Liesl just won't eat chicken

Liesl Coppin in the kitchen. She loves beer and curry, but don't ever serve her chicken.

Liesl Coppin in the kitchen. She loves beer and curry, but don't ever serve her chicken.

Published Dec 1, 2015

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Durban - Billy Suter chats to award-winning Durban singer and actress Liesl Coppin, a cast member of the hit The Glitter Girls (at Durban’s Playhouse Loft from December 10), about what she gets up to in the kitchen.

 

What meal is your favourite – and what is your least favourite?

My favourite meal is a Thai Green Curry, preferably with prawns. I have always loved the fresh, clean ingredients of Thai cooking, especially the coriander.

My least favourite meal would be anything involving chicken. I think chicken à la king would be the worst thing you could possibly serve me. Yuck!

 

What is your first food memory?

ProNutro. Apparently that’s all I ate as a small child. I used to eat “Nutro” for breakfast, lunch and supper.

 

As a child did you ever develop a taste for any unusual foods or unusual combinations of foods?

I still have a strange craving for raw pastry and uncooked pasta. It’s something I used to eat as a child and still sneak when no one’s looking. Very odd, I know!

 

What was the first thing that you ever cooked?

Pancakes. It was the only thing my mother ever trusted me to make in the kitchen.

I used to make the biggest mess, but I had a foolproof recipe and I remember making loads and loads of pancakes for my Dad. (I think I probably ate this recipe raw too … sis!)

 

What is the dish you tend to cook most often?

Probably spaghetti Bolognese because it’s a meal that my children love – and it’s my mom’s recipe, so even though it’s a very simple dish, it’s a recipe close to my heart.

 

What do you like or dislike about dinner parties?

I enjoy spending quality time with friends in the relaxed environment of their own homes. However, because I don’t eat poultry, it can be awkward if the host serves a chicken dish.

 

What has been your biggest kitchen disaster?

There have been too many to single out, I’m afraid. I am not the best cook in the world.

 

What, where and when has been your biggest culinary success?

I really don’t fancy myself as being particularly successful in the kitchen, unless we are talking about making the kitchen look pretty. I tend to do well in making my simple dishes a success.

 

How serious a wine fundi are you, and what is your favourite tipple?

I love a good red wine, particularly The Chocolate Block or a Rupert & Rothschild merlot, but I am more known for my love of an ice-cold beer.

 

What kitchen utensil can you simply not live without?

A corkscrew. Does that count?

 

What new kitchen utensil or appliance would you love to have?

I would love it if my fridge made ice all on its own. I am always running low on ice.

 

What’s the most kitsch thing in your kitchen?

A heart-shaped sandwich cutter.

 

What are some foods that you simply refuse to try?

Anything with wings.

 

What is your favourite restaurant in Durban and what do you usually order there?

Green Mango. I go there for the green Thai curry.

 

What is your favourite cooking ingredient?

Fresh coriander.

 

What has been the most memorable meal you have ever eaten?

My mom’s home-made stew when she came to visit my son Josh and me in Cape Town, at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

 

Who is your favourite celebrity cook – and why?

I am not a big celebrity cook fundi, but I would have to go with Jamie Oliver for his simple recipes, as well as his attitude towards fast foods, particularly for children.

 

What do you rate as the sexiest of all foods?

Definitely oysters … although I’m not sure this actually works.

 

What do you tip?

Usually around 15 percent– or more if the service is excellent.

 

Have you ever sent back a dish at a restaurant because you were not happy?

I never used to be brave enough to do this, but the older I get the fussier I am. I most definitely send food back if I’m not happy.

 

Favourite fruit, vegetable, dessert and store-bought sweet?

I love dates, nectarines and mangoes. My favourite dessert is a good crème brûlée and I love those little round apricot sweets.

The Mercury

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