Roast beef, and lemons fresh from the trees – that was Christmas in my South African home | Prue Leith

Happiness for me has always meant food, mostly eaten outside. In this busy world, I hope my children can make similar memoriesIn our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at homeMy childhood home was in South Africa. My parents adored each other and life for my two brothers and me was loving and carefree. Mum was a well-known actor and producer, and my father was a successful businessman. We had a big house in a three-acre garden, complete with huge old trees to climb, a scruffy lawn to play football on, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Today that whole white, privileged, almost colonial life under apartheid is embarrassing to admit to, but my memories are deeply happy.Christmas fell in midsummer, but we still ate turkey or roast beef, Yorkshire pud and Christmas pudding with brandy butter. My mother went to endless trouble to source brussels sprouts and the best she could do was imported tinned ones, which were unbelievably disgusting.Prue Leith is a restaurateur, television presenter, cookery writer and novelist. Her two most recent cookery books are Bliss on Toast and Life’s Too Short to Stuff a MushroomDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Dec 23, 2024 - 12:00

0 0

Happiness for me has always meant food, mostly eaten outside. In this busy world, I hope my children can make similar memories

In our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at home

My childhood home was in South Africa. My parents adored each other and life for my two brothers and me was loving and carefree. Mum was a well-known actor and producer, and my father was a successful businessman. We had a big house in a three-acre garden, complete with huge old trees to climb, a scruffy lawn to play football on, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Today that whole white, privileged, almost colonial life under apartheid is embarrassing to admit to, but my memories are deeply happy.

Christmas fell in midsummer, but we still ate turkey or roast beef, Yorkshire pud and Christmas pudding with brandy butter. My mother went to endless trouble to source brussels sprouts and the best she could do was imported tinned ones, which were unbelievably disgusting.

Prue Leith is a restaurateur, television presenter, cookery writer and novelist. Her two most recent cookery books are Bliss on Toast and Life’s Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...