Lois Daish

My first and very lucky break as a photographer came along many years ago when I was asked to cover a maternity leave slot at the ‘Listener’. At that time retired chef and writer Lois Daish, filed a weekly recipe column for the magazine. Each week she would greet me at her front door, bracketed by the intriguing aromas curling between the doorways from her kitchen.

I loved the cool hush of her stately, yet wonderfully comforting home. There were tall shelves of cookbooks that were always distracting me from the task at hand. I also loved that when my one roll of film was done, Lois would set about laying a table for us. She would divide and prepare that small plate of whatever we had been working on, and we would sit down to lunch. It was a very welcome spot of what felt, even then, like a little bit of old-fashioned civility.

When it came to creating this blog, it seemed only right that Lois should be my first port of call. Many of her recipes have been my trusted favourites for years. The recipe for the cornbread that she prepared for this post is based on one that was included in Lois’s first book, Good Food: Recipes from the Listener (1989).

Skillet Cornbread

1 cup corn kernels

1/2 onion

2 tbsp butter

1 small chilli or 1/4 tsp cayenne

(for our lunch, Lois used an Ethiopian Berbere spice mix, which was delicious! You can make something similar by combining smoked paprika and cumin)

1 egg

1/4 cup sour cream (or unsweetened yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon juice)

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal (or coarse if you prefer a more gritty texture)

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup milk

Roughly chop the corn kernels.

Finely chop the onion and sauté in 1 tablespoon of butter until golden. Add the seeded and chopped chilli/cayenne or Berbere spice mix. Combine the corn kernels and onion mixture.

Beat together the egg and sour cream. Add to the corn mixture. Add the grated cheese. Mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Stir into the corn mixture. Add enough milk (about 1/2 cup) to make the batter just thin enough to pour.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a 20cm cast iron frying-pan.

Pour the batter into the hot pan and bake in 180℃ oven for about 20 minutes until firm and golden-brown. Serve warm if possible.

This cornbread may be baked in a 20cm cake tin if no suitable frying pan is available.

What was the inspiration for this recipe?

Most likely it was from my time living California. But also, in 1946, we moved from Eltham (Taranaki), to New York, where we lived on Long Island for three years. The family miracle was being able to go out to eat. This was something that never ever happened in New Zealand. It wasn’t part of the culture. And my mother loved all the different food we were eating. Meatloaf, chicken tetrazzini, tuna sandwiches. All those exotic recipes came back to New Zealand with us. Mum’s contribution to church lunches caused a few raised eyebrows!

Where was food in your life as a child?

My parents were always very busy. For dinner, Mum would cook the mains then tell us girls that if we wanted cakes or biscuits we should cook them for ourselves. Her philosophy was to let the children do the interesting stuff while she would take care of the more tiresome clean up end of the process. Mother was a special kind of person. She felt that cleaning up was the thing that put people off cooking.

How did you get started in the restaurant industry?

My first little entrée was in 1966. I had one child and was pregnant with another. At that stage Downstage Theatre (in Wellington) served dinners before shows. The musical director was a friend who often came to dinner at our house. One day he called and said they were expecting 50 plus for dinner and could I come down and stand in for their usual cook. I had no idea really, but when I got there, I just felt good. I felt in my element. That little taste of big pots and everybody in together and the fun… It just intrigued me.

What are your thoughts on sharing food?

Well it’s 20 years since I last made this recipe and then this summer, I’d been invited by some friends, and I found myself thinking ‘what am I going to make for this wretched potluck?!’

What is it that you detest about potluck meals?

I don’t like the fact that it confuses the roles of the host and the guest. I think that’s the most despicable thing. Who’s the host and who’s the guest is very important and clearly defined. But if you take something to a potluck you become partly host and the person whose house it is has to relate to what you’ve brought, along with the various other people who’ve also brought things. Then you have this hybrid situation – it’s not pleasant for anyone! I think it’s such a pleasure when you have control as a host and also to be a guest, when you don’t have to think about anything.

Are there people or places that have inspired you as a cook?

Probably Kelda Haines (chef at ‘Rita’) is my tutor. We appreciate the same things. Since lockdown, we talk to each other once a week, for an hour, about food. I enjoy hearing her point of view and how she’s coming to the decisions on what to cook for the restaurant. I find I’m also influenced greatly by my daughter, Mary Daish. She sort of started off cooking a bit like me but now her food would be nicer to eat than mine. I’m certainly not influenced by old people! I’m just really delighted to be refreshed by younger cooks and sometimes I’m being refreshed back into something I used to make 30 years ago, but sometimes it’s something that’s completely new to me.