Special recipes for any, every occasion
THE FESTIVE season is almost on us. With traditional family gatherings coming up, many of us have menus on our minds.
Jan Kohler’s Pink Gin and Fairy Cakes might help solve those culinary dilemmas, especially when it comes to sweet-tooth treats
In a recent chat with Kohler, she said: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved cooking. Even as a child I took great pleasure in laying a beautiful table, making a meal and harvesting veggies from our garden.
“My recipes are simple because this is what I grew up with.”
“I never intended to pursue a career in cooking so instead, I followed my creative dreams and went into graphic design.
“My passion in the kitchen continued to grow over the years, however, and my outlet was endless entertaining – I turned into a ‘feeder’.
“So many friends kept asking me to share recipes, particularly moms that I spent a lot of social time with as we were raising children together.
“This book really showcases how I do life through food and entertaining.
“I think it is a reflection of me as a mom who loves to see kids enjoy the food that’s put in front of them; as an entertainer who takes great joy in feeding masses of friends around my table; and as a nostalgist who still cooks recipes from the past with the same love and passion as my grandmothers did.”
“Over the years, catering needs centred around my children and their activities,” she said.
The cookbook is wonderfully broken up into useful sections: Child’s Play, Picnics, The Birthday Party, Cakes, The Parent Party, Feeding the Masses, The Sweet Stuff, Fabulously Frozen and Foraging.
As Kohler pointed out, her interest in food took root during her childhood. The recipes are special to her, too.
“The book is made up of passed down recipes, recipes shared by friends and recipes that I’ve adapted over the years. I’ve been cooking most of them without actually following a recipe for years, and so when I reflect on this collection of recipes, I guess it comes down to those that were unforgettable,
