Donna Hay hits town

Donna Hay - yes, we have all heard of her but what does she look like? Not many know as she guards her anonymity obsessively. She is a tender thirty and her books have been translated into numerous languages and are huge successes. All this sounds too good to be true but it gets better; she is very friendly and is as surprised at her success as her critics. She has been more influential than we can possibly imagine.

Where did it all begin
‘My mother was a bad cook' she admits, even if it does sound fairly harsh but her mother must be used to it by now. To compensate for this, she did let her daughters loose in the kitchen. Donna remembers ‘making so much mess but my mother was happy to clear it all up afterwards'. Not a bad initiation into the art of cooking.

Donna started her working life as a food stylist, working freelance for Australian Vogue Entertaining, but it was not until five years ago, when she was appointed Food Editor of the newly launched Marie-Claire magazine, that her career took off. ‘I was left to my own devices and allowed to develop my own style, exactly as I wanted.'

The philosophy behind her first book, The New Cook, published in 1995, was as a direct result of a remark by a renowned Australian gourmand. He had just returned from London in 1994 and had witnessed the ready-made meals culture that was taking off. He felt that Australia should be heading in the same direction and everybody would then have more time for pursuing hobbies. This infuriated Donna who became fuelled with passion to prove him wrong. And she did.

The New Cook, New Entertaining and Food Fast have all been best sellers. Her style has changed the way cookbooks worldwide are being produced, as well as putting Australia at the forefront of world cuisine. Eric Treuillé of Books for Cooks concurs with this. Sydney is in an extraordinary grip of a home cooking ethos. Donna says that ‘It is an embarrassment to admit that you can't cook'. People are cooking from an informal repertoire, sitting in relaxed surroundings, and enjoying themselves. Yes, there are great restaurants and they too are informal. Virtually everywhere you go in Australia, you will find great food and at reasonable prices.'

London Life
Donna first visited London in 1996. What she found was a city with high quality produce and great restaurants. What she didn't know then was that it was just going to keep on getting better. ‘London is great for lots of things, particularly for Asian ingredients. London cooks Asian food so well, there is none of this fusion thing.'

Donna has just spent a few days in our great city, promoting her new books, Flavours and Cool Kids Cook. When she visits London, there is a list of obligatory pit stops. Books for Cooks is a must, where she did a bit of cooking. She met our darling Jamie Oliver and discussed how he deals with fame, ‘water off a duck's back, love', which she finds hard to handle. Rather than heading for the cream of our delis, Donna heads for Sainsburys and Waitrose to see what they are selling and what the people are buying. A treat that she always reserves time for is a visit to Baker and Spice. Their raspberry brioche, which she says ‘makes me go to heaven' is to die for.

The North Americas
Donna was then flying on to Canada and America. I asked her how she ranked the food in these North American countries and her answer was surprising. ‘Canada has style and a great passion for food. They are continually pushing the boundaries and their attitude to food is very similar to ours. They have embraced modern cuisine and the results are fantastic'. At the moment there is no one leading this movement, it is just evolving by itself. We wonder how long it will be before Canadian cookbooks come drifting across the ocean. She feels that in the States and particularly in New York, good food is elitist, with a hefty price tag too. ‘It is all about occasion eating, with huge emphasis on presentation.' So her favourites are Australia and Sydney, followed by London and then Canada. America doesn't get a look in. Will they catch up or catch us out by leading us into a new phase?

Children cooking
Well, not literally but Donna wants to get children involved as young as possible. Cool Kids Cook is her answer. ‘Draw the kids in by cooking sweet things. Show them that cooking has an entertainment value and that the reward is eating the results.' Her 18-month-old niece is the proof in the pudding, obsessed with cooking already and will stir anything. Donna felt that it would be fun for the kids to have illustrations, rather than photographs in Cool Kids Cooks. Characters fly around the pages with the moon rocks and chocolate bombs. She feels that photographing children's food is less appealing than her two dimensional characters. This is psychology at work here. Children find it easier to equate and understand meaning with two-dimensional drawings. Donna has done her homework and will get her message across.

What is the next big thing?
‘Barbecueing' she replies. Has our Eric got ahead of the game with his book, Barbecue - Where There's Smoke, There's Flavour, printed last summer. The only trouble is the British weather, something that we are all powerless to change.

What's happening over there?
You will be reassured that ready made meals never got off the ground in Oz. Organic food is not a big thing in Australia; they have been supplying their own food forever. Butchers and fishmongers, even though they are housed within supermarkets, fortunately remain independent. To protect our butchers, should we do this here?

And what about Donna? She is a great girl, very focussed even if she doesn't know what her next move is going to be. Donna is not too keen to sell herself to the media. She does get to meet her public, giving cooking demonstrations at the Sydney Fish Market. But she does want to remain anonymous and to be able to walk down the street, have a meal without people coming up to her. But there is one thing for sure, watch this space.

To read the GWG review of Flavours, click here.'); ?>