Durban - Billy Suter talks to East Coast Radio’s Darren Maule about his food likes and dislikes.
Maule is starring as the Genie of the Lamp in Durban’s naughty panto, Aladdin Grey Street, in Greyville Racecourse’s Centenary Room.
What meal is your favourite?
My favourite food is fast food. It’s convenient.
Your first food memory?
Milk. Fresh from my mom.
As a child did you develop a taste for any unusual foods?
One of my best-kept secrets is putting shredded biltong into my popcorn when I am at the movies.
What’s the first thing you ever cooked?
I made jelly when I was 4 – and it was raspberry flavour. I made it all by myself for the family lunch. I did, however, lack the patience for it to set, so everybody had a glass of cooldrink for dessert.
What is the dish you tend to cook most often – and why?
I enjoy making fried eggs and bacon. I love the smell. I can’t cook, and enjoy bacon and eggs at 4.30am every Monday to Friday!
What do you like and dislike about dinner parties?
I am not a big fan of large groups of people in a confined space, and if a food is served which I don’t like… then I can’t hide it anywhere without being caught!
What has been your biggest culinary success?
I waitered for many years and if the food orders were coming out too slowly I would go into the kitchen and assist with plating, décor and serving. Keeping my customers happy was my culinary success.
Are you perhaps a wine fundi?
Can I have a sports question please? I’m proudly teetotal.
What kitchen utensil can you simply not live without?
My wooden spoon. You can use it in any emergency. When making a sauce – use a wooden spoon, otherwise the sauce tends to have a metallic taste. You can also use a wooden spoon for moving potatoes around, to spoon out pasta to check if it is al dente, and to point at guests if they are being unruly. Best invention since the toaster!
What kitchen appliance would you love to have?
A Nespresso machine.
What’s the most kitsch thing in your kitchen?
A pizza-cutter shaped like a bicycle. I got that from my friend Greg, when I completed my first Amashova.
What are some foods you simply refuse to try?
That fugu (puffer fish) sushi because if you get it even a little bit wrong – you are dead. Also, oxtail… do you know where that has been?
Your favourite restaurant in Durban – and what is your usual order there?
Mo’s Noodles. I go for their feta, lentil and calamari salad.
What is your favourite cooking ingredient?
Extra-virgin olive oil.
What has been your most memorable meal?
A hot, freshly baked pretzel on the streets of New York.
Who is your favourite celebrity cook – and why?
George Calombaris of MasterChef Australia. I met him in Durban and he signed his book, Georgie Porgie, for my daughter.
What do you rate as the sexiest of foods (and why)?
Kinky capers – give a listen to John Ireland’s song I Like for an explanation.
What do you tip in restaurants?
Usually about 15%. Anyone who has worked as a waiter tends to tip well once they have moved on in life.
Have you or would you send a dish back at a restaurant if you were not happy?
No. Not really. Too much drama. I would rather order something else. But there was this one time I sent soup back because it was cold. You tend to get a bit red in the face when the chef comes out and says: “Borscht is served cold! This is Russian restaurant.”
Favourite fruit, veg, dessert and store-bought sweet?
I love bananas, peas and corn, chocolate and coconut-covered marshmallows.
The Mercury