Jo Pratt
Jo Pratt is a bestselling author, food stylist, food editor for magazines as well as making television appearances on Good Food Channel ‘Perfect’ and ITV’s ‘Ten mile Menu.’ It’s fair to say this is one busy lady!
Jo has now teamed up with the supermarket chain, Aldi, and Women’s Institute to help create dishes using Aldi’s new quality range. Jo took some time out of her busy schedule and chatted to Female First to let us know more about the event.
Hi Jo! You have teamed up with Aldi and Women’s Institute to cook ‘easy to make’ recipes using Aldi’s own products. Could you tell us a little more about this event?
We’re here today with 120 WI members and we have a fantastic day planned. I have just done 3 recipes to start off with using Aldi’s products. This morning I have made sweet potatoes, hash browns and sweet chilli. We’ve done Greek meatballs and baked fish in a bag and whilst I was making the recipes we’ve all interacted with one another and chatted through the process so that they can get a better understanding of how to make these great recipes. After my demo, we had a very informative talk with Aldi’s main meat director. He just gave us background information so we can understand where the meat has come from, so that was great and entertaining. The ladies really took everything that was said on board. A farmer took part in the event, who Aldi buy turkey from, and he spoke about what he has to do and just gave us an insight into a different area in the whole process. This afternoon we’re doing a big Q&A session as this will give the chance to show the comparison between Aldi products compared to other products.
What recipes do you have in mind for the event?
This afternoon we’re doing a Spanish chicken tray bake, as well as a pan-fried fillet with a creamy mushroom sauce using Aldi’s new range of specially selected steaks. I will also be making a savoury tart using puff pastry which is a nice alternative to a quiche. It is perfect for sunny days like today. So there is a big focus on meats but there are a few dishes that are thrown in which are non-meat dishes.
Showcasing her recipes at the event
Aldi offer quality 100% British meat. Do you hope that families will see your recipes and try to make them themselves with Aldi’s meat range?
I hope so - I think what’s really important is that they will see the recipes and will be able to buy everything from Aldi, as in the past you may not have been able to get everything from the same shop. Whereas if they use my recipes, they will be able to find everything they need and buy it all in one purchase. I hope that people will see the recipes, get inspiration, and use the ingredients and make some really tasty dishes. Also, people want good quality meats and Aldi offer this with family-friendly prices.
Aldi’s range of meats are labelled with Red Tractor- Do you think that it is important for supermarkets to have suppliers who they know and trust?
Yes definitely. From a consumers point of view we want to be assured that fresh meat being sold to us will have that Red Tractor label on it or anything to indicate that it is good quality.
Where did your love of cooking stem from and when did you decide that a career in cooking was for you?
I grew up enjoying food. When I was younger I use to love watching Delia Smith on the TV and I really wanted to be like her. I always remember when we got a new washing machine, from the cardboard, I made it into a Television screen and began to do a cookery demo behind it and was pretending to be a cook, so I just enjoyed it from the beginning. My Mum and Grandmothers were good cooks too. When I was in primary school I even asked the school cooks for the recipes from our school dinners, so obviously I just loved food and wanted to work in this area. But I knew that I didn’t want to be a chef working in restaurants, as I was more interested in the other side of it, so I did a home economics degree and got more into the media side of cooking.
You have worked with chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver- Did they give you any ideas or inspiration on what dishes to cook and the style that you have adapted?
Yes an enormous amount. Working with Michelin star chefs who are very talented and qualified was great. I watched them a lot with their recipes and how they worked. This made me more aware of how to put these things together, but I wanted to do this in a more home environment, so that was when I started writing and then I got inspiration for ideas but I wanted to focus on recipes that involved ingredients that were easy for people to get hold of and realistic to everyday life.
What is your favourite dish to cook as well as eat?
It depends on what mood I’m in and what I feel like at that time. With it being sunny today I’m making pan-fried salmon with fresh asparagus, new potatoes with some hollandaise sauce and lemon juice mixed in. So this dish is very suitable on a glorious day like today.
Being a best-selling author- Where do your ideas originate from to create these handy cook books?
It can be difficult to think of new recipe books as there are so many recipe books out there, so you need to figure out what’s missing in the market and most books haven’t been noticed as the name hasn’t caught people’s attention. So a lot of research, looking in magazines, buying books is useful but looking at were my life is going also helps. As I have two small children my books follow my lifestyle.
Your latest book, ‘Madhouse Cookbook,’ is focused on busy parents who can still make easy and delicious meals. Being a mother yourself, do you think it’s important that families all dine together from time to time?
In the real world people won’t have time to be able to sit down as a family during the week. Also, parents have busy lives; they are working longer hours so it isn’t easy having a family sit down meal. I do think it is nice to make time for this at the weekend so you can enjoy each other’s company and catch up.