When Reza Mohammad and Jenny Morris go at it in public, you can be guaranteed lots of giggling, plenty of spice and rude jokes galore. And that’s just when they’re cooking.
The spice prince and the giggling gourmet, who do TV shows and have opened restaurants together, return to the UAE this week as one of the main draws at Taste of Abu Dhabi (Toad), which takes place at the du Arena on Yas Island from Thursday to Saturday. The pair close out the first night at the Etihad Chef’s Theatre, returning for individual demonstrations on the next two days. Either way, even if you can’t abide cooking, you should be sorted for entertainment. Mohammad and Morris have known each other for 14 years, and watching them, as their Fabulous Food Academy TV series shows, is as much an insight into friendship as it is about garnishing your kitchen skills. We shot them some questions ahead of Taste of Abu Dhabi.
I’ve just been watching YouTube videos of you two cooking in Durban. The UAE must be boring after all that rude dancing. What appeals to you about cooking in Abu Dhabi?
Mohammad: It’s very interesting you say that. We’ve done a lot of dancing in Abu Dhabi too, people at Taste are much more up for it — who says Abu Dhabi is staid? I love Abu Dhabi, it’s never been boring, there’s always a lot of laughter.
Morris: Reza and I enjoy cooking with each other and we are always looking to keep the chatter in the kitchen. The UAE offers a variety of cooking habits, there is someone from every corner of the globe and so there is nothing boring about the UAE we have just as much fun doing it differently with our friends and fans here.
So what are you looking forward to at Taste of Abu Dhabi this year?
Mohammad: To looking at what all the new talent is up to, what the international chefs are doing. And it’s always a good party, with a great vibe.
Morris: Meeting the other chefs, the fabulous food on offer from the local restaurants, music, the vibe, touching base with fans and followers from around the world and of course some shopping.
When did you first meet each other? What was that like?
Mohammad: Some 12-15 years ago, at the Food & Wine Show in Cape Town. I was coming out my car, she was getting out of hers and it was pouring down and then we collided into each other. We just fell about laughing — she never forgets it and neither do I.
Morris: We’ve have been the best of friends ever since.
One thing you love about each other?
Morris: Reza’s passion for food is very different, he likes to go beyond the regular insight. He is always curious to find new techniques and methods to cook a certain dish. I love everything about him and that is why we are best friends.
Mohammad: I think she can be quite a bit of a control freak but I don’t take it too seriously. She really is a soul sister. Jenny is just incredibly generous with her spirit on so many levels, she’s always ready to help and teach people.
What recipes of each other’s do you like cooking?
Morris: I love all of Reza’s dishes, but his curries always hit the spot for me, they are flavourful and well balanced and you can taste the love that goes into his cooking. He is such a livewire and you can taste it when he cooks every time.
Mohammad: OMG, I must say, Jenny’s food is wonderful. Over the last 10-15 years I’ve been cooking a lot from her cookbooks and I love the depth of flavour in her recipes. She does exactly what I do on many levels, approaching recipes in the same way. I love doing her salads and her breads — she has this one onion bread she does at home which she serves with fish… ahh.
What are your nicknames for each other?
Morris: Noonkie Poonkie I call everyone I love Noonkie Poonkie.
Mohammad: I call her Cookie — only because it just came out of my mouth. She comes across as Miss Bossy Boots (I’ve called her that on TV) but she’s not really.
So is two chefs one too many in the kitchen? How do the Kitchen Prince and Miss Bossy Boots stay out of each other’s way?
Morris: I don’t think so, we are never in each other’s way. You could say we are like two peas in a pod and work so well together in the kitchen. We feed off each other’s camaraderie and that’s what you want when you are cooking with talented chefs.
Mohammad: Being a chef is about understanding the art of delegating. You need quite a few people in the kitchen, because you can’t do it all yourself. Someone has to do the chopping.
What happened to your TV show, the Fabulous Food Academy — is it finished?
Morris: A new Fabulous Food Academy is currently being discussed, so stay tuned.
Mohammad: Funny you should say that, there are a few things in the pipeline. We have had production meetings. And I’m busy cooking at other people’s homes, at my cooking school in France. When TV comes, it will come.
What are you most passionate about cooking?
Mohammad: I love to cook, and love to cook from the heart. I’m big on seasonal cooking, right now here in the UK everything’s about autumn and welcoming the season’s bounty. I think what’s so wonderful about cooking to the seasons is being stimulated again and again by new produce, so that passion is rebooted, and that allows you to create happy memories.
Morris: My passion for cooking is driven by wonderful fresh, seasonal ingredients; this gives me inspiration and gets my creative juices flowing.
What’s the most indulgent, comforting meal you’ve ever eaten?
Morris: Scallops, we don’t get fresh scallops in South Africa so when I’m in London visiting my son the first stop is the fishmonger. I love to sear them and serve them with a chili, garlic and lemon butter.
Mohammad: I’ve been to so many restaurants and eaten so many exquisite foods, but Jenny’s fish pie is very comforting. She does it with potato that is just so divine, it melts in the mouth.
So you’re making a classic recipe. What do you add to make it better?
Morris: When I make butter chicken I always add mustard seeds to make it even better.
Mohammad: I always add coconut milk to mushy peas, because it just adds a lovely depth of flavour. Or rice to fish batter for fish and chips. And chives to scrambled eggs. I’m always adding something to whatever I cook.
A hard day at the office, you’re home for dinner, there’s nothing in the fridge. What do you cook?
Morris: Pasta, chili, garlic and olive oil and large blob of butter and a very healthy grating of Parmesan Cheese.
Mohammad: You know what I’d do, I’d make scrambled eggs and if there was any, I’d put some smoked salmon in it. Or rice and lentils as a khichri. When I’m really tired I go for the most simple things.
What dish do you avoid when eating out in restaurants?
Morris: I would have to go with chicken... I think if it is not handled properly it can make one very ill, so I never order chicken. Other meats can still be forgiving.
Mohammad: I’d avoid pasta, because I can cook it. I want to try things that are different. It’s not about ingredients, it’s about technical skills. Everyone can have the same ingredients, but all turn out something different, that’s what makes all these mystery box challenges interesting.
If you can read, you can cook. What’s on your night table?
Morris: You mean how MANY cook books are on my night table, at the moment I’m paging through Chai Chaat & Chutney by Chena Makan, which is about a street food journey through India, and the other book is Land & Sea by Alexandra Dudley, which is about secrets to simple, sustainable food.
Mohammad: Dessert: Dessert Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage by David Everitt-Matthias, Seasonal Spanish Food by Jose Pizarro, Tom Kerridge’s Best Ever Dishes.
Last weekend on earth. What city are you eating in?
Morris: Bangkok, Thailand
Mohammad: I love Spanish food, so somewhere in Andalusia.
We’re going into the festive season. One festive cooking tip for Christmas dinner?
Morris: Keep it simple fresh and easy, oh that’s three tips, but I live by that, never over engineer the meal.
Mohammad: Make sure you plan everything well ahead. Do things that can be stored, such as mince pies. And keep the food really easy, and make sure whatever you’re doing has enough time to rest.
Who’d be around your ideal dinner table?
Morris: Etta James, Nelson Mandela, Rick Stein, Beth Hart, my husband David and Reza Mohammad to name a few.
Mohammad: Maria Callas, Krishnamoorthy, Freddie Mercury, Jenny Morris. Picasso and I would love to have had someone from fashion… Balenciaga. Maybe Rodin. Nina Simone used to come to my restaurant, so maybe her. And myself.
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Don’t miss it!
Tickets for Taste of Abu Dhabi start at Dh65, and are available at tasteabudhabi.com.
WHO ARE JENNY MORRIS AND REZA MOHAMMAD?
Born in Durban, Jenny Morris has been cooking since she was a girl turning out treats for school fundraisers. Yet, her first job was as a phone technician. “My father didn’t want me to be a chef because he thought that it was a man’s job,” she says. “I can be a little headstrong about what I’m passionate about so I became a telephone electrician to spite him — but I loved it and would go back and do it again.”
Thankfully, telecommunications’ loss is cooking’s gain, and the Cape Town resident is now a caterer and author who also teaches corporate teambuilding around food.
Her favourite ingredients are garlic, butter, olive oil and coriander.
Reza Mohammad was born in Mumbai and moved to London as a boy, taking over the family’s buffet restaurant, Star of India, when his father died at the age of 16. “I was petrified, Literally. Luckily one of the managers took me under his wing,” he says now of his first venture into cooking.
“I had no idea about anything, but I knew I didn’t want to be like the others, I wanted to make my own mark, whatever it was.”
And he has. Mohammad shot to fame on the Food Channel’s Delhi Belly, a show about the UK’s curry houses, before going on to host his own series, Spice Prince. He now runs Chez Cartier, a cooking school in Cognac country, France, where he runs day-long workshops on a variety of different cuisines.
