A Christmas bake and fond memories of two grandmas
Delicious Delights for Christmas: The breudher and their currant loaf. Pix by Samina Mohamedi
Priya Thewarapp-eruma inherited her love of delicious food from her grandmothers. By all accounts, Justine (her mother’s mother) and Margaret (her father’s mother) were house proud, and loved entertaining. Some of Priya’s earliest memories are of cooking in their kitchens. “They were on completely different spectrums as cooks,” says Priya, “One used to do things very spontaneously, just winging it on the basis of taste, and the other would follow the recipe to the T. I learned to cook with them.”
Every Christmas, Priya breaks out one of Justine’s recipes, what she swears is among the best breudhers in the world. “The batter was hand beaten and she only used the best ingredients including very good butter,” says Priya, adding that Justine made it twice a year – once on her birthday and once for Christmas morning – and that everyone lined up to devour a thick slice slathered in butter.
Those early experiences in her home inspired Priya herself to consider a career in food. Her family encouraged her to pursue hotel management, and when she was 17 she left Sri Lanka to study at the Swiss Hotel School in Chur, Switzerland for three years. After completing her course in hotel management, she did an apprenticeship at the Savoy in Zurich. Having been very sheltered as an adolescent, the whole experience would prove a steep learning curve for Priya. “I was totally lost at first, and the transition was a difficult one,” she admits, “but I would go on to make such good friends there, people I am still in touch with.”
She was also falling in love with the food. The variety of breads alone enthralled her. “Being there taught me a lot of patience,” says Priya who became even more finicky about her ingredients. “If the ingredients are not perfect, I won’t make or serve a dish,” she says, emphasising that quality has always been an important consideration. However, her time in Zurich would also lead her to another realisation, and that was that she wasn’t interested in a career in hotel management. She only really wanted to cook. In the years that followed, she chose to step away from a career in the hospitality industry and instead explored other options, including teaching.
Throughout she kept cooking, at least for family and friends. When she got married and moved to Dubai, she worked in a school, but also began to take on small orders. Her fledging catering business did well, and it was something she wanted to continue when she and her family returned to Sri Lanka four years ago. “I just wanted to do something I loved,” she says, explaining that that turned out to be Delicious Days. The catering business she runs with her sister Nirmalie has brought with it its own challenges, but it’s work she is genuinely passionate about.
Priya: Doing what she loves doing
Priya and Nirmalie work closely together, producing among other things a ravishingly good chocolate cake. (Bereft of decorations or any of the usual trappings, the cake is carried by a decadent ganache made with cream and good chocolate.) They’ve also released a new menu in time for the season. “Nirmalie does the Christmas cake and plum pudding (also a traditional recipe from our family),” says Priya, adding that she herself particularly enjoyed experimenting with their cookie box (Rs.1400). Inspired by her travels, the cookies boast influences from countries like Germany and the UAE, and include different textures and fillings. “We have almond star cookies from Germany, two kinds of biscotti – one is a Christmassy cherry and pistachio and the other obviously had to be chocolate –and we have some good linzer with jam as well as macaroon balls,” says Priya.
Other items on their festival menu include ginger bread (Rs.800); the traditional bread known as Stollen that incorporates fruit, candied peels and ginger as well as a layer of marzipan (Rs.1000); currant loaf (Rs.1000) and mince pies with marzipan (Rs.180 each.) And of course, there is Justine’s breudher (Rs.1700 for 600g).
“The gingerbread is also one of my grandmother’s recipes,” says Priya, adding that she thinks what sets Delicious Days’ offering apart is not just their reliance on great ingredients, but their generosity in using them. A currant loaf needs to have plenty of currants after all, says Priya laughing. They normally require around three days’ notice and are also happy to cater dinners. In fact, they have been building on their savoury range with some hors d’oeuvres, frozen pies, as well as bottled sauces and chutneys.
For Priya, Christmas has always been special, and it has always, always been about family. For many years, they would all go on the 24th night to one grandmother’s house, and then for lunch to the other’s on the 25th. Some 50 people would end up clustered around a table that included a traditional turkey, smoked ham and other Christmas delicacies. And as was traditional, they would all gather around as the plum pudding was doused in alcohol and set alight.
“Christmas means family to me,” says Priya. “And food plays a major role in our family, it’s all about coming together, cooking, sitting down and sharing a meal.” For her part, she takes great joy in carrying the baton that Margaret and Justine passed on to their grandchildren. “I like to be very methodical, but I also love to taste and invent, and so I am a mixture of them both,” she says.
Find out more on: https://www.facebook.com/deliciousdaysbypriya/ or call 0766811877.