Petra Galler - Butter, Butter

Big, bold and bolshy. I grew up in a Jewish family where the joy of preparing food and eating together is woven so deeply into our culture that dinner was always an occasion to be celebrated, and an opportunity for either me or my father to spend a couple of hours planning and prepping. I have no doubt that this obsession stemmed from my paternal grandmother, Zaza, the original force-feeder of the family. Her savoury crpes, Polish coffee cake (which contained no coffee at all) and her heart-attack-inducing cheesecake were legendary. Truth be told though; these were actually the only truly delicious things she made! She wasnt a cook, in fact she strongly disliked it. It was the feeding part that was her thing, and she did that with gusto.

Nothing made her happier than watching her grandchildren positively stuff themselves while she sat smiling with her white wine spritzer. Then, and now, food has always been a form of love; the centre of all family gatherings, every holiday, every celebration. Food, at its very core, is the most nurturing gift you can offer and has the power to really connect people. There is something very personal and gratifying about cooking for someone, bringing happiness via deliciousness, turning someones day around with something spectacular. I loved this feeling which, in hindsight, is partly what propelled me into restaurant kitchens over ten years ago. Professional kitchens can be challenging places; an absolute hothouse of stress and tension.

I was a shy and rather awkward 20-year-old, deeply unsure of myself and leaning heavily into the fake it til you make it mantra. Its actually comical how little of a clue I had; it had the potential to go pear shaped quite promptly! Despite the sheer terror I felt during these early years, I made it through, and my already sizeable food obsession only grew as I learnt more, and became more comfortable and confident. Finally I knew: I was in love with food, I knew I could cook, and I knew that this was the place for me. The anxiety that many feel about baking is something I really hope I can ease with this book. I have never had any formal training to speak of. From a young age I devoured cook books, researched recipes and food trends for hours at a time and, although I have spent a decade working professionally as a chef, as far as baking goes, I consider myself more or less self-taught; some sort of cowboy, perhaps! Of course, you need to pay attention to detail, and patience and precision are helpful; but baking does not need to be scary or tricky and the recipes in this book are all achievable, even for the most inexperienced baker.

Once you have a few kitchen successes under your belt, a whole world of possibility will open up and you will have the creative licence to push the limits in terms of flavour combinations, techniques and textures. These are the recipes I have carried around with me for most of my adult life, tweaking and changing them over the years. There is a strong Middle Eastern influence woven throughout this collection, with many holding strong memories of family, discovery and sheer joy. About six years ago, we had a family reunion in Haifa, a beautiful city in Northern Israel. We spent a month exploring the country as well as Jordan and Palestine. It was this trip where I discovered the joys of Knafeh, the power of rose water and orange blossom, and spice-spiked syrups.

The food itself and the attitudes around cooking and eating really did something to me. It was so celebrated there. Walking through the spice markets in Jerusalem, seeing people from every background and walk of life coming together to enjoy the flavours, aromas and textures. It was an absolute sensory overload in the most delicious of ways and since then I have been obsessed. There may be some recipes and flavour combinations in this book that you havent tried before and I urge you to be bold, and experiment with something new to you. There is so much more to baking than banana cake.

Baking has always been my peace and I am beyond excited to share this book with you.