MasterChef
The Master Review - with Emma Boyd
Emma Boyd is an Industrial designer here at Fisher & Paykel and is a key contributor to the Fisher & Paykel food blog Our Kitchen.
I take immense pleasure from food. Whether I am standing barefoot in the kitchen on a sunny Sunday morning, or blending herbs from the garden to make a quick pesto, planning a 3 course meal for a mid-winter dinner party, or standing over the stove surrounded by preserving jars, elbow deep in jam, I am happy.
My love of food has been fostered by many things. My Mum, who cooks the most delicious meals from a seemingly empty kitchen, is a constant source of inspiration and advice. I attribute my curiosity for all foods new and unusual to the time I spent in Asia as a teenager where chickens are bought live in the market, wrapped up in newspaper and tied up with a piece of string doubling as a handle. Where the most prized of fruits, the Durian, is banned from hotel rooms due to its pungent smell. And where the fish markets overwhelm the senses, boasting daily catches of almost unimaginable sizes, colours and textures.
For me food is constantly evolving. It adapts to the contents of your fridge or pantry, to the age or tastes of your guests, or most simply, with the seasons. Food can evoke a sense of nostalgia. It soothes and comforts, fuels and nourishes, surprises and satisfies. It brings us together.
More recently it is my vegetable garden and a new found passion for cooking fresh, seasonal, unprocessed food that inspires me. The process of selecting ingredients and experimenting with flavours, textures and colours that compliment each other is at once both challenging and rewarding. And when at last sitting down to eat, it is the company of good friends and family which is always the perfect accompaniment to any meal.
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