YougrewupinruralVictoria.What’sa strongfood
memoryfromthattime?I remembermyparents
cookingsukiyakiinourhomeasa wintertreatfor
friends.Thefriendshadneverhadanythinglikeit.
We’deatonthefloorwithchopsticksinfrontofan
openfire:everyone’sfaceswouldgoredfromthe
heat and all the adults would drink way too much.
Yourfamilywouldtravel 350 kilometrestovisitthe
nearestAsiangrocer.Whatdoyourememberfrom
thoseshoppingtrips?Japaneseingredientswereso
precioustousbecausetheyweresohardtoget!
Mymum,Yoshiko,lovedadzukibeans:they’re
usedindessertsandaresomewhatbaffling,but
herpassionforthemwascontagious.Evennow
thatallthoseingredientsaremucheasiertoget,
mymotherstillpreferstostockupwhenshegoes
toTokyo.Herfriendsbringbackgreat sacksof
Japanesericeandit’sa valuable
tradeamongtheJapanese
community of Melbourne.
Youwantedtobea chefatone
point.Whatinspiredthis?I always
deeplyenjoyedthe“mudpies”
aspectofcooking:gettingyour
handsinthere,muckingaround
physicallywithsomething,being
tactilewithingredients.Buta bigpartofmyattraction
wasthefactthatyoucoulddoa dinnerservice,feed
a bunchofpeople,thenknockoffandnotthink
aboutworkuntilthenextdinnerservice.I realise
now that the head chef doesn’t get to do that!
You’retheauthorofTheZeroFucksCookbookand
ZeroFucksCooking:EndlessSummer. Areyourkids
fansofyourrecipes,oraretheytoughjudges?My
kidsaremystaunchestrecipetesters.Unfortunately,
I amtheonlycookinthehousehold,soinspiteof
workingthreejobsandparentingfourchildren,the
burden of feeding the family lands on me every time.
Onyourpodcast,Ladies,WeNeedToTalk, you’vebeen
upfrontaboutyourrelationshipwithalcohol.Howdo
youfeelaboutdrinkingthesedays?I stillsighlongingly
whenI readmagazineslikeGT. I thinkaccompanying
foodwithgoodwineis extremelycivilised.WineandI
shouldbefriends,butwe’renot,soI’veresignedmyself
tothefactthatI willneverdrinkagain.I’mrunning
halfmarathons,I’mskiing,I’mextremelyfitand
healthyandmyproductivityis throughtheroof.Not
drinking is the price I pay for having an awesome life.
“Eatingtogether
transcendslanguage,
politics,culture...
and tiredness!”YourparentsmetinJapanandyourmummovedto
Australiatobewithyourfather.You’vesincetravelled
inJapanwithher.Whathasthatbeenlike?Mymum
andI relatetoeachothera lotthroughfood.Eating
togethertranscendslanguage,politics,culture...and
tiredness!Oneofmyfavouritememorieswasfrom
whenwetookmydaughterstoTokyo.Wevisited
myuncle’stempleandunderestimatedhowlongit
wouldtaketogetbackandthegirlswereina rage
ofhunger.WeboughtfishcakesandDeeDee,
whowasverylittle,shovedthreeintohermouth.
She was not going to miss a mouthful.What’sbeenyourmostmeaningfulcareerachievement?
I co-wrotea guidebookonhowtodealwithgetting
yourperiod.Welcometo YourPeriod(HardieGrant
Egmont,$19.99)hasdonewonderstohelpde-
stigmatisemenstruationandmakeit lessdaunting
toyoungsters.It’sjustbeentranslatedintoSpanish,
German, Russian, Chinese, Korean and Afrikaans.What’shelpedyoudealwith
challengingexperiences?Eating
myfeelings!Also,dailyvigorous
exercise.Surroundingmyself
withlovingpeople.Andalways
trying to better myself.Yourcookbookrecipesinclude
everythingfromagedashitofu
tochickenyakitori.Arethere
anydishesthatweretaughttoyoubyyourmother?
Askids,ourfavouritedishesthatMummadewere
themostsimple.ShemadeGoogyandRice(the
recipeis inTheZeroFucksCookbook). It wasdeeply
comfortingtousandI makeit formyownchildren
every second day. It’s hot rice, raw egg and soy sauce.Haveyoupasseddownanydishestoyourownkids?
Andarethereanywillingchef’sapprenticesamong
yourchildren?Mysonis fouryearsoldandmymost
devotedculinarystudent.Hehashisownaprons,
whichheputson,andhedragsmeintothekitchen,
hopingtocook.Hehastostandona stooltoreachthe
benchtopandlugsaroundgreatbowlsandchopping
boards,entreatingmeto“cooksomething”.Heflicks
throughcookbooksanddiscusseswhichrecipehe
wantsustomake.Mostlyhelovessweets,butI’m
hopingtogethimtrainedupinmainmeals so I’m
no longer the only cook in the house.●YumiStynesis theauthorofTheZeroFucksCookbook
andZeroFucksCooking:EndlessSummer(HardieGrant
Books,$39.99each).Sheco-hosts3pmPick-UponKiis
FM and presents the podcastLadies, We Need To Talk.GOURMET TRAVELLER 29How I eat