The Burlesque Chef says ditch the guilt and fall in love with food again
is on a mission to get Irish women to fall back in love with their bodies and fall back in love with food — and this Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for the love affair to begin.
Known as the Burlesque Chef, Leitrim native Ethna injects passion into all aspects of her life. A big fan of the 1940s and ’50s, when women were glamorous but not stick thin, Ethna believes that, in order for modern day women to feel sexy about their bodies, they have to start with “sexy food”.
“Sexy food is a term I use to describe my cooking and recipes as they focus on the vital enjoyment of eating without guilt or caution.
“Eating should be one of the most enjoyable experiences in life and, in an age where our eating habits are constantly scrutinised, we are becoming more socially cautious of what we are consuming. Sexy food is about shunning social opinions on what you should or shouldn’t eat,” the Burlesque Chef states on her blog, Ethnacookseverything.com
Today’s society from magazines to our friends criticise when we eat fats and carbs or dare take a lick of cream or chocolate, criticism which Ethna believes is neither natural or helpful.
“No food is bad if it’s high quality, fresh or home-cooked. Italian and French women constantly come in as the most slender in Europe and they adore their food.
“If you’re moderate about what you eat you can eat anything but too many of us have this mentality of deprivation and restriction and this way of thinking can very easily end in a splurge and guilt,” says Ethna who works as a chef in the award-winning Shells, in Strandhill, Sligo.
A firm believer that we can “all make amazing food in a short amount of time” and that “every day should be a special day for food” Ethna says a lot of requests for tips and recipes come into her blog in the lead up to Valentine’s as it’s a time of year when people will make an extra special effort to cook something nice for the special someone in their life.
“People always want to know about aphrodisiacs, but I’d be more inclined to stay away from things like oysters as they can be fiddly and really you want to be relaxed enjoying your meal on the night. I’d also be more inclined to encourage people to think more of savoury food instead of rich sweets or desserts.
“You need something easy to prepare and cook, light eating is best, I’d recommend a nice piece of sea bass or a nice piece of beef, you really can’t go wrong with that.” Knowing what your partner likes is also important as there is no point in being wildly adventurous if your partner likes plainer fare.
“Personally, I’ll eat anything, but my boyfriend is more into traditional food, if I make anything too wacky I might get a few odd looks, but fortunately I like traditional too,” Ethna jokes.
While a committed foodie, Ethna wasn’t always certain of her culinary path. In fact she completed a degree in fine arts before deciding her heart was in cooking.
“I’m a visual and creative person and I see everything I do as being interconnected.
“Growing up my mum was a chef and everything in our home was food based and whenever we went on holidays as kids to Portugal or Spain, mum was always interested in the food and wasn’t afraid to try new things when she came home but my Dad’s side of the family is very artistic and I also grew up around that.
“After school I decided to do the BA in fine arts – the idea was to be an art teacher. While in college I worked in salad bars and cheffing to make money and I pretty much decided to train as a chef straight after my degree.
“Art and food go hand in hand anyway, presentation of food is an art form – I’d be very particular about how things are placed on a plate,” she says.
Before committing to her formal training as a chef, Ethna took a gap year and worked in eateries in Australia and New Zealand. It was while living in Sydney that she became hooked on burlesque and her creativity began to come out in performance and in clothes design.
“I saw a poster for burlesque and thought ‘sure nobody knows me here’ and I also wanted to meet new people.
“At the end of the burlesque classes we’d a chance to put on a performance and it was such a massive adrenaline rush, I was hooked!”
Ethna’s favoured burlesque style is classical, playful and feminine which she likes to combine with some comedy, but when she returned to Ireland from Australia she had no idea how big the burlesque scene was and if anyone would be receptive to her performances.
“I found in Ireland burlesque was actually pretty big in the cities, I did a couple of burlesque shows in Dublin and I became involved in a cabaret which did event nights rurally in Sligo and Donegal. The reaction rurally was very surprising. In big cities it’s mostly couples who go to burlesque but rurally it was women; it was like they were trying to work out how they felt about my show and were realising you don’t have to be a certain size or a certain age to be able to dance or perform.
“I think the Irish have a certain amount of caution and shyness about new things like burlesque but we’re opening up more. Based on the interest I’ve got from women so far, I’m hoping to run a few burlesque classes in Sligo in 2015.”
Any future for Ethna will therefore have to incorporate both food and dance. Burlesque allows her to express her visual and sensual side; she designs and sews all her own performance costumes; the food path is also clearly marked out and it also goes well with another love – travel which she sees as being essential for every chef who wants to grow and explore new flavours and techniques.
Having already explored South East Asia where the food is , “amazing, fresh and simple’ she plans to go to Italy this summer to visit Bologna.
“Italy will be a real sensual experience. Bologna is meant to be the best place in Italy for food and it’s near Parma – for ham, Modena for Balsamic Vinegar and it’s also in the region for Parmesan cheese.
“I’m always exploring food, I read a lot of cookbooks, I love Asian and ethnic shops, sometimes I’ll even buy something that doesn’t have any English on it and Google it later and try and find out what it is; sometimes the results are good, sometimes not, on one occasion vegetarian fish-flavoured beef was a real surprise!”
While acknowledging that not all of us have as much time to explore food as she does, Ethna says that doesn’t mean we have to ever settle for food that is mundane and boring.
“I won’t lie. Sometimes if you’ve been cooking for others all day cooking for yourself can be a chore, but I try to plan ahead, maybe make a stew or prep my veg and of course I’d still sometimes order a take-out pizza. I love my food, even eating something as simple as mac and cheese can be wonderful mood food.
“Eating should be seen as enjoyable but family mealtimes are in decline, people seem to eat separately more; it would be good if we could make food a celebration and eat together even once a week.”
Ethna would love to write a food column and she’s already written two cookbooks which she’s hoping will catch the eye of an agent and get published. Having her own restaurant is also a dream, “not fine dining but just a restaurant that did good quality, fresh food, the kind of place that people just want to come back to again and again”.
This Valentine’s Day, while she’ll be getting requests on her blog for recipe ideas and tips on how to make a special meal for two, she says those of us not currently in relationships should also make a point of spoiling ourselves with “sexy food”.
“On Valentine’s day, for somebody who is a little lonely, treat yourself as somebody special; cook yourself something nice, one of my feel-good favourites is butternut chicken. Even when I was single I was always like Valentine’s Day – show yourself some love!” Ethna is also a fan of dressing up, putting on the make-up and painting the nails, wearing big vintage bows and red lipstick just to feel sensual and good.
“I spend my work days in a smelly chef’s uniform – believe me, any excuse for a bit of glamour - I’ll take it,” she laughs.
This main option won’t weigh you down, and will leave plenty of room for an indulgent dessert.
Marinated and skewered, beautiful juicy chunks of Irish lamb are transformed into a Mediterranean melange of sensational taste, to provide a light and healthy meal that is full of flavour.
Because we are blessed to have such high quality lamb in Ireland, I have chosen a simple herb based marinade to complement the natural richness in the meat.
A Greek salad requires little preparation, but the combination of ingredients may offer surprising results!
Olives are known to be powerful aphrodisiacs, and tomatoes, cucumbers and honey are suggested to be also.
Extra aphrodisiacs, chilli and avocado are added to give it a little more texture and heat.
Lamb skewers: Mix all of the ingredients together and toss the lamb through.
Place in a non-metallic bowl and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge (or at least 6 hours)
Skewer the meat onto metal or soaked bamboo sticks and bbq or grill for about 3 minutes on each side.
Cover and set aside for 3 minutes after cooking to rest.
Greek Aphrodisiac Salad: Chop the cucumber, tomatoes and avocado into equal size chunks.
Mix together with the olives, chilli, feta and onion, then toss in the honey lemon dressing.
Honey lemon dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until combined.
The word ‘liver’ can make people shudder, images of slimy innards and the strong scent that it omits.
But this Chicken Liver Parfait recipe is a game changer, resulting in a smooth, creamy spread touched with the elegance of Brandy.
I love this parfait smeared on an oatcake with a bit of red onion marmalade, it’s the perfect starter for sharing!
First make the clarified butter by heating the butter over a low heat until it melts. Allow the butter to sit so that it separates. Pour off the clear golden liquid and discard the milky white fat on the bottom.
Add a dash of oil to a large non-stick pan over a medium heat and gently cook the shallots and garlic until softened. Add the liver and cook until the outsides are just coloured then add the brandy and sage.
Reduce the brandy down until about a tablespoon remains and the livers are golden brown and cooked through.
Place livers in a food processor with the butter and whizz until you have a smooth paste with no lumps.
Transfer to sterilised jars and seal with the clarified butter.
Decorate with a few peppercorns and bay leaf.
This dessert is a very easy to follow recipe that can be whipped up in a few minutes or made in advance.
It is the basic Pannacotta base recipe with a little added indulgence for this special occasion, and served in an individual Kilner jar for a restaurant quality dish that is sure to impress your loved one.
Using a high percentage dark chocolate is the best choice for this dessert as the taste is smooth and rich against the cream in the recipe. Dark chocolate is packed full of antioxidants too, so in a way, this dessert isn’t as sinful as you may think!
Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath, ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl (to prevent burning). Set aside when melted.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water (for approx. 5 minutes)
Place the cream, milk, halved vanilla pod and sugar in a pot and bring to a simmer. Allow the sugar to melt then remove the pod. Squeeze the gelatine and add into the cream mix. Whisk to melt.
Combine the cream mix with the chocolate and whisk through.
Pour into the little pots and place in the fridge to set for 2-3 hours.
