Gabriel Gaté

Gabriel Gaté is a talented chef, television presenter and the most prolific male cookery writer in Australia, having sold over one million copies of his cookbooks. His two latest books are A Guide to Everyday Cooking (Allen and Unwin, 2003) and How to Teach Kids to Cook (Allen and Unwin, 2002).

Gabriel can be seen in his weekly cooking segment on Friday mornings on ‘Good Morning Australia’ with Bert Newton, and can be heard speaking with Jon Faine in Melbourne on ABC 774 radio on Fridays at about 10.15am. For a complete list of Gabriel’s books and activities, go to his website www.gabrielgate.com

Gabriel has always loved asparagus, starting when he could enjoy fresh white asparagus straight from his father’s garden, continuing through his chef’s apprenticeship to this day when he looks forward to spring so he can feature it in his television cooking show repertoire. Here’s what Gabriel has to say about his passion for fresh asparagus:

“In the days of my youth spent in the Loire Valley of France, my father grew white asparagus in the family garden, and I remember it as an adventure digging the spears out of the ground early each morning during the season. We ate asparagus three or four times a week as a first course, mostly with a French dressing or with melted butter seasoned with lemon juice. At the weekend, or if we had guests over, my Grandmother made a hollandaise sauce or a wonderful beurre blanc sauce to serve with this noble vegetable.

During my chef’s apprenticeship, asparagus featured as a specialty of the restaurant in the spring months and people came from all over France to sample it. We would serve it poached, then drained and attractively arranged on plates in folded white linen napkins with a spring flower as a decoration. Diners chose from several sauces in which to dip the asparagus. I am still very fond of asparagus and never fail to cook a dish or two on television every spring.

At the greengrocers, I select even sized asparagus spears that look crisp and firm. I put them into paper bags that are usually provided next to the mushrooms. At home I store the asparagus carefully in the vegetable crisper to prevent damage - I then cook it within forty-eight hours of buying it. We use asparagus in all kinds of preparations, from salads with an olive oil, lemon and walnut dressing to soups, stir-fries and one of my favourites - scrambled eggs.”

For more information about Gabriel Gate, go to www.gabrielgate.com.

Recipes

Chilled Asparagus Soup
Green Asparagus with Walnut & Olive Salsa
Asparagus & Scrambled Egg Tartlets

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