“My being anglo saxon is a complete accident of birth because that’s not how I feel or how I act. I feel totally at home in Europe, Spain or France or Italy.”
So says TV chef, cookbook author, food judge, restaurant critic and patron of charities Lyndey Milan when I meet up with her at her Waverton office to discuss all things food including cooking for kids, food bloggers, my legal issues with ACP, the notorious Gordon Ramsay and everyone’s heatthrob Anthony Bourdain and read on for a chance to win a signed copy of her new book “The Best Collection”…
Lyndey with her mother Isabel Hall
How and where did u grow up? Was there a focus on food?
I grew up in Australia. Mum and dad were just really good home entertainers. Mum was a really good home cook. We grew up with the hospitality at the table. There was always room for someone else at the table. I was the youngest of four and we all sat up by the table we all used our cutlery, we all conversed so there was all of that.
So when did you first start cooking?
I was about 16 and my mum and dad went away for 3 months. My next sister and I and my brother lived nearby so I burnt the kitchen down a week before they came home (laughing).
What were you cooking?
Oh god yes mum and dad left on the Thursday and we had our first dinner party on the Saturday. I was 15 and a half and Lesley was 21. I came home from school and of course I was the only one there and you do what you’re never allowed to do so I put some chips on and I went to turn the tv on and I got engrossed in the tv and the chips were all on fire and I stupidly did what you’re not supposed to. I didn’t smother it, I threw water all over it. Well this black smoke welled up and absolutely blackened the kitchen so it then died down and went out.
Lyndey with Tony Bilson
What happened then?
Then I got married had lots of dinner parties and traveled around Europe. We had a combi van which had a stove in the back and got back and ended up in advertising in London so I became a PA to the chairman and Managing Director of a creative agency.
Split with the husband met the next one, said to them I’m staying but not as a trumped up secretary and they said “Look you’re half running the place anyway if you can replace yourself you can be General Manager” so I became General Manager. I used to get in Cordon Bleu cooks to do our boardroom lunches and I would think “I can do better than this” I mean it was nice but what’s this all about. My husband was really interested in food and wine. We ended up coming back to Australia and worked at McCann Ericsson. The food in the boardroom was diabolical, absolutely diabolical. I pitched the agency’s General Manager and secretary and I got asked to come in and do the boardroom lunches. I left my son with my sister and he’d sleep for 3 of the 4 hours anyway and that just took off and everyone said “Oh my god this food is fantastic”.
I was reading all those magazine, Gourmet, Epicurian VET so then I decided to run a cooking school from home so my friend Peter Howard said can I come and help you? Then my marriage ended. So we bought this cafe at Northbridge Plaza. We built the one in the middle that’s there now.
Lyndey with Peter Howard
Did you eat dinner with your kids?
No I can’t say I was there every night but I made them sit at the table and I cooked for them. On Sunday nights no-one was ever allowed to have a friend over including me so we could get sorted for the week ahead. I was so busy but I still always cooked for them every night.
Lyndey with children Blair and Lucy
Were they fussy kids?
Certainly not! That was not an option. I told them I’m not asking you to like it I’m asking you to eat it but also I would say “You’ve just got to try it, you don’t have to eat it but it’s your choice” and of course there was no dessert if you didn’t eat your main course but mealtime was always an opportunity.
Anyway (the cafe) was a really great experience. I started reviewing for the Good Food Guide in 1987 with Leo (Schofield) I knew him from around the traps and Nigel and I were in the social circle and I said to him once you really need to know about this – I don’t even remember what it was – and he said “We need to get you on as a reviewer” so I’ve been doing it ever since 1987 and I’m the longest serving reviewer. We had that (the cafe) for 18 months and then sold it thank heavens. We did quite well out of it but it was hard work. I’d started doing radio in 88, a bit of writing and a bit of tv. All of the chefs they know that I can actually go into the kitchen and do it.
Lyndey on the set of “At Home with John Mangos” which aired 1993-1995
Do you think that got you some respect?
Absolutely, absolutely. Also I think when you’re writing about someone’s business you need to be respectful of that. Not that you gloss over things but if it’s diabolical I just won’t write about it because there’s not enough time. Be constructive sure and say this dish was this or whatever.
Would you write about it?
Oh yes yes well my responsibility is to my reader so that’s why I always pay for my review. I always get the person that I’m going with to book under their name so they don’t know it’s me. They can change your table, they can’t change the menu or the wine they can change the portion size but like I’m not stupid I can see what’s happening for everyone else. I have a view that we expect restaurateurs to be professionals so they have every right to expect that people that write about them are professionals too.
So what do you think of food bloggers?
I think that some food bloggers should be hung, drawn and slaughtered but you’re here.
Does that mean me?
No no! That’s what I’m saying is that you’re here. Look I guess we’re all on the same. This is what I say to all the other magazines as well. We’re all in the same side of good food. It’s all about integrity in what we do. I think new media is amazing but I think some people are quite ordinary but then again I think some people that write advertorials in newspapers are pretty ordinary too. Ann’s been saying to me “You’ve got to do a blog” and I probably should but it’s huge to do it and to maintain it. How do you do it? Your site looks absolutely beautiful. I’m trying to do twitter for heaven’s sake-arrgh!
Lyndey then asks me all about my blog and we chat for a good while about NQN and what Mr NQN thinks of it.
Lyndey with Matt Moran
Did you know about what happened with ACP and me?
No tell me!
A lawyer from ACP contacted me and told me that you can’t reproduce the cupcake recipes although I always attributed it to them.
That’s so interesting. How long ago was that?
It was a long time ago at the beginning of my blog.
Yes you must always get permission in writing to cover yourself. I mean I send out recipes so I decided I’d do 4 recipes from my book and even though I own it, I got it in writing from the publisher as they own the copyright otherwise it will just bite you in the bum. That’s really interesting. They are getting really snakey about copyright, with people that formally approach them, they even say no sometimes.
Do they not see it as PR?
I don’t know, a lot of questions would come to me and would pass them onto them but I think things have changed.
Lydney with Antonio Carluccio at Tasting Australia
You do a lot of things…
I do far too much honorary work.
I’m on the council and also the board of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW so apart from running the Easter Show I chair the wine committee where we give out awards over 14 days. I was acting chair of the wine show this year and I’ve got another book coming out in March. I’m one of the founders and patrons of a female chef mentoring program called Tasting Success. Then I judge for Electrolux Appetite for Excellence and do the Good Food Guide. Then a bit of consulting, I bring the regions of NSW to the Rocks.
Australian food is not multinationals and it’s not corn chips and chilli dip, it’s actually a lot of small producers doing a lot of stuff. In 1997 and 98 when we started I couldn’t help myself. We started a coffee competition and olive oil then we added pasta we now do aquaculture, fruit cake and pie, deli meat, branded lamb and beef. It’s interesting to see as everything is done blind and our standard is really high.
We’ve got in each panel a technical expert, a palette expert and someone else and statistically if you have 3 people one person cannot skew it. If one person is widely different the chairman of judges then comes in and has a look at that class and judges that as well.
Ann (Lyndey’s PR consultant): They might have 60 people entering the thing and it’s not a matter of first second and third they’ve got to hit the number of points required.
Lyndey with Tetsuya Wakuda
Do you think Australian chefs are different from overseas chefs?
Well Spanish food is either incredibly traditional and they have no idea about presentation it’s just slop on a plate or it’s this amazing avant garde leading edge stuff which may or may not be fabulous. In Australia historically there is an irreverence of the Australian personality. I think being a truly Multicultural society has really enhanced things so much but also we never had an Escoffier who told us how to do it so we weren’t constrained. About 10 years ago Murdoch magazines as it was then did some research and 65% of Australian households had a wok. Now that’s extraordinary. 75% on the Eastern seaboard. 65% in the country. 65% in the country!
Do you have any interests outside of food?
Singing and having a good time. My daughter sings and she was the leader of the Australian girls choir and she lives in London and is a children’s singing and drama teacher. She just came in 10th in the Australian songwriting competition for the contemporary section. She texted me “For Christmas I’m giving you singing lessons because I think you’ve got potential and I’d hate for you to embarrass you while in public” and I said “I never embarrass myself”so I went and loved it and the teacher said you’ve got the same signing voice as Lucy but only higher you should’ve have been a dramatic opera singer so I said “Get over it, I’m not singing Wagner, I just want to sing alongside a piano” and I sang solo at my 50th birthday and I sang with my kids
Name 3 chefs: marry, fire and work for…
Ann: You’ve payed kill bonk marry haven’t you?
I don’t think I should answer the fire one…
Ann: You could always put someone from overseas like Gordon Ramsay
I wouldn’t dignify him by mentioning his name. That’s the ultimate revenge, he does it all for publicity.
Lyndey giving Gordon Ramsay a swear jar
You’re not a fan?
Oh look I know him. I had fun with Anthony Bourdain when he was out here. He was cute. I took him out to dinner, he’s gorgeous. I don’t want to marry a chef, I’m not an idiot (laughs). Why would I want to marry one? I think zero zero zero I know them all too well.
Ann: Work for? Anthony Bourdain?
I like being the employer I’m too long in the tooth for that. I don’t define myself by chefs I’m me, I’m a unique individual and I do what I do. We can play the three adjectives games.
Sure what are three words that would describe you
I’d say forthright, sensitive and fun.
Lyndey with Margaret Fulton and Tetsuya Wakuda at the launch of “The Best Collection”
So give me the hard sell on your new book.
I’ve done 6 books this is a compilation of the best of my 4 books. *goes through photos… and there’s a photo of my darling John.
How long have you been together?
2.5 years and we celebrate every month. This is my portrait. That’s my mum. There are 140 recipes which is pretty amazing and it’s divided up. I think entree, main and dessert is pretty boring although you can still do that but I’ve got no plate small plates, large plates, sweet plates and chocolate plates. I can’t remember who said (9 out of 10 people love chocolate and the other one is lying”. They’re all tried and true, some of these are 15 years old and they’re all contemporary. Good food is good food is good food. Fad and fashion change like that silly Kiwifruit coulis.
There’s no Kiwifruit coulis?
No no kiwifruit at all! The Spanish overcook their seafood so with my paella I steam it on top and for the last 5 minutes we add the seafood. I collect recipes from overseas and bring them back and simplify and Australianise them.
And because we’re doing the 5 days of Christmas with 5 days of fantastic giveaways, thanks to Lyndey we are giving away a signed copy of The Best Collection. All you have to do is tell us:
What is your favourite ‘classic’ dish and how would you give it a modern twist?
Add your entry via a comment to this story. You can enter once daily as long as your answer is different. This competition is open to Australian residents only.
**The winner (hand picked by Lyndey) is Lisa Q. of ACT!***
This competition finishes midnight AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on the 30th of January, 2010.
Good Luck to everyone!
Love,
Lorraine
xxx
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80 Comments | Add your own
What an interesting interview Lorraine. Lyndey seems very….um….confident. I suppose you have to be and she has certainly led an amazing life. In winter I love a classic beef stew and would give it a modern twist by serving it with roasted pumpkin and steamed greens rather than mash or rice. I love potato and rice but they don’t help me stop when I’m full
I love your interviews.
Great interview, NQN. Is it just me, or does she really grate?
Interesting interview, I like the swear jar
This is really interesting. I didn’t have a clue but she sounds like she knows everyone!
My classic dish is salmon mousse. I bring it to the 21st century by adding a cucumber yoghurt and dill dressing and by making it in a long terrine mould instead of the copper curly fish one!
Would love a copy of Lyndey’s book – must keep an eye out for it next time I’m in a town big enough to have a decent book shop.
Lyndey sounds like a lot of fun!! Hope you enjoyed meeting her
Great interview NQN. My modern dish is Beef Bourguignonne. I serve it in a smaller portion in a timbale so that it looks more elegant.
Greek Salad (no lettuce) ubstituting Haloumi for Feta and adding in a can of white beans or tuna – great easy summer dinner.
Great interview. It’s really interesting that she says you always have to get written permission to reproduce recipes. When you think of the number of blogs out there that must be reproducing recipes, it seems a little unrealistic to make everyone to get written permission.
Australianise them ! …. no thats confidence ….Hahahahahaha …….. do like her but have always found that she just races through recipes on every show i have ever seen her on .
Great interview, Lyndey seems like so much fun! And I was so jealous when she talked about her dinner with Anthony Bourdain!
lasagne. I love this dish. Easy, timeless Italian classic. For a modern twist, use pumpkin, ricotta, bechamel sauce and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds on top! yum!
4 a xmas pressie 4 me as a devoted fan could u tell me the recipe 4 forest gump pie xxxxx
My family loves roast lamb but now I have it deboned, then marinate it in lemon juice and herbs and cook it on the BBQ.
Fascinating candid interview – she’s not wrong when she describes herself as forthright! But a great read and good insight on her perspective of the food world.
Lyndey is amazing , I’ve always liked her style.
Chicken schnitzel/cordon bleu pocketed with camembert cheese, topped with proscuitto and summer salsa
My classic dish is Roast Lamb with all the roasted veg. I give it a modern twist by basting/ glazing the lamb with a mango puree in summer.
Great interview – I’ve never heard of Lyndey before but enjoyed finding out about her.
My favourite classic dish is lasagne – for a modern twist, I enjoy a good pumpkin lasagne.
LOL – just saw Karina said the same thing!
That is a long and very interesting interview! So she really didn’t answer your question about foodbloggers properly! Ah well… she was civil and not at all aggressive about it.
Nice piece yo- love it how you raised the issue of bloggers reproducing recipes.
Haha, interesting interview, Lorraine! I liked how you asked about the food bloggers…but I also liked how honest she was! Haha. Guess most don’t really have a favorable view on food bloggers…
Interesting, juicy tidbit about Gordon Ramsay too! Gorgeous, huh?
Nice work on the interview- it was interesting to find out more about Lyndey.
My fav recipe that I modernise is the good old prawn cocktail- gone is the iceburg lettuce and in with the peppery rocket, lovely fat juicy coral prawns are arranged on top (tail still on) and then a lovely dollop of home made aioli with a squeeze of lemon.
Very interesting interview. how great that you get to meet so many great chefs!
Lucky you.
My favourite classic dish with a twist is a roast vegetable salad – slow roasted pumpkin, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini tossed in a salad of rocket leaves with a honey balsamic dressing – great with the Sunday roast (instead of the usual “3 veg”)or a casual bbq.
No need to do a hard sell with this book – just the name Lyndey Milan and title were enough for me!
I agree with Zurin. You’re so lucky! She sounds like a really spunky lady.
Fantastic interview. Good for her to give Ramsay a swear jar. Maybe now he will be able to pay off his huge debts LOL.
A great interview! Enjoyed learning about Lyndey Milan.
I love the Q – what are your interests outside of food? ‘Cause sometimes food is not enough ehhhhh
I love fried yams and tomato sauce! A pregnancy favourite….which I do enjoy outside the ’9 month period’!
Oh what a great interview! I definitely ‘grew up’ from a cooking perspective with Lyndey – she is such an amazing woman!
One of my favourite classic dishes is shephards pie – which we jazz up with sweet potato, tender chicken and fresh herbs.
My favourite classic dish with a twist is rice pudding. My modern version uses coconut milk, pineapple and lime zest for my pina colada rice pudding.
Great interview. Modern twist on baked vegetables – cut into chunks, toss in olive oil and morrocan seasoning. Delicious.
A classic recipe I modernise would have to be a ceasar salad, I throw in some roast chicken and roast pumpkin for something different.
That is a great interview NQN, I can’t say that I am a fan of Lyndey personally, having seen her with many different TV hosts, but she is a good cook, and has certainly been around and done the hard yards.
My daughter would certainly love her book, and so I must look out for it. Good for her giving Ramsey a swear jar, but I think that he needs more than that.
I love roasts where to vegies are cooked in the same juices as the meat and then a gravy is made from them.
I love Lyndey Milan…
She is one of my favorites people in Australian food industry.
Terrific interview! I didn’t know much at all about Lyndey Milan before this piece but I admire her as she obviously has a lot of chutzpah. I found your discussious with Lyndey about new media interesting, as I have noticed over the recent years I have been consuming traditional media less and less.
I have always liked LM, she seems like a nice lady with a larger than life personality. I met her when I was a member of the Food Media Club and admired her on ‘Fresh’. She is a great ambassador for Aussie food.
My classic twist is mum’s prawn cocktail. Prawns marinated in beer, put onto toothpicks, onto a whole cabbage served with homemade seafood sauce (half tomato sauce and half mayo and good brandy. A huge splash). Chop up the cabbage, mix with S&W or Helmanns mayonnaise and carraway seeds – instant coleslaw.
A great interview as always!
My classic dish is spaghetti bol. I modernise it using turkey mince, adding tons of diced veges(whatever I have n the fridge) & cutting down the tomato.
Even the kids love it.
Not sure exactly what constitutes a classic, but I’m going to say my spicy coleslaw. Traditional Aussie veg with a sauce mixed through of sliced onions, fish sauce, chilli flakes, sugar, lemon or lime juice, garlic and ginger ..that was prepared the day before and left in the fridge! I can’t bear coleslaw with mayo!
Pizza but iadd Vegemite and peanut butter.
great interview.my classic dish is lasagna,i occasionaly make it using rigatoni pasta for a more relaxed dinner party
I have adapted this classic for regional New South Wales as there aren’t that many Thai grocers around.
Thai Beef Salad
Steak:
Its got to be a big thick piece for this recipe – easier to control the doneness I think though the cooking time is increased as well as the time it take for a good marinade. Maybe thinner cuts if you are pressed for time and like it well done. But it does shrink a fair bit as it cooks so if your looking for that bite sized thin across the grain slices for presentation it’s got to be thick.
Marinade:
Have to find a sealable container to match the size of the steak or a sealable plastic bag as too much marinade is just wasted trying to cover the steak completely. (Like in my Pyrex dish) For the amount I used, list as follows
250ml sesame oil
250ml Oyster sauce
4-5 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons crushed coriander
2 tablespoons crushed chilli
½ tablespoon pepper
A good splash of fish sauce
In your container, combine all ingredients, except steak. Mix well. Add steak and marinate meat for at least 12 hours.
For Nam Pla Vinaigrette:
½ cup fish sauce
3 juicy limes juiced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Thai chilli, thinly sliced (seeds in or out to control hotness)
2 Tablespoons palm (or brown) sugar
1 teaspoon Nam Prik Pao (chilli paste) optional
6 spring onions finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped coriander
I don’t have a blender so I put all this in a mortar and pestle and ground it up.
Make this around the same time as the marinade so flavours can blend.
For salad:
Lettuce-Mesclun or rocket (I like iceberg)
Cucumber
Punnet of cherry tomatoes
Mint leaves
A bit more coriander
The rest of the spring onions out of the bunch
I guess any thing else you like in the salad- red capsicum, carrots, and eggs.
Though if you make it too busy it will subtract from the steak.
Grill Steak – turning to colour all the sides and render the fat. Rest, and then slice thinly into the salad and dress with the Nam Pla Vinaigrette. Serve straight-away.
Oops forgot Lemon Grass – If you can get hold of that then chop some into the Nam Pla Vinaigrette.
My classic dish is Spaghetti Bolognaise – my husbands favourite! I give it a modern twist by adding lots of different spices to the tomato sauce and a splash of red wine. Yummy!
My favourite classic dish is noodles. I give them a modern twist by mixing 2 different types together. It adds to the texture and the flavour of the final product.
My twist on the Classic Australian Sausage Sandwich is -fabulous Pork and Leek sausages from the Smokehouse cooked on the bbq, piled with caramelised onions in red wine, dijon or grainy mustard on a soft fresh roll or bread. It doesnt get better or more Aussie than that!!
I love a good roast, my modern twist is to make balsamic roasted veggies (use blasamic vinegar instead of oil when roasting the veggies) it gives a yummy caramelised balsamic taste!
My classic dish is juicy grilled steak, but I add marinade sauce by brushing it over as I grill it. Gives it a lovely flavour.
Instead of roasting potatoes, carrot, onion and pumpkin normally, I add tons or paprika over the top, toss in oil, add salt and pepper, then roast them. Spices it right up.
Poached chicken with herb dumplings,
A classic Irish poor man’s meal,
Add “salsa verde”, giving it a modern twist,
You have a meal you simply can’t resist.
My classic dish is Spaghetti Bolognaise. I give it a modern twist by using some soy sauce and some fish sauce instead of salt. And Ketjap Manis for the sweetiest. Yummy.
Apricot Chicken and I modernise it by adding in the apricots themselves and not just the apricot juice.
Asparagus cooked on the barbecue after being marinated, it really adds a nice flavour to an otherwise ordinary vegetable.
Like most anglo Aussies, I love Spaghetti Bolognese, it’s such a great home-style comfort food. My recent twist on it is that I discovered Beef pho paste in my local asian supermarket. It’s flavoured with soy, garlic, cinnamon and other spices and it gives an amazing depth and mysterious flavour to the bolognese.
The good old standby of Spaghetti and Meatballs – but for the meatballs I use the filling out of the best Gourmet sausages I can find on the day. Some many great varieties to choose from.
Let’s hear it for classic Roast Chicken, with lemon, garlic and thyme. To modernise it, serve on a large white plate with the chicken atop a mound of thinly sliced potato. It’s the taste that counts, really
Classic Mac cheese except we add chopped sundried tomatoes and olives and a herbed crumble topping. Delicious!
For a Christmas Turkey,
Cous cous stuffing is key,
It fills the family with glee.
Not stodge and heavy breadcrumbs
Everyone thinks it’s yum!
My classic dish is an omlette, a modern twist is cooking with sundried tomato, red onion, fetta cheese and olives.
Thank you for the chance!
Roast chicken, modernised with a fruity cous cous stuffing, yum!
Truely inspirational, and motivational interviews. Loads of details but still highly enjoyable through and through. Receipes to die for, just brillant
I love pea and ham soup but I do mine with curry, not quite like my Gran’s but yummy as well!
Our family loves Tuna Mornay in Vol O Vounts cases, I add sundriend tomatoes and fresh parsley for amodern twist and serve on Jasmine rice, its quit nice and an easy filling feed for a family!
I make a spicy meatloaf using top grade mince to keep it heart smart. I can hide a lot of grated vegies in it and the kids dont notice. I give it a modern twist by serving it with a chickpea or couscous salad.
My modern twist on the old roast chicken is to cook it in 3 cups of milk, alot of lemon zest, a cinnamon stick and unpeeled garlic clove for approx. one and half hours.
The chicken is to die for.. so succulent and mouthwateringly tender. You have to try this!!
Lasagne is my favourite, to give it a twist, I would use mung beans and other beans instead of meat, with 3 different types of cheese…yum!!!!
Meatballs with mash go Thai. Use chicken mince and red curry paste and coriander instead of Italian seasoning. Fantastic flavour and alot lighter.
My favourite is a hamburger and I would modernize it by putting hot chips inside it!
Tried and tasted the recipes within these books and cant wait to keep trying more.
Chips and sauce! But I use kumara/sweet potato cut into chunky chips and like using a roasted capsicum sauce instead of tomato.
Maggie Beer Garlic Roast I’m pickin’,
Aromatic dish for chicken,
Lemongrass, Asian veggies, increases serves a day!
“East Meets West” classic made MY WAY!
Traditional scones with lemonjuice and rind for a twist!
Spaghetti bolognaise with heaps of mushrooms and capsicums added for a more modern twist.
Chicken Scnitzel is a classic family favourite. I dress it up with a yummy mango salsa!
My Classic Dish is the old favourite “Apple Crumble”. To give it a modern twist ass some fruit liquer, spices or herbs. Delicious!!!
I really love lasagne and I love to add garlic, olives and spinach to give it a richer flavour
My variation is to make a “Black Forest Chocolate Ripple Cake” Dip Chocolate ripple biscuits in kirsch before sandwiching together with cream that has been whipped with cocoa powder and had chopped (tinned)cherries and some of the juice added. Cover entire cake in cream and place cherries and shaved chocolate. Delicious never any leftovers sadly!!!!
I have lots of classic dishes but need this book to give them that twist and a bit of zing! Help in the kitchen.
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[...] also steak, duck and other offerings.At the table next to us the chef Peter Doyle sits chatting to Lyndey Milan about an upcoming harbourside development and he stops by our table for a quick chat. He, along [...]
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