It’s time to live your best days – Lifestyle

Since time immemorial I have been a great admirer of my mother’s cooking.

I mean, he hit the nail on the head time and time again.

And being the firstborn, and a boy at that (something my sister is still dealing with), I can say that I received enough attention and pampering, especially in the kitchen, and I got my way in most things.

I used to beg for a piece of fried chicken before they put sauce on it. I didn’t like sauce, or at least not a lot of it.

But in Mom’s kitchen there was no such thing as “I don’t like this, I want this.” If you didn’t want what you were served, you went to bed hungry that day.

That created a tolerance for a lot of things, because even though I was a bit of a picky eater, I couldn’t necessarily avoid some foods; that meant sleeping on an empty stomach.

I think there’s a famous chef somewhere who opened a restaurant with a general motto: you can order whatever you want from the set menu. The catch? No substitutions, exclusions, rebranding, changes, cooking to your liking, etc.

And the steak was served just the way he wanted to enjoy it: medium rare to medium well done.

If the dish had eggs, nuts or other allergens, it was because the dish had to have those elements. Without them, he argued, it would not be the same dish and would not represent what he wanted.

I found this quite intriguing and thought that I must be very brave and well prepared to achieve this.

Try that in Windhoek and we’ll see how far your business goes.

Fine dining is not for the masses, and with our limited population, you’ll soon run out of customers.

I mean, I love Stellies, both the wine bar and the tasting room, and it’s no secret that it’s my favorite place to dine in Windhoek, but I don’t go there every day.

The fact that we’re not a very large population means that the restaurant industry can’t choose to be fussy and snobby (although they try to be in some places), because the butts in the seats pay the wages. Whether you’re dining at Leo’s or Isabel’s, it’s the same thing really. I love it, in small doses, spread out over time.

The rest of the time, I prepare my own gourmet dishes at home. My partner wonders why we sometimes eat out. I’m flattered (insert cute smile here).

Anyway, let’s get back to Mom’s kitchen.

Eating out when you can afford it guarantees a good time, and I hope you take the time to see what others are saying about the places you go to, although remember to take everything with a grain of salt as food reviews can be very subjective.

Bring the feeling of eating out into your home. Take it a step further. Place candles, decorate the table, serve soup as an appetizer, on a plate on top of another, with some rolls on the side to achieve that feeling of eating out.

Set out three forks: one for the salad, one for the main dish, and one just because, or because you’re having a dessert that requires it.

You deserve it.

Pour some wine, or champagne, or better yet, juice into a wine glass. It also works.

It’s about reminding yourself that even if you haven’t come out, you can still have a memorable moment.

Mom was good at that: turning ordinary family dinners into something special.

She had a way of transporting us from one magical land to another, just by what she prepared in the kitchen and how she prepared it.

So, I urge you to do the same for your loved ones or yourself.

It’s time to live your best life.

If not you, who? If not now, when?