Meet the woman who ate herself out of heartbreak.
Charlotte is an author and home cook who uses the process of baking as a way to reflect on everyday life. Throughout her time in lockdown, she discovered the transformational power of food and the joy of cooking for one.
What is your favourite part about hosting Heartbake Bites supper clubs?
Connecting with strangers, and connecting strangers with one another through food. It is an incredible thing to do, especially in today's modern world where meeting people is so very hard.
Take us through an average day on your plate. What does breakfast/lunch/dinner/dessert look like for you?
I eat porridge or boiled eggs on buttered sourdough almost every single day. For lunch I will have a vermicelli or soba noodle salad, dinner is always pasta or curry. My partner is vegetarian and I eat a lot of veggies. I love them.
If we were to peer into your pantry and fridge, what are 5 things we would always find?
Yoghurt pouches, parmesan cheese, fresh berries, spinach, rolled oats.
What do you cook for the people you love?
Handmade pasta is an absolute labour of love for me. I especially love making it with someone. It was one of my favourite things to make on first dates!
What are your favourite rituals around food and dining?
Definitely having no phone at the dining table - I think that is the absolute most important factor for me.
What sort of food did you eat growing up?
My ex husband described my family food as 'white people food'. And that is exactly what it was - meat and three veg, meat and three veg, meat and three veg. My grandparents were farmers and we ate pretty much everything they grew.
What’s the first thing you remember cooking?
Probably jam drops with my nanny. She likes to say that I put more dough into my mouth than into the cookies themselves. Even now when I beat butter and sugar together and taste it, I am transported back to my nanny's kitchen.
What are some cookbooks you always turn to?
Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Hetty McKinnon's To Asia With Love. Elizabeth Hewson's Saturday Night Pasta.
Can you tell us about a kitchen experiment gone wrong?
Oh my goodness. SO MANY. Like the time I added three tablespoons of sichuan pepper instead of a teaspoon and my noodles became inedible. Or when I baked a cake and forgot to add the sugar! Or when I accidentally baked FIVE BATCHES of brownies on the grill setting! It makes you do your absolute best to find perfection in imperfection.
Burnt Basque Cheesecake by Charlotte Ree and Nicole Nelius
