Cookery writer Ghillie Basan’s latest book incorporates two of her passions: whisky and spice and reflects her bi-cultural background, discovers Caroline Lindsay
Although Ghillie Basan is Scottish, her childhood experience of living in the wide, open spaces and diverse cultures of East Africa has been at the root of everything she has done since.
“It is the reason why I travelled and wrote about different culinary cultures, and it is the reason why I chose to live in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands where I have raised my children and given them that feeling of space and endless possibilities,” says Ghillie, whose cookery book Spirit & Spice has just been published.
“To make this possible I drew from all my experiences and culinary knowledge and began to write books and run cookery workshops,” she continues.
Two years ago she started hosting whisky and food pairing experiences from her home, and discovered that people wanted to know more about the flavour journey as well as her own personal journey.
“Their reaction made me realise I had a story to tell that was intertwined with whisky and spice.”
All the recipes in the book are ones Ghillie cooks regularly at home.
“But I definitely have go-to recipes for friends and events, such as my granny’s flapjacks, my mother’s fridge cake, Singapore laksa, bobotie, and shakshuka,” she says before revealing that ghee, jaggery (a type of cane sugar), roasted spices, garlic, ginger and fresh herbs are among her favourite ingredients.
So how does life in Scotland compare to her time in Africa?
“Weather and wildlife are certainly a big contrast,” she says. “When we camped and cooked in the African bush, we always had to keep an eye out for predators – a fire might keep lions and hyenas at bay but the smell of chargrilled meat would draw them in.
“In Scotland, the main predators around your camp are midges and rain! And, of course, tropical ingredients, serving vessels, fashioned out of wood, bark, basketry and leaves, and eating outdoors – although we try to absorb all of those as much as possible into our lifestyle in the Cairngorms,” she continues.
Ghillie hopes readers will be inspired by her journey as a single parent in a remote location and its challenges.
“As my children were growing up I always said to them ‘your life will only be as interesting as you make it.’”
She now has the whisky bug and intends to explore the subject deeper, visiting more distilleries and recording podcasts around the country with a view to a more definitive book on whisky and food pairing in the future.
“I am also writing a book of memoires and have a new food book coming out,” she adds
“When life gets tough, you need to take a deep breath and think. Really think. Don’t listen to anyone else, just listen to your own head. As long as you don’t wish for too much, you can make things happen.”
Spirit & Spice by Ghillie Basan is published by Kitchen Press, £25.
