Rendezvous with royal Chef - Carolyn Robb
There are chefs and then there are royal chefs. And today we are talking about the later.
Royal Chef: Just the title intrigues my imagination, to visualise a magician in regal outfit with a whisk. Creating delicately flavoured teacakes and beautifully decorated cupcakes with her magic whisk. Aah, can even smell the wonderful aroma of the lovely scenario. I'm sure this lovely lady is nothing short of being a magician. Having been the chef in the royal household for over thirteen years, she would be an idol to any aspiring chef.
I'm so thrilled to share my rendezvous with Chef Carolyn Robb, who has chronicled her lovely recipes in the amazing cookbook - The Royal Touch; Simply Stunning Home Cooking From A Royal Chef. The beautiful coffee table styled book, is like a collector's item for any recipe collector or cookbook lover. Carolyn’s cookbook has 100 recipes and a plethora of intimate stories and personal letters from her time living at Kensington Palace. I can't wait to get baking on this one.
But before that let me share this space with the lovely Carolyn, to know more about her culinary journey. (Also read till end for an exciting promo offer).
Q) Tell
us something about your childhood. What are your fondest food
memories as a child.
A) I
was born and raised in South Africa and am the youngest of 5
children. I had a very happy and carefree childhood that was
punctuated with wonderful home cooked meals! My mother was a
fantastic cook and my fondest memory is of helping her in the kitchen
at every opportunity.
Q) What
ignited your passion for food. And made you think in this direction
of being chef.
A) I
was inspired by both of my parents and developed a love of food from
a very young age. My mothers cooking was fantastic and she was also a
brilliant teacher. My father was the 'greenest fingered' person you
could hope to meet and grew wonderful fruit and vegetables in our
garden. Always having so much fresh produce to hand meant ample
opportunity to experiment and my mother never let anything go to
waste so we often had to look for interesting recipes to make use of
produce.
I
loved being at cookery school and it gave me great confidence to go
into any kitchen knowing that I had a great foundation in the cookery
skills that I needed to cook a good meal. However, the end of cookery
school meant the beginning of a long road of learning about food, one
that I relished and I still love to learn new things at every
opportunity!
A) Initially
my parents were a big influence, then Prince Charles, from whom I
learnt so much about organics, sustainability and traceability.
Raymond Blanc (Of Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons) is an incredible chef
for whom I have huge respect and have been very privileged to work
with him. Also the late Roger Verge of Le Moulins de Mougins, in
Provence taught me a lot during the few weeks that i spent with him.
I would love to work with Thomas Keller of 'the French Laundry' in
the wine country in California.
Q) How
do you describe your cooking/ baking style. And what are the
favourite dishes to cook?
A) The
very best of home cooking! I like my food to be lovely to look at and
even better to eat - simple, tempting, delicious, seasonal and most
of all food that people remember fondly! Baking is my favourite as
you can be so creative and it is a great way to win over many a heart
and bring a smile to everyone's lips! I love baking cakes, cookies,
breads and desserts, especially when my 2 young daughters are around
to join in and help with the preparations.
Q) How
did you become a part of the royal kitchen? What was your role &
experience like...any interesting incident/ experience you would
like to share.
A) Whilst
I was at cookery school I was invited to Kensington Palace for an
interview - I got the job and the rest is history! Over the 13 years
that I spent as a royal chef my role changed considerably. But my
final role, as executive chef to HRH The Prince of Wales, was
an amazingly varied role and was a fantastic experience. As well
as cooking and running the kitchens, planning for overseas tours and
a plethora of different events I was involved in product development
for Duchy Originals, I learnt a lot about rare and ancient varieties
of fruit and vegetables and I travelled to Italy and France to work
with some of their very best chefs - from whom I learnt a huge
amount
Q) What
is the book all about? How was the experience of putting together
this book?
A) The
book is a collection of 100 of my favourite recipes and includes some
anecdotes and special memories from my time as a royal chef as well
as my travels and my childhood. It was really enjoyable compiling the
book and doing the food styling for the photos and working in detail
on the design, look and layout of the book. It was also more work
than I could ever have imagined!
Q) Which
is your favourite recipe or on one that everyone loves...from the
book?
A) I
don't have one single favourite - however, the recipes in the
children's chapter are very special to me - I love to be
creative in the kitchen, especially when it inspires children to
enjoy their food and experiment with new flavours.
___________________________________________________________________________
What strikes the most about this inspiring lady is her elegant simplicity which reflects in the charming narrative of the book too. For eg: " Chocolate Biscuit Cake – “When Prince William and Prince Harry were very young, I made my mother’s recipe of the Chocolate Biscuit Cake. It was a favorite in the royal nursery; so much so that, many years later, Prince William chose to have the cake at his Groom’s cake for The Royal Wedding! This very rich flowerless cake is perfect for any celebration.”
Exciting news for the readers - A special promotion is being offered to all the blog readers of Taste Melanger for this royal book. You can get 50% off the book!!
For doing so, visit the ACC website & enter the promo code RT50 upon purchase.
Thanks ACC Publicity for the great offer & images. Credit " The Royal Touch by Carolyn Robb, published by ACC Editions”.
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