5 RULES TO BE A GREAT COOK

If you’re listening, you’ll hear even the greatest chefs say unashamedly that their mothers or grandmothers are their greatest source of food inspiration, often citing a single dish or family kitchen memory that kick-started their culinary journeys. Layer on top of that some serious theory that ranges from science to history to agriculture; plus insane hours in a hot kitchen with a perpetually furious boss, and eventually they get to call the shots on who eats what, when and for how much.

For us everyday home cooks, there’s a food memory or family-favourite recipe that’s become a go-to by default – and there’s a good chance it has become a springboard for some delicious signature cooking on our own turf. But there are some very simple rules I’ve picked up on at culinary school that genuinely mean the difference between good and GREAT cooking – and

ANT ELLIS SHARES THE SIMPLE THINGS HE LEARNT AT CULINARY SCHOOL – AND HOW THEY CAN CHANGE THE WAY YOU COOK

you can use them too. Here are my top five.  Mise en place is everything: French for “putting in place” – making a habit of your recipe prep before you start cooking will make your time in the kitchen a joy. It’s a professional kitchen non-negotiable, and for good reason(s). A clean, organised path from your recipe to the table means an uninterrupted, efficient cook, so plan accordingly. Defrost, chop and measure your ingredients in advance, get all your utensils ready, then grab a glass of wine and enjoy the process.  We underuse herbs and spices: A pinch of this or that won’t result in bold and robust flavour, so next time give it some attitude! Try adding more than you usually would, and you won’t believe the difference. This includes basic seasoning with salt and pepper. It’s about trial and error and developing your ideal taste profile, but chefs can literally take years to perfect a dish in search of that utopian balance. Taste as you go and remember, you can keep adding – but you can’t take away.  Stock is liquid gold: This nutrientrich and delicious-on-its-own bone (or vegetable) broth is the flavour base for the world’s greatest sauces, gravies, soups and more. Rocking if you can make your own from a roast chicken carcass and/or veggie offcuts, or buy good-quality reductions (not the blocks or granules). Plain rice boiled in stock instead of water is a delicious surprise – so imagine what it can do for your bolognese, chilli con carne or tray bakes.  Live the dream with butter and cream: Use good-quality farm butter and full cream for huge flavour boosts and luxurious textures. These are saturated fats, so it’s not wise to make these ingredients everyday purchases – but to elevate the occasional family favourite and make a big difference to your overall foodie journey, there really are no substitutes. Never cook grumpy: Another thing we hear from highly-awarded chefs is that food tastes better when it’s cooked with

passion and love. While that’s as cheesy as a quattro formaggi pizza, it’s dead true – long days and bad moods can mean rushed cooking, distractions and ultimately poorly cooked, burnt or just misjudged flavours. If you aren’t in the mood, do everyone a favour and laugh it

ABOVE: Durban lover of good food, wine and company, Ant Ellis.

off with a comforting takeaway, or a cup of tea and a sack of biscuits.

There are endless lessons to be learnt from culinary school – but there’s never a point when the learning is over. Here’s a basic I’ve been working on and perfecting since I was seven.

*My Kinda Bolognese Sauce

• a healthy glug of olive oil • 1 large onion, finely diced • 4 cloves garlic, minced • 2 large carrots, grated • 500g lean beef mince • 1 glass red wine • 1 heaped teaspoon each of: dried oregano, dried marjoram, dried parsley, dried basil, paprika, dried chilli flakes • 1 tin Italian diced tomatoes • 6 large, fresh plum or roma tomatoes, finely chopped or puréed • 2 tablespoons tomato paste • 500ml chicken, veg or beef stock, hot • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce • ½ cup cream • salt and pepper to taste • Parmesan cheese, fresh basil and sliced red chilli to serve

On medium heat, add onion, carrot and garlic to a large flat-bottomed pot with olive oil. Sweat, don’t fry. Add minced beef, using a whisk to break it up evenly and brown. Add red wine, cook until the boozy smell is gone, then add herbs and spices and mix. Add all tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire sauce, mix and simmer on medium-low heat for 90 minutes. Crank up the heat to reduce to desired consistency for last 15 minutes and stir cream through. Season to taste. Toss with al dente penne and serve with lashings of good Parmesan cheese, fresh basil leaves and red chilli. *

FOR MORE INFO Talk to me at: ant@rockthekitchen.co.za

Wishing you a Great start to 2021

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Over the past decade, probiotics have become one of the fastest growing sectors of the natural health market. But why do we actually need them? And what benefits do they have for children?

Well, ensuring a healthy gut is arguably the most important factor in the overall health of your body. The bacteria in your bowels outnumber the cells in your body by 10 to one. This gut flora has incredible power over the immune system, meaning that the health of the body is largely tied into the health of the gut. Beneficial bacteria are responsible for the body’s ability to use the nutrition in food. They are responsible for the production of vitamins and fatty acids. They stop the build-up of disease-causing bacteria and harmful yeasts – such as Candida. And they produce natural antibiotics. In fact, one could say that no matter how good your diet is, or no matter what supplements you take, the ability of your body to use them is firstly dependent on the health of the bacteria in your gut.

When it comes to your children, beneficial bacteria are vital in the formative years of the body, ensuring good nutrition, immunity and growth. But another vital and often overlooked factor is that the gut plays a major role in one’s emotions, concentration and judgement … so much so that it has been nicknamed the “second brain”. Emotional stress, poor concentration, poor sleeping habits and general unhappiness are all factors which can very often be linked to bacterial imbalances in the digestive tract, and which can often be resolved through fixing that imbalance.

When choosing a probiotic for your children there are two general types of probiotic. Liquid (live fermented) probiotics are produced using a wide range of beneficial bacteria that are grown together, and compete amongst each other, to form the final product. They are the most natural form of bacteria since the conditions in which they are grown mirror the conditions inside the human body. Encapsulated (freeze-dried) probiotics are much easier to produce and store, however, and so make up most of the probiotic market. Encapsulated probiotics will also typically

Healthy, happy CHILDREN

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BENEFITS OF PROBIOTICS FOR KIDS

The gut plays a major role in one’s emotions, concentration and judgement… so much so that it has been nicknamed the “second brain”

have high counts of Colony Forming Units (CFUs) to ensure that enough bacteria reach the gut to be effective. With liquid probiotics, however, very high counts of CFUs are usually not needed as the microbes have been grown in conditions similar to those in the body and are not killed off on their way through to the gut.

Whichever you prefer, the fact remains that ensuring a balanced digestive tract, along with a good diet, are the first steps in ensuring that you have healthy and happy children.

FOR MORE INFO www.rawbiotics.co.za

The suicide rate in South Africa has increased alarmingly since lockdown began almost a year ago. Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders are burgeoning during these uncertain times.

When Dr Alan Howard, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine in the Northwest of Ireland for 12 years, returned home to South Africa at the end of 2019 to launch Ketamine Clinics of South Africa (KCSA), little did he know that Covid would strike a few short months later and the need for an effective treatment for resistant depression, suicidality and anxiety would grow like never before.

Ketamine, the party drug known on the street as “Special K”, is a dissociative anaesthetic that has been around since the 1960s and is on the WHO’s list of essential medicines. It was not until 2006 that ketamine’s remarkable ability to improve mood and reverse suicidal ideation in up to 80% of patients – even after a single infusion – was realised. Numerous studies and clinical trials have been undertaken since.

The greatest sustained benefit for patients with mood disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, post-partum depression and OCD, is realised after a series of six 40-minute outpatient infusions over a two- to-three week period. Patients are encouraged to book maintenance infusions thereafter (usually one infusion

New hope for DEPRESSION

KETAMINE CLINICS OF SOUTH AFRICA ARE NOW OPEN IN LA LUCIA RIDGE, OFFERING NEW HOPE TO TREATMENT-RESISTANT PATIENTS TRAPPED IN A CYCLE OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

ABOVE: Dr Alan Howard, the Founder and national Medical Director.

every four to six weeks) to maintain remission.

KCSA’s flagship outpatient clinic opened its doors in December 2019 at Hilton Life Hospital in the KZN Midlands, and to date more than 1100-infusions have been administered. Such was the demand from other regions around the country that KCSA opened a further large infusion clinic in Bedfordview, Gauteng in October last year, and now turns its focus towards the KZN North Coast and the Western Cape.

Dr Howard explains that, although ketamine has an excellent safety profile and few side effects, it remains an anaesthetic agent and, as such, must be given in an appropriate clinical environment by medical professionals familiar with its use. KCSA employs such doctors and anaesthetists at its clinics who are assisted by a team of ICU-trained nurses. Patients are treated in private cubicles and are monitored throughout.

Almost all patients treated at KCSA clinics are referred by psychiatrists and GPs who recognise ketamine’s remarkable potential to offer new hope to patients trapped in a cycle of dark despair. The clinic can be contacted off the website, where there is a wealth of additional information and testimonials.

Ketamine works by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, which has a more immediate effect than more traditional antidepressants. Studies show that areas of the brain damaged by mood disorders can recover when serial ketamine is administered through a process called synaptogenesis and dendritic sprouting (new nerve fibres and junctions). Ketamine is also used to treat certain types of chronic neuropathic pain.

“I’ve never been more excited about anything I’ve done during my 30 years of practicing medicine,” says Dr Howard. “The results have been gratifying and heart-warming.”

WHAT PATIENTS HAVE TO SAY

 You have no idea how appreciative we are of this incredible gift which you have given us. You have given us our daughter back.  Over two weeks I felt a growing strength, energy, balance, clarity of thought and purpose.

FOR MORE INFO UMHLANGA, KZN: 5 Pencarrow, La Lucia Ridge, Armstrong Ave, uMhlanga; 087 813 7778 HILTON, KZN: Hilton Health Medical Centre, Suite 3, # Monzali Dr, Hilton; 087 702 8542 BEDFORDVIEW, GAUTENG: Ground floor, Wellness on Van Buuren, 50 Van Buuren Rd, Bedfordview; 087 265 7479 info@ketamineclinics.co.za; www.ketamineclinics.co.za

KETAMINE CL LINICS of SOUTH AFRICA

TIMELESS &CLASSIC

Willow opened in Windermere Centre in June 2015. “Brett, my hubby and business partner, and I have a clothing wholesale business called Collins Collection. We found that we had no wholesale customers in Durban and decided to open our own store so that we could also retail our clothing,” says Cathy van Rooyen. “We initially set up a boutique at our factory premises at The Design Factory in Station Drive, but there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic or parking. So when an opportunity arose at Windermere Centre we took the plunge.”

Cathy and Brett haven’t looked back since, and opened their second store in La Lucia Mall in April 2019. “During lockdown last year we set up our online store, and now offer a selection of what we have in store online,” says Cathy.

“We started out stocking mainly clothing from our wholesale brand. Soon however, we realised that our Durban customers had very diverse styles and tastes and were also looking for accessories, shoes and gifts,” says Cathy. “So our wonderful journey began as we moved from being a clothing boutique to a lifestyle store.

“It has been incredible building relationships with other talented local brands and stocking their beautiful products in our stores. As we got a feel for what our customers loved,

A BEAUTIFULLY CURATED MIX OF FASHION, ACCESSORIES AND HOMEWARE FROM SOUTH AFRICAN DESIGNERS CAN BE FOUND AT WILLOW, WRITES KATRINE ANKER-NILSSEN

We want customers to have a luxury shopping experience where they are looked after and given exceptional help and service”

we developed our own Willow collection – reflecting our causal Durban lifestyle.”

Willow aim to find beautiful and unique locally made items at affordable prices and curate them together in such a way that customers love coming in to browse, see what’s new and wanting to treat themselves. “We want customers to have a luxury shopping experience where they are looked after and given exceptional help and service,” says Cathy. “We like to go the extra mile where we can, and our staff are known for their friendly customer service.” Willow’s latest summer collection is all about beautiful natural fibres like linen, cotton and rayon. “We print some of our own fabrics to keep things exclusive and unique. Our styling is classic and feminine with a contemporary twist, so it will last beyond one season and won’t necessarily date,” says Cathy. “We love detail and believe it’s the subtle details on each piece that adds that element of luxury and chic. This season we are loving tiers and frills, and flowy silhouettes – so we have incorporated these elements in some of our dresses and tops. We have also created some loungewear pieces which have been popular, reflecting the current trend for comfy casual wear.” *

FOR MORE INFO CATHY: 082 567 2715; willow@iafrica.com; www.willowshop.co.za LA LUCIA MALL: 031 562 9190 WINDERMERE CENTRE: 031 303 1425

On the brighter SIDE

WELCOME TO 2021, WHERE THE PAIRING OF A SOLID GREY COMBINED WITH A CHEERY YELLOW OFFER US HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Following a turbulent and uncertain year, the Pantone Color Institute announced that it had chosen two colours to best express the mood for Colour of the Year 2021. Only once before have the experts at Pantone ever awarded this prestige to two colours. 2021 sees Ultimate Gray and Illuminating as the perfect combination of dull, familiar grey with the bright yellow of lemon skin. According to Pantone’s executive director, Leatrice Eiseman, the two colours come together to create an aspirational colour pairing that is practical, rock solid and resilient, yet providing us with hope, optimism and the promise of a sunshine filled day.

Pantone 13-0647 Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow

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WALKING ON SUNSHINE

Chuck 70 Classic available in low and high top in Sunflower, R899-R1 099. www.converse.co.za CITRUS STYLE

Simple, stylish and natural, the easy-towear Elula linen shirt dress can be dressed up or down, paired with a belt and grey sandals. It’s the perfect splash of citrus colour to brighten up your day, R975. Unison, Flanders Mall AT HOME EASE

Rosey & Vittori’s homegrown apparel house works to create everyday urban classics, accented with a sense of high street. Streetwear inspired by South African lifestyle and diversified by street culture of the world. Their chic leisurewear allows you to stay safe at home in style, looking great with nowhere to go. Acid wash tracksuit – sweater and jogger – is fresh and casual, R640 and R650. https://roseyandvittori.com sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. Pantone 17-5104 Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colour of pebbles on the beach and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights an ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, while encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.

The tonal pairing encompasses the seriousness of the world’s ongoing struggles while at the same time acknowledging the hope connected to the availability of a vaccine against Covid and

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HAPPY DAYS

Whether you’re after a comfortable supportive crop for the gym, the perfect pair of compression leggings for yoga, or an effortless sports luxe top for a night out, PE Nation – designed to suit any active lifestyle – provides a range of well-constructed, functional designs with a strong streetwear influence. PE Nation Twist serve leggings in safety yellow, R1 600. PE Nation High twist shuffle tank in charcoal, R800. https://onembs.co.za; available from ONE mind body soul, uMhlanga Arch

SUNNY SIDE UP

Enhance every occasion with Tavola’s beautifully designed napkin range. Available in Leopard Yellow and Leopard Grey, R110. Unison, Flanders Mall

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light at the end of the tunnel.

When using the two colours in 2021, they do not have to be used in equal proportions. Either colour can take precedence whether for apparel, beauty, home furnishings, product design or packaging. *

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HAPPINESS IN YOUR HOME

Welcome this perfect Pantone Colour of the Year pairing into your home for 2021. Throw this striped velvet cushion on to your sofa or bed and instantly add a refreshing and vivid touch of happiness to your home, R950. https://onembs.co.za; available from ONE mind body soul, uMhlanga Arch

On-trend &COOL

INTERIOR DESIGNER LISA TWYMAN’S NEW RANGE OF LOCALLY PRODUCED FURNITURE IS BOLD AND PLAYFUL, WRITES CANDICE BOTHA

ABOVE: Ballito interior designer, Lisa Twyman, feels the timing is right to create a series of furniture pieces made by small businesses.

pictures lar photography

Interior designer Lisa Twyman’s new range of colourful, contemporary furniture perfectly reflects the combination of modern lines and fun elements evident in all her work whether it’s an interior, ceramic piece or painting.

“I think my style is joyful. Exciting,” she says. “As an interior designer I emphasise how a space feels, and how this will impact the users of the space. I like to create interest by juxtaposing unexpected elements. The furniture collection speaks to this ethos too. Some

pieces have a playful element, while colour and the use of different materials create depth.”

The furniture was a natural extension of her work and she says the timing felt right to create a series of pieces that would appeal to the current market for products made by small businesses and the move away from massproduced furniture. “I think there is a niche group of people looking for something special, something with a story. Even though there are bigger companies out there with cheaper products, I felt the time was right to service the smaller niche market, those buyers who are interested in locally produced heirloom

I’d say the ceramic work, painting, and the furniture and interior design complement each other by allowing me different channels of creative expression”

pieces. I also sensed that the realm of South African design was gaining momentum and I want to be a part of it,” she says.

Her background in psychology has led Lisa to a deeper understanding of how our homes and the items we surround ourselves with can impact on our moods and overall well-being, and even as a child, she says she was constantly thinking about how to move furniture around. Lisa’s home showcases many of her favourite items from her range, including the one-off Mrs Wallace stainedglass cabinet. “I also love the simple lines of the Beatrix sofa. The proportions are just »

right in both looks and comfort,” she says. Proportion is important in her work, and her home reflects this with a series of spaces that flow into one another and blur the boundaries between indoors and out with an enormous tree growing through the roof of the living area. It’s dramatic yet completely inviting – like her furniture.

Lisa’s creativity extends to several artistic mediums and she is a renowned ceramicist and painter. “Playing in my art studio is important for my sanity. Without the creative play I am unsettled and a bit lost. Painting, although the most challenging cognitively, leaves me feeling the most grounded,” she says. “I’d say the ceramic work, painting, and the furniture and interior design complement each other by allowing me different channels of creative expression, and by fulfilling the various processes I enjoy, from conceptual and analytical through to material completion.”

Her furniture has been well received and she plans to extend the range this year. “I aim to connect with other South African designers and platforms, too. I love the side of my furniture collection that offers one-off pieces that will never be reproduced. It means I can constantly be creating. I think the next product will be something small, such as a table lamp or pendant light.” *

FOR MORE INFO Lisatwyman.com