcase full of the stuff through customs

Most memorable food experience?

I once did a feature on a very beautiful, quiet, rugged and windswept island in South Australia. We got up at four in the morning to catch crayfish from a boat. The whole day revolved around gathering ingredients. On the small island, there were also delicious local dairy products, as well as bees—and therefore honey.

At the end of a long day, I somehow still had the energy to cook. We were on a beautiful little deserted beach, picture perfect, so beautiful. I barbecued the crayfish there using a piece of metal we had found, with local butter and herbs we had found along the roadside. We also ate local cheese by the campfire; it was truly one of my favorite moments.

It was very funny: someone pointed out a saltbush (an Australian shrub, ed.) and said it would be as comfortable to sit on as a beanbag. It looked incredibly prickly, so I didn’t believe it at all, but once I sat down, I never wanted to get up again.

Saltbush—you can eat that too, right?

Well, I have a funny story about that too. I once had to cook for the Australian embassy in London and wanted to use saltbush. You can’t get it anywhere abroad, so I smuggled a suitcase full of the stuff through customs. At customs, someone asked what was in my suitcase. I simply called out, very enthusiastically, “I have to cook for the embassy!” He replied, “Wow, how exciting!” “I know!” I shouted as I quickly walked on with my suitcase, haha.

Favorite drink?

Rosé champagne.

Essential kitchen gadget?

A knife. That basic tool really makes all the difference. Choose one with a handle that fits your hand. Go for a light or a heavy one, depending on what feels comfortable to you; that’s different for everyone. It makes chopping and slicing a breeze.

It really is the ugliest creature you will ever see, but it’s so delicious

Which country is your favorite when it comes to food?

I think there’s something to discover in every country. I’m from Australia, of course, and we have fresh produce of such good quality that it’s very difficult to compete with. Nothing is flown in; everything is incredibly fresh. I often feel like I’m cheating when I’m food styling. The quality is so good that you don’t really need to do anything else to it.

What should everyone try at least once?

I don’t think you should ever force people to eat something they don’t want; I think that’s mean. But one of my favorite shellfish in Australia is the Moreton Bay bug. It really is the ugliest creature you will ever see, but it’s so delicious. It tastes like the sweetest, most tender lobster meat ever.

What’s the best supermarket product?

Our supermarkets are becoming increasingly sophisticated when it comes to health food: nuts, seeds, coconut blossom sugar—whatever you want. But the quality of the vegetables and fruit is also getting better and better. That really surprises me. Not everything, of course, but recently I saw some truly beautiful strawberries for next to nothing. So I immediately bought a whole lot and made jam with them. That’s a really great improvement in the supermarket.

What’s still on your food wish list?

Actually, simply going out to eat more. That may sound strange, but I always cook at home for friends. I also have a house on the water where everyone loves to come; it’s a very open house. I’m not even home right now, and one of my friends is just there, haha.

People often ask me where I like to eat, but I really eat at home almost all the time. I’m always telling people that they should cook for themselves more, but I should actually do it less myself. Just eating out once every two weeks—that’s on my list.

Which cookbook should everyone have on their shelf?

A good basic cookbook. And not because I’ve written one now, but because it’s always useful to have something to fall back on. You can find everything on the internet, but the quality varies, and you never know what you’re going to get. Something with the basics properly covered, which you can then build on yourself. If you’ve mastered a basic brownie, for example, you can later add a peanut butter swirl yourself. It’s important to have a basic repertoire of things you’d also ask your mother to make.

If I know there’s more in the freezer, that’s very dangerous

What do you like to make at home when you want to eat quickly and well?

I cook almost every evening because my children sit doing their homework at the end of the kitchen counter, and I think it’s important to chat with them as much as possible and know what’s going on in their lives. We eat a lot of roasted vegetables; I cut them very small so they cook quickly.

Recently, I roasted an entire cauliflower, cut into pieces, until crisp—just with olive oil and salt in the oven. Then I look away for a moment and it’s all gone. My children eat a lot of vegetables, but only if they’re crunchy or served with some kind of chili jam. They happily leave simply steamed vegetables untouched.

Which dish makes you lose all self-control?

I’m such a grazer, perhaps because I work in a test kitchen, but I actually eat small bites throughout the entire day. I find it really difficult to stop eating ice cream. If I know there’s more in the freezer, that’s very dangerous. We can buy very good-quality ice cream in Australia, but sometimes I make granita at home.

When I had just started working as a food stylist, I saved up all my money to buy a huge and ugly ice cream machine that makes far too much noise. Sometimes I still take it out of the cupboard and make a delicious yogurt sorbet or something else tasty. You simply put yogurt, berries and some maple syrup in it, and within twenty minutes you have ice cream. While it’s running, I snack the entire time; the best bites are the ones when the ice cream has just finished but hasn’t completely set in the freezer yet.

Image: Chris Court