Bringing traditional cooking back with a twist of spice

BRENT MCGILVARY

Margaret McHugh at her deli trailer at the Marlborough Farmer’s Market in Blenheim.

Margaret McHugh has had an entertaining life as a chef, deputy mayor in Queenstown and, most recently, as an author. Amy Russ catches up with Margaret at her Picton home.

Born to a dairy farming family in the deep south, vivacious chef, Margaret McHugh's passion for food harks back to an era when life, she says, was much simpler.

Her father, Hugh, was a hardworking man, ‘tough as nails but soft as butter’ who, along with six of his other siblings, served their country during the second world war. Her mother Tina, “one of nine redheads” and “a truly great woman”, instilled in Margaret a lifelong passion for cooking using fresh wholesome ingredients and using a large coal range that burned 24 hours a day in winter to cater to most of the family's needs. Margaret’s flair for the culinary married well with her love of travel and passion for life, taking her on a fascinating journey around the world, with a myriad of stories to tell. Her new lifestyle cookbook, ‘The Real McHugh’, dedicated to her mother Tina, tells the tales of a life well-lived. “From a young three-year-old girl growing up on a dairy farm in Winton to now,” - and all the fascinating bits in between. Hard work and discipline were instilled into Margaret and her siblings from a very young age and she says her no-nonsense attitude to life and cheeky persona has served her in good stead. “You can get away with anything as long as you have a smile on your face.” Being raised in a farming environment in the 1950s, the family never wanted for anything. “Mum would always make us cakes because we always had work to do on the farm after school. That was part of the motivation behind the cook book, that simplicity. We had all the food and provisions we

could possibly want back then. Food actually came out of the ground. Nowadays everything is so processed.” “Over-processed food is killing our nature and our people. Everything has additives and lists as long as your arm full of numbers and waffle. Sprays are leeching into everything and food is full of stuff that gives you boils on your bum.” “We need to go back to how things were. Olive oil was in the medicine cabinet in our house, not used in cooking. If we live long enough, I hope we will see things going back fullcircle to how life used to be with fresh food and homemade ingredients. None of this pre-made stuff that comes packaged to heat and eat. There was a lost generation, I think, of people that were too lazy to cook and products were created from that. We need to bring things back.” When pressed for a favourite recipe, Margaret says it is hard to beat a good Christmas mince pie. “I love to make the mini-Christmas pies with quince jelly, people absolutely love them and they always sell out. I also do a lot of blueberry recipes, the classic keto cheesecake is absolutely delicious, and the roasted strawberry stack is pants-wetting! If you roast the strawberries with a sprinkling of sugar on top, after 20 minutes they come out beautiful and juicy with and absolutely delicious. It is fantastic served for breakfast with muesli and yoghurt and chopped almonds.” Margaret’s much-loved mother’s recipes also feature in her book including, ‘Tina’s real McHugh plum sauce’, ‘Tina’s old fashioned custard pie’, a cucumber relish and ‘Mother’s apple pie’. “Going back to the traditional and nostalgic recipes of our childhood is what people really enjoy about it I think." Having settled down in Picton with her husband Bill Brown, together they run a luxury homestay at Kippilaw House - boasting three-course gourmet breakfasts. Margaret is also a regular stall holder at the weekly Marlborough Farmers Market selling her delicious cuisine and sharing recipes she has gathered over her 30 plus years as a trained chef. Putting her recipes to paper was a decision that only manifested in the last ten years. “I never had any intention of writing a book. It was only when people kept telling me I should put one together that it really started to take shape.” Margaret says she was inspired by the style of London chef and restauranteur Yotam Ottolenghi and his partner Sami Tamimi’s cookbook collaboration, ‘Ottolenghi: The Cookbook’. Their publication resonated with her due to its personal nature. “Ottolenghi created a wonderful book, it was about himself and Sami’s Israeli and Lebanese childhoods along with their wonderfully delicious recipes. It was beautifully put together.” ‘The Real McHugh’ was published in 2021 and her 394-page biography shares the stories of her fascinating life alongside 700 of her favourite recipes and a collection of photographs spanning the last 70 years. “I never understood those people that will not part with their precious family recipes. I want to be remembered for sharing. You have to share these things to carry them on in life so others can continue to feed and look after themselves and others. If you think about it, a recipe was only created by someone writing it down in the first place so that it didn’t get forgotten.”

We had all the food and provisions we could possibly want back then. Food actually came out of the ground. Nowadays everything is so processed.

Margaret on the Alexander Von Humboldt, a 398 metre container ship where she was the only passenger.

The opportunity to share her recipes and tales with others has culminated in a compelling insight into Margaret’s world. “I have led a very interesting life and I have carved out a career for myself through a lot of hard work and determination.” Highlights of Margaret’s life include meeting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, camping on the edge of the Sahara Desert with the famous nomadic ‘blue men’, Tuareg people, and living in Russia and Greece. Just one month after marrying Bill, Margaret embarked on a 60-day voyage spending her honeymoon ‘solo’ as the only passenger onboard a 398m container ship, the Alexander von Humboldt, catering meals to an all-male crew consisting of 16 Filipino sailors and eight Croatian officers. Margaret recalls her trepidation when she first set foot upon the intimidating platform, “I found myself furiously reciting the rosary when I stepped on to the steep gangplank holding my pocket handkerchief.” The journey from South Hampton to Shanghai was a memorable one and despite her initial reservations Margaret is full of admiration for the hardworking and respectful crew. Her years of adventures, life in politics, rubbing shoulders with famous faces and creating firm friendships with the many walks of life whose paths had crossed with hers, Margaret says the biggest highlight of her life has been being alive. “Life is very precious and you have to take all the wonderful opportunities that come your way. Feeling comfortable enough in your own skin and doing whatever you want you want within the boundaries of reason is what life is all about.”

‘The Real McHugh’ is available through Margarets website; gourmet-deli.co.nz and from her weekly stall at the Marlborough Farmer's Market in Blenheim on Sundays from 9 am to 12 noon at the Blenheim A & P Showgrounds.