KEY POINTS:
Nanas often give the best guidance in life, don't they? And so it was for celebrity chef Paul Jobin, whose fascination for food was ignited at a young age by his two grandmothers who both had a passion for cooking.
On one side was an English nana who passed on traditional cooking techniques and English classics; and on the other his Whakatane-based grandmother who grew her own vegetables and fruit and let Jobin help make home-made preserves and bread. Not a bad starting point for someone who would go on to work at some of New Zealand's top restaurants, including Paramount Restaurant and the luxurious Kauri Cliffs lodge, and become a familiar face on TV as resident chef on the Sky Living Channel.
Jobin has also just released his first cookbook, A Pinch of Salt.
The book embraces New Zealand's unique food tastes and showcases the best of our produce, as well as telling the story of Jobin's unique culinary journey.
The second in the Celebrity Chef book series (the first was Jason Dell from Blanket Bay), it gives Jobin the chance to tell the story of his journey from Karate Kid style training at a Japanese restaurant, to cooking in Sydney, Slovakia, New York and beyond. "The books give us the opportunity to tell our own story: who we are, what makes us tick," says Jobin, who also opened the prestigious Pure Tastes restaurant in 2004. And though the market may be flooded with cookbooks from chefs of all tastes, Whakatane-born Jobin says his point of difference is he brings a bit more of a "North Island flavour".
He has also made a point of writing a cookbook that works for those cooking at home, something that not all fine chefs can relate to. "My intention is to excite you into trying new dishes," he writes in the introduction, where he also tells tales of being chased by Hungarian gypsies, cooking for Michael Campbell, and learning how to make the perfect sandwich from a fussy American.
This is a book Jobin wants to be used, not left to sit on the bookshelf - "it should have lots of food stains on the pages!"
There's certainly something for everyone in the book, which is separated into chapters via ingredients that Jobin considers to be key segments of New Zealand food, from culinary birds to earthly treasures, chocolate and berries (plus a very handy section at the back where Jobin lets us in on 30 tricks of the trade).
Jobin's top summer entertaining tip is just as relaxed and antipodean as his way of cooking. "Ladies need a break over summer; they need to get the men on the barbecue. They need to do a bit more than open a can of Lion Red!"
Luckily there are two uniquely delicious barbecue recipes in the book: Sirloin steak, onion rings and mash, and Chinese fish packages (which Jobin first made on the fly for a "hot date"). And like the rest of the recipes in the book, they're simple enough for even the beginner chef to master.
* A Pinch of Salt, by Paul Jobin, $34.99, HarperCollins
