Chef Emma Grazette opens up her little book of secrets to Sue Omar
Holistic Roots:
I love Kerala in Ayurveda, which is the home of Indian holistic medicine. I went to an Ayurvedic farm and we saw them cooking bark and roots to make medicine and I learnt how they eat in line with the Ayurvedic principles. They use spices in their food to create the six basic tastes, which are pungent, bitter, sweet, etc and by balancing all those flavours, you then balance your body. I didn’t realise that spices in Indian food were used to that end as a principle to create well-being.
Taco Bell :
We went to a wicked mezcal bar in Oaxaca in Mexico and the guy who ran it had this mad, crazy laugh and a real impending look about him. We went in there and we learnt about chilli and he tried to demonstrate how milk, alcohol or sugar is the best way to diffuse the taste, but we ended up eating habeanero (pepper) and drinking olive mescals to quell the chilli high. That was great fun with all the live music and people playing guitars and him telling us stories about his life.
Ethical Shopping :
I live in Bath and once a month on Sundays they have a wonderful antique and vintage market at Green Park station. There is also a really good shop in Bristol and Bath called 71 Queens that sell retro stuff and ethical labels.
Naturally Yours:
I use argan oil and Aveda for my curly hair – these products are all natural and ethically sourced and smell amazing too. I don’t really do much else with my hair; it just does its own thing.
Page Turners:
I’m reading a book by Rohinton Mistry called A Fine Balance. He’s an Indian writer and it’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It’s a fictional book that looks into Indian life. I also read loads about spices and healing. I’ve got my head into The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils and A Pukka Life by Sebastian Pole – it’s really interesting.
Vintage Boozing:
There’s a really nice place in Bristol called The Milk Thistle, which is a prohibition 1920s style bar. They do great cocktails and I like to go there for live music. There is a pub in Bristol that does really funky, awesome upcoming reggae, folk and jazz and everything in between called The Bell.
Caribbean Blessing:
I love going back to Trinidad and Tobago with family. The Treehouse Resturant in Tobago is run but a wonderful Caribbean mama and she cooks just one thing but it tastes amazing. I also like south-east Asia. I really loved Cambodia and Singapore. I just find Asian culture really exciting.
