This hardcover cookbook is a collector’s item for the simple reason that it’s not often one finds so many South African stars in one book.
Theatre lovers will therefore have two reasons for wanting the book: the recipes themselves and the snippets of the stars’ personal lives as well as their pictures that accompany the recipes. Most of the snippets give a glimpse into the magical world of theatre and the stars’ personal lives.
All the stars selected for this cookbook have been recipients of Fleur du Cap Awards, which celebrates 50 years of theatre excellence this year.
Among the 157 stars featured are Alan Committie, Marc Lottering, Dorothy-Ann Gould, Shaleen Surtie-Richards, Pieter-Dirk Uys (whose plum tart recipe adorns the front cover), Jana Cilliers, Adam Small, Bill Flynn and Sandra Prinsloo, to mention a few.
Many of the stars present their favourite recipe and share its secrets, while others supply the recipe of a dish their mom/partner or some member of their extended family used to make, which brings back fond memories of that person.
The book is divided into four sections: spring, summer, autumn and winter with the recipes in each section suited to that season, which makes the book user-friendly.
Recipes range from the simplest – a toasted cheese, ham and tomato sandwich – to the exotic ones such as Fromage de figues tartelettes, various potjie dishes and Athol Fugard’s Karoo rock soup which requires a real Karoo rock and comes with a warning to beware of the rock when eating the soup!
The recipes offer a selection of starters, fish dishes, meat and chicken dishes, soups, cakes, desserts, ice cream and even cocktails.
I’m tempted to try Paddy Canavan’s Magic Chicken which calls for only chicken, Coca-cola and soya sauce thrown into a pot and cooked on the stove.
Cooking can’t get any easier than that.
I enjoyed browsing through this book and found the pictures of the actors in the stage productions they have featured in added an interesting dimension.
Whether you buy this book for the recipes or for the artists, it will be money well-spent and a book to treasure for years to come.
Bravo! Food from the SA stars of stage is published by Human & Rousseau