Food, glorious homemade food!

We grew up with Alison Holst.

Like many other Kiwi households, the most well thumbed book in our kitchen was Alison’s big red ‘best of’ cookbook. But as a nation, we grew up too. Before Alison, we thought spaghetti only came in a can. And she gently introduced us to foreign foods like guacamole, calling it ‘avocado dip’.

Dame Alison Holst, who received the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2011, has always specialised in making food accessible. She cooks with ingredients that are likely to be in our pantries and within our budgets—broadening our food horizons without us even noticing. No wonder Listener magazine called her ‘the mother of the nation’.

Today, it’s hard to believe that when Kiwis first got to know Alison, through her TV series Here’s How that premiered in 1965, most of us had never tasted garlic, we thought rice was a sweet, and had never even heard of soy sauce. Alison fondly remembers the early days of her television show: ‘I wanted to popularise fish, and when I cooked it on my second show, I sold New Zealand out of fish,’ she recalls. She also remembers introducing Kiwis to new foods like pasta by simplifying recipes, such as her famous ‘lazy lasagne’—an unbelievably easy version of the ultimate comfort food, Italian style.

‘A lot of people wouldn’t see Alison as an innovator because she’s has a very homely image, but quietly, she was very innovative,’ says son Simon Holst, who has taken up the mantle, creating accessible recipes that work. ‘When Mum started, using garlic was pretty radical—and that’s the sort of thing she did.’

For the past two decades, Alison and Simon have collaborated to create nutritious, budget-conscious recipes, and have written 27 books together. When I interview Simon, book number 28 is at the printers. Although prolific in their work, Simon says there are still new foods and ideas to explore. ‘There’s always a new recipe to make because there’s always something new available. Twenty years ago, you couldn’t cook Mexican or get tortillas; now there’s a section in every supermarket.’

He gives an insight into their signature ‘quiet’ style of food innovation, saying, ‘The best way to do that is to give people a new twist on something they’re already familiar with. For example, 20 years ago you might have been able to get people to try a Chinese stir fry, but now you could get most people interested in trying Thai.’

Everyday food

The Holst motto is ‘everyday food’. ‘I always like to try to simplify things, to make them easier, quicker and cheaper,’ says Alison. With the rise and rise of convenience foods, the Holsts are on a mission to help people get back to the basics of cooking.

‘I find [ready meals] a bit alarming because, although people often lack time, it also suggests that people lack the skills,’ reflects Simon. ‘But making your own food puts you in control. It’s easier to control your budget, how much fat goes in, and how healthy it is,’ he says—adding that 70 per cent of the salt in our diet comes from pre-prepared food. ‘Certainly, if knowledge about food and cooking isn’t a life skill, what is?’

Simon suggests starting simply: if you’ve got a favourite ready meal, trying looking for a recipe online that says ‘easy’ and give it a go. If you buy pasta sauces; instead, just fry some chopped onion in a pan and mix it with a can of tomatoes. ‘Even something as simple as that will taste nicer than a pre-made sauce,’ he says.

But preparing meals and eating together also brings something to the family that money can’t buy. Alison says her whole passion for everyday food was sparked by her own family. ‘I have always wanted our family to sit around a table together, showing them the ways they should hold their knives and forks and that they should enjoy each others’ company.’

It’s a tradition Simon has continued. ‘There’s a lot of pressure on families,’ he admits, ‘but I was saddened and appalled to hear that it isn’t just that families aren’t eating together, but that in some cases teens are taking their dinner and eating it in their room. ‘I believe the family is important. There’s a lot to be said for a stable environment at home, and for me that revolved around food a lot. If eating together is all you do together, that is good on a number of levels.’

Home cooking

It was her own mother who sparked Alison’s love of food. ‘My mother made us feel that food such as whitebait and oysters were a real treat,’ she recalls fondly. Simon agrees. ‘My mother’s mother always cooked as an expression of love and always had full tins.’

He adds, ‘Growing up, food was always a big part of our family and discussions around the table. Mum was always interested in our opinion on recipes she was writing or new products she was trying.’

Food was also a way of having fun together as a family. ‘Mum used it to entertain us. When we travelled overseas on a tight budget, she would make bread with us—and they were hands-on activities. It’s the best way to learn, it sets the foundation.’

Alison provides a slightly different perspective on spending two years in the United States cooking. ‘We were living on the smell of an oily rag, but it didn’t matter. We met a lot of nice people and had a great time. We had about $20 to spend on food, but we did well,’ she says. It’s testament to how food and cooking can bring a family together, even when times are tight.

Alison says one of her most satisfying achievements has been teaching children about food. ‘I love to have children plant things, grow them, and pick things so they will enjoy doing it. This could be growing and eating and cooking tomatoes, for example, or eating them in salads.’

A third generation cook

One of Simon’s early memories is of being in the kitchen when he was about seven years old, making an omelette by himself. But he wasn’t always heir-apparent to Alison’s cooking empire. Trained as a botanist, it was only when Simon was in his twenties that he began to realise that cooking was his passion.

While studying science at university, Simon suggested to Alison that she should write a vegetarian cookbook. ‘And she turned it around on me, and said, “Why don’t we work on it together?” ’

Today, Simon is the third generation of Holst cooks. He says, ‘It’s been really nice working together [with Mum]. We’re on a very similar wavelength most of the time, but we bring a different perspective because we come from different generations.’

And while Simon followed his mother into cooking, his sister followed their father—a doctor—into medicine. Simon says that his parents never put any pressure on them, but perhaps their chosen careers are testament to the family’s closeness, forged around the dining table.

Now, Simon says he’s excited to see his own teenage children, Isabella and Theo, taking an interest in food—although he jokes that he can be ‘a bit of a backseat cook’.

‘There’s nothing complicated about cooking, it’s just about having confidence,’ says Simon, in typically under-stated style.

Unlikely rebels

In many ways, Alison and Simon Holst are the unlikely rebels of the New Zealand food industry. While other celebrity chefs create a mythology around their food using luxury ingredients, the Holsts remain stubbornly unpretentious and continue to create simple, honest recipes for the home cook.

‘That type of cooking is a luxury; it’s expensive and most people don’t have time to do that every day,’ says Simon. He adds that MasterChef-style shows are more about creating drama, than about the food. ‘When you look at the food, sometimes the elements are actually quite simple, but put a time pressure on it and you have drama. I wouldn’t want to cook under that kind of pressure.’

Yet, perhaps surprisingly, this TV mythology is nothing new. ‘Mum got her start on TV because, even at the very beginning of television in New Zealand, they had chefs doing complicated food, and they got lots of complaints from people saying they were not going to do this at home.’ And that’s when we were first introduced to Alison, who quickly became a household name.

‘But today, it’s a funny dichotomy because society has become much more food aware, but basic cooking skills are lacking more than ever,’ adds Simon.

Which is why highly do-able, honest cookbooks like those produced by the Holsts continue to have a place in the Kiwi kitchen. ‘Anything you see in our books you can actually make—I think it’s important to be honest,’ says Simon, who also works as a food stylist and is well aware that many of the food images we see are impossible to create at home.

‘In the commercial world, any time you see food, someone has prepared it—and its quite amazing the lengths that people go to,’ he says. He was recently part of a conversation where other food stylists suggested using hairspray and engine oil on pancakes to create an effect. ‘It’s creating an illusion that is unobtainable. In our books, of course, we plate up carefully, but you will always be able to re-create what you see at home. My big thing is that you can do it. I’d like to think that we’re encouraging people to get in there and have a go.’

Alison sums it up like this, ‘What I love most about what I do, is when women tell me they have used my books until they have fallen to pieces. That’s how a cookbook should be’.

By Ingrid Barratt (abridged from War Cry 1 June 2013, p5-7)

Simon’s Faves

Best country for their food? I do find Asian food fascinating —I’d love to go to Thailand; it sounds like they have a very food-orientated society.

Three staples you should always have in the cupboard?  Dried pasta, onions, canned tomatoes.

Fave herb or spice? I have a soft spot for basil—it seems to work with just about anything!

Fave indulgence? There are some amazing cheeses out there …

Best recipe for when you don’t have time to cook? Throw some pasta on to cook—while it cooks, you can prepare any number of easy sauces/toppings. If all else fails, toss it with a little oil or butter, some salt and pepper and grated cheese.

Fave sandwich combo? Hummus and sliced olives—simple and really delicious!

Light-proof bottle or regular milk bottle? I can distinctly remember as a kid, the flavour of milk after it had been left sitting out in the sun (remember when we had glass bottles?), so an opaque bottle seems like a good idea.