Award-winning food columnist Pascale Beale is remarkably creative in her arena of all things cooking! Start with her company, Pascale’s Kitchen, which she describes as an “on-line culinary boutique.” A YouTube channel, 11 cookbooks, gifts, pantry items and, of course, classes make up her hugely successful endeavor.
My colleague Stacey Gualandi chatted with Pascale a few years ago. We thought that at this time of year, actually any time of the year, featuring a follow up with this special cookbook author and her seasonal recommendations would be especially timely!
EYE: First, Congratulations on your recent 2023 Best of EDIBLES Award for Best Recipe Photography and being a finalist for the Best Recipe Featured Writing!
PASCALE: Thank you so much, I’m thrilled with this award, and being a finalist in the writing category as well. You’ll find the winning recipes on my website:
Pascale Beale’s Winning Recipes
Roasted Beets, Heirloom Carrots and Salsa Verde
Grilled Zucchini with Avocado-Tarragon Crema
Steamed Spring Potatoes with Dill-Chive Vinaigrette
Grilled Asparagus with Spring Peas, Burrata and a Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette
Spring Pea and Leek Soup with PestoPea and Mint Hummus
EYE: What makes a recipe intriguing for you to pursue?
PASCALE: It is usually because of a specific ingredient or an unusual way to use that ingredient. I may see a photograph of a dish and wonder how they made it. I try and learn new things each time I try new recipes, so I like to challenge myself with new techniques and flavor combinations.
EYE: What is your personal favorite meal?
PASCALE: This is very much dependent on the time of year and what is in season. In the summer it may be a selection of salads, with some lovely goat cheese, followed by a stone fruit tart. In winter I’d want something comforting, a luscious curry or soup and maybe an apple crumble. I have favorites for each season.
EYE: Do you have a special winter treat?
PASCALE: I love the ceremony and charm of a real English tea, complete with finger sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and really good raspberry jam.
EYE: What would you say is key to being a good cook?
PASCALE: There are a few key elements:
A good place to start is mastering a few basic skills and building from there. Don’t try and make puff pastry on day one if you have never made pastry before, for example.
Cooking uses all the senses and the best way to learn how something is supposed to feel, look like, and taste is through repetition. Practice, as the old adage goes, makes perfect. There is so much information on cooking available today from online social media posts, to cookbooks, magazines, and food specific websites that it can be overwhelming.
If you can, go to a local farmers market to familiarize yourself with what is in season. I usually ask people when they are starting cooking what they like to eat, what are their favorite dishes and suggest they start with those.
EYE: You say cooking is very personal. How so?
PASCALE: It reveals one’s taste and preferences. We don’t make pumpkin pie in August, or grill corn in January, so we tend to gravitate to recipes that reflect the seasons.
There are those who love to bake; those who cook but cannot stand baking; and those who love to travel through the cuisine of different cultures and like cookbooks about food from other parts of the world.
EYE: Since you say cooking is in relation to the seasons, would you please recommend four cookbooks that you feel might make good holiday gifts.
PASCALE: Choosing only four books is really hard for me. I collect cookbooks, and there are a number of food writers whose work is truly excellent and who can convey the essence of their dishes through their writing.
PICKS BY PASCALE BEALE:
Diane Henry is a British author and columnist. I would suggest any one of her numerous books but would probably start with Simple. The recipes work so well, and they are delicious. She truly understands flavors.
Mitchell Beazley; Illustrated edition (September 6, 2016
Yotam Ottolenghi is a revered restauranteur and cookbook author based in London. His nine books on middle eastern cuisine have won him worldwide recognition, and understandably so. His flavors are fresh and vibrant. I like all his books but would probably choose Plenty to start with.
Chronicle Books LLC (July 22, 2011)
I’m a big fan of Alice Waters and her approach to cooking and general philosophy on food. All her books are filled with delicious dishes. The Art of Simple Food is a wonderful book to begin exploring her cuisine with.
Clarkson Potter; (October 2, 2007)
If I have to choose one of my books, I will say take a look at Salade II. Salads are versatile, healthy, invigorating and nourishing. This book has just over 100 recipes that you can make throughout the year. The book is part of my Market Table collection which are all ingredient driven cookbooks.
EYE: Do you have food writers whom you admire?
PASCALE: There are so many. I heartily recommend books by Claudia Roden, Paula Wolfert, Anna Jones, David Tannis, Deborah Madison, Judy Rodgers, Donna Hay, Nik Sharma, and Sabrina Ghayour. This doesn’t even touch on all the fabulous bakers out there too.
EYE: What are your “success hints” that any cook—beginner, bad or advanced—should keep in mind when attempting any recipe?
PASCALE: Here are my top tips:
- Read the recipe a couple of times BEFORE starting, not as you’re going along. This is essential for new recipes. You need to have a sense of timing. How long will it take to prepare, to cook or to chill.
- Have a clean kitchen, and clean up as you go along. It’s hard to work when everything is chaotic around you.
- It’s easier to prepare something if you already know what it is supposed to look and taste like. Building a repertoire of dishes you are comfortable with is the best way to make progress in the kitchen. Try to be organized in the kitchen.
- Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking. It will make your cooking process faster. Be willing to experiment once you have become comfortable with some basic recipes.
- Taste your food throughout the cooking process, adjusting the seasoning at the end.
EYE: Can anyone be a good cook?
PASCALE: I think for the most part anyone can be a good cook. However, it does take practice and patience.
EYE: What is your favorite cooking accomplishment?
PASCALE: It is really gratifying when students call me or write to me to let me know that since they took my classes or read some of my books, their cooking has changed their lives for the better. I’m thrilled that my recipes have a positive impact.
EYE: Is there anything you won’t attempt to cook?
PASCALE: I don’t cook lobster.
EYE: You describe your terrific cookbook, 9’x12’, Culinary Adventures in a Small Kitchen as “a subscription multimedia book.” Please explain.
PASCALE: This is a different type of food memoir. 9′ x 12′ is the story of my kitchen, a story about reinvention, of feeding friends and family and community, of surviving fires, floods, and a pandemic. It’s about a cooking school, and an unexpected pop-up bakery. Like a soufflé this is a story about the ups and downs of life in the food business.
This project began in December 2022 and is hosted on Substack. Every month subscribers receive the next installment (via email or readers can do on the Substack platform) of the narrative which also includes a tasty three-course menu, including a printable PDF of all the recipes with photos of every dish.
Additionally, there is the soundtrack for the narrative (Yes, I have been known to sing and dance in the kitchen, do you?). This is my playlist, the music behind the story in each chapter, and an audio version of the book in case you’d rather have me read to you. There are also lots of photos, videos, and links to enhance the story in every chapter too.
EYE: What feedback have you gotten from this inventive “cookbook”?
PASCALE: I’ve had very positive feedback. Readers send me comments and photos of the dishes they have prepared, comment on my playlists and like the audio version of the book too. It is a different format so there are some who would prefer to have a physical book in their hands, but you would lose the audio components with that format.
I particularly like the fact that readers can ask me questions and comment directly on the platform. It is interactive that way, and I like having that sense of community with my subscribers.
EYE: What type of food and recipes do you find people want to know how to cook more often?
PASCALE: I find that many people are interested in more vegetable and fruit forward types of meals. I am focused on seasonal, Mediterranean-style cooking which celebrates this focus.
EYE: With all you’ve written, produced and demonstrated about food is there any one thing that has surprised you?
PASCALE: I am still surprised by the HUGE portions served in restaurants in the US. I am concerned about food waste, and it boggles my mind when I order a salad and receive a plate of food that could easily feed 2, 3 or 4 people.
EYE: How have you personally evolved as a cook?
PASCALE: I cook more and more vegetarian dishes, not with the thought ‘oh this is vegetarian’, but because I enjoy a more plant-based diet.
When I look at the menus of classes I taught 25 years ago there was so much more meat! I don’t eat or cook red meat anymore. There is more focus on fish, poultry, grains and lots of vegetables.
EYE: What is it about your passion for cooking that you feel is important to share?
PASCALE: I try and encourage people to eat with the seasons and eat locally too, by that I mean sourcing your food if you can as locally as possible. If you have access to a farmer’s market, try to make the most of it. You will taste the difference! Don’t make dishes just because you happen to come across the ingredient in the local supermarket. Apricots in December comes to mind.
If you live in the northern hemisphere the only way there are apricots in December is if they’ve been flown half way around the world. They just won’t taste as good as seasonally ripe fruit grown nearby.
EYE: Finally, what’s next?
PASCALE: I’m working on a couple of exciting new projects. The first is with my good friend and chef, Sandra Adu Zelli . Together we have a business called Two Baking Brits and we are launching a video podcast called ‘Behind the Scenes’ on January 7, 2024 that explores all aspects of the food industry.
The second is a new cookbook! I have a big announcement coming very soon about that next book which will be due out in late 2024. I’m very excited about this project and am hard at work testing recipes and writing. Subscribers to 9′ x 12’ will get the first hints of what’s to come!
EYE: Thank you, Pascale for your time, insights and delicious recommendations. Continued success with all your endeavors.
Media for Pascale Beale:
Website: pascaleskitchen.com
Facebook: Pascale’s Kitchen
Instagram: pascaleskitchen
email: info@pascaleskitchen.com
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