Chi-San Wan - A Simple Table: Recipes & rituals for a life in balance

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Yellow Kite
An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company

Text copyright Natali Stajcic and Chi-San Wan 2017

Photography copyright Emma Lee 2017

The right of Natali Stajcic and Chi-San Wan to be identified as the Authors of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Hardback ISBN 978 1 473 63256 1
eBook ISBN 978 1 473 63257 8

Publisher: Liz Gough
Editor: Imogen Fortes
Art direction and design: Charlotte Heal Design
Photography: Emma Lee
Prop styling: Lucy Attwater
Food styling: Seiko Hatfield
Hair and make-up: Emily McEwan

Yellow Kite
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www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk
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www.thepressery.co.uk

We met many years ago and formed a bond over our mutual love of food. We discovered that the modern-day dilemma we all face is trying to find a connection between natural living and integrating that with the society and culture in which we live. With this in mind, we started our company The Pressery creating fresh, natural, wholesome almond milk with the aim of offering a simple measure towards leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Growing up with a family in the restaurant business, I have always found myself surrounded by food and drink, and developed a huge appreciation for it from when I was a child. Every occasion would be marked with a feast of some kind at my birthday in June it was traditional to have a barbecue for the whole family, any other cause for celebration would involve a banquet of many dishes. It was always very important to sit down together and eat at mealtimes, and this ethos has been instilled in me since those early days of feasting. My favourite thing to this day is to gather loved ones around a table and while away time together.

Somewhere, in between the meals and gatherings growing up, I turned my head to studying fashion design. During my first year in halls of residence, I honed my cooking skills. Living in halls and having a shared kitchen meant I could cook the way I wanted. Things never got too experimental; I was (and still am) in awe of the simplicity of beautiful produce. I went on to living in a house with six other girls and, strangely, we all loved to cook. Even if we came home late after a long day in class, wed end it in the kitchen chopping and chatting; Ive always found this side to cooking very therapeutic.

Upon graduating, I jumped from job to job in fashion trying to find my forte, eventually settling as a stylist. I worked in London and internationally but after eight years I wanted to cut my teeth on something new, something that resonated more with me. I had become more fascinated by what we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink, rather than what we put on our bodies in terms of clothes and accessories. Through the stress of working in the fashion industry, I had started noticing my eating habits and how tweaking them could change the course of my day. Id never considered myself as somebody who ate badly, but when I began to pay attention more, to listen to my body and mind, things seemed a lot clearer. Fashion became less important, and food took centre stage in my life, more than ever before.

I thought long and hard about how I could integrate my skill set from fashion into the food industry; what I could do that was missing and what would make a difference. Id been making almond milk at home for some time, after discovering the ones I was buying in the shops, thinking I was making a healthier choice, were actually full of ingredients I didnt recognise and only 13 per cent almonds. On my birthday one summers evening, surrounded by good friends and good food as usual, I told Natali what Id been thinking and what I wanted to do. She said she felt exactly the same and we began to plot.

I grew up in London where I spent the first part of my childhood living just off the culturally diverse Uxbridge Road. We were surrounded by so many different kinds of cuisine and my mum really made the most of this, cooking something new most evenings. We lived on a tight budget but our food was always prepared with love.

My relationship with food when I was a child was uncomplicated; I was happy eating most things. I did a lot of ballet and dancing so food really acted as fuel. My pasta portions increased as my dancing schedule became more rigorous but I remained a twig in spite of them and it was only when I injured myself aged 16 that my relationship with food changed. My injury, although not incredibly serious, came at the wrong time. It was during the auditions period for dance college and although I managed to gain a place at two good schools, I did not achieve the scholarship I needed to fulfil my dancing dreams and they came to an abrupt halt.

My early 20s were spent working at music festivals. I learned so much and enjoyed it immensely but it is safe to say I burned the candle at both ends. My behaviour was put on pause when I had a phone call that changed the course of my life forever. I was walking home one evening and my mum called me to say that my littlest brother Samuel had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. I collapsed and two strangers helped me up and walked me home. My brother died a month later at the age of 12. When something like this stops you in your tracks things cannot continue as they did before. I certainly tried to carry on living the way I had but my perspective on life had been changed. I was 24.

Just over a year later I gave birth to my daughter Frankie-Mae. However, I suffered severe post-partum psychosis and it was a very tough time for me. This suffering forced me to look at my diet and lifestyle in more detail and question whether I was supporting myself as best I could. I didnt like taking medication, as it hadnt agreed with me, so I was ready to try anything else that might help. I realised that while I loved to cook, at that point most of my meals really werent nourishing so I set about changing this. I knew it would be a long journey, but after a couple of years I began to feel as though I was helping myself with my food choices and I started to feel stronger. It took a while to establish these food habits but they are permanent, they are my passion and they constantly develop. Today I still feel the consequences of my brothers death and I am on a constant quest to keep my mind strong. Balance is something that is very important to me.

It was around this time that Chi and I began talking about our desire to start a business. I was trying to juggle full-time employment with motherhood poorly and wanted to be part of something exciting and innovative. We developed the idea quickly and launched into it without too much thought. I dont think we could have done it any other way; it was a leap of faith.