Carter’s Kitchen No. 13
Jenny Rindermann, Auckland, New Zealand
Jenny Rindermann, Auckland, New Zealand
Jenny is Auckland’s best dressed chef and is so encouraging and uplifting. I met her through my sister Harry. Harry used to work at a clothing store and Jenny was a customer. For years, she ran a small cafe in central Auckland called Modicum with her husband, and catered from the kitchen. She sold the cafe a few years ago, but she still runs a catering business and creates the most vibrant food prepared with love. I also love that she wanted to have write the answers, and prefers not to email.
Where is your kitchen, and what does it look out onto?
My kitchen is on the ground floor of my home, it looks onto an ivy hedge.
What’s the first thing you do when you walk into it?
Smile.
What’s usually left out on the bench or always within reach?
NZ sea salt crystals and hand ground black pepper.
What do you make when you don’t feel like cooking at all?
Pasta <3
What’s something you cook on repeat?
Roast duck, German braised red cabbage, agria mash = family recipe
Who or what taught you how to cook?
Classic European cooking apprenticeship in a privately owned Hotel with Michelin Star restaurant. We owned our own farms, so I learned to butcher meat, as well as hand make pralines. Very old school.
Describe a meal that felt really good recently.
My husband’s hand made pizza for dinner.
Who do you most like cooking for (or eating with)?
I love eating with my family.
What’s a small food ritual or habit you have?
My food habit is using a ridiculous amount of fresh herbs.
What did you is something you love making?
I love making seasonal nutrient dense rainbow salads.
Where do you eat your meals most of the time?
We always eat together on a big marble dining table.
What do you like listening to in your kitchen?
I love listening to Jazz while I cook.
What’s something slightly imperfect in your kitchen that you still use?
My whole kitchen is imperfect.
A meal or food moment that stays with you:
Slow food = all the way. Cooking with my child for the last 25 years, so special when it happens she lives in Paris now.
Follow Jenny’s creations here.
Jenny makes these beautiful raw vegetable crudités and they are a great party snack for guests. I was inspired to make some for my friend’s art show and they were delicious alongside the ten packets of chips we also bought.
The green herb sauce will keep in the fridge for about a week. Here’s how I made it and the labneh.
For the labneh,
The quickest way to make labneh
