MEET OUR LOCALS
interview: Jane De Graaff Jane De Graaff is a TV presenter, food & lifestyle writer, editor, and podcaster specialising in food and making it accessible to everyone. A born and bred Lane Covian, she has recently contributed to a fabulous new book called “Places We Swim Sydney” which reveals the city’s most well-known and most hidden swim spots. We caught up with Jane for a chat…
Jane De Graaff is a TV presenter, food & lifestyle writer, editor, and podcaster.
You are a born and bred Lane Covian! Tell us about growing up in TVO’s motherland… I lived in the same house for the first 19 years of my life on Howell Avenue. I love that Lane Cove is such a leafy suburb and I think that has deeply shaped the places that I feel at home in. My childhood is full of memories of hot summers with painfully blue skies, the smell of freshly cut grass and the sound of whirring lawnmowers, overlaid with the screech of rosellas and the stinging coldness of bombing into the pool. We had a very typical brick bungalow house and plenty of room to play. These days I live in an apartment, but I’m back in Lane Cove for all those reasons. You left Lane Cove when you were grown-up enough to do so: where did you go and why? I did what a lot of kids of my generation did – took a gap year living and working in the UK and travelling around Europe. I worked at a boarding school in Berkshire, UK to get a feel for misty mornings and then came back to Australia for university. I came right back to Lane Cove though. While I was at Uni I lived in Leichhardt and Camperdown before heading off to live in Melbourne for four years and really finding my feet as a food writer. You’ve enjoyed a successful career as a food writer and TV presenter – was there a particular moment when you felt as though it all took off? I was lucky enough to get my start as a published food writer while I was in Melbourne. I was working in a different area of media but had a deep longing to write about food. I tell this story all the time, but I credit my husband for encouraging me to change my career. He literally looked at me and said, ‘someone is doing that job, why not you?’ It was a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ moment - in 12 TVO
the most supportive way. It felt then - and still does now - so right and is so completely fuelled by passion that I’ve never looked back. Australia is often referred to as a ‘Foodie Nation’. Have you seen particular food trends come to life during lockdown and the pandemic? Oh! Have I ever?! There was the sourdough baking wave at the beginning; so much banana bread that it was a household staple, and of course there was whipped Dalgona coffee taking the internet by storm. I did a series of cooking videos for 9Honey and channel NINE during that time called ‘Quarantine Kitchen’ that were all about getting back to basics and cooking directly from the pantry. The recipes that were most popular were the comforting and nostalgic recipes; lots of cheesy toasted sandwiches, steamed golden syrup puddings and hearty soups. The world around us all was such a terrifying mess, so to take some control we turned to recipes that made us feel safe and loved and that took our minds off the madness. You moved back to Lane Cove recently – what was it that brought you back to your childhood territory? I moved back to Lane Cove when I had babies and literally moved two streets away from the house I grew up in. Firstly, I wanted to be close to my mum and dad because they were still in Lane Cove and my mum was battling cancer. Secondly because it felt safe and right and is a perfect place to raise a family. I loved my childhood and wanted to give something like it to my boys. Lane Cove has burst to life with the arrival of the Canopy. Do you think the suburb has potential to become a food destination?
