Cooking for a South African rock star in the Lecrin Valley, south of Granada

Do you remember a certain party when my friend Antonia asked me if Monchéri and I could take over a cooking job in the valley for a music producer and a band? May be I was drunk that night but I could swear Antonia mentioned it was a girl's band and Monchéri was absolutely enthusiastic. Our cooking assignment took place in Youth's amazing house, tucked among the olive groves in the Lecrin valley. Youth is a super music producer who shares his time between London and Andalusia. His studio in the valley has welcomed notorious English bands like Embrace and Delays. Actually, this is the second time, Monchéri and I, have been cooking for Youth, his assistants and his guests. We had kept such a good memory of our first cooking experience at his place that never mind the heat, the sinuous road from our village to his house, we took up the job with great pleasure. Monchéri who expected a girl's band was a bit surprised to see only guys there and I quickly assumed I totally misunderstood Antonia when a good looking blond young man came to say hello to us and introduced himself as Arno. As I couldn't properly grasped his name, Youth explained with a big smile that this guy was actually the biggest rock singer in South Africa and was staying to record an album, at his studio, to be released by next spring. How great ! naturally, we felt a little bit peevish not to know his name, not to know that he opened for the Rolling Stones when they were on tour in Spain in 2007. And when Youth very kindly proposed to us to come down to the studio, one day, after dinner to listen to the recording, we were both so thrilled to discover a very talented singer and songwriter with such a powerful voice. I would have loved to include a You tube video in my post but alas I still do not master this blogger feature, but please if like me, you never heard Arno Carstens before, do check it up on You tube. This guy rocks baby ! On top of that, he is such a gentle person. He very nicely agreed to answer some questions, didn't mind my taking photos and most important loved our cooking !!

Youth's house, built in a Moroccan style

the main entrance to the house through the patio....

....where towels get quickly dried in the sun...

the spacious kitchen area would make any cook happy

the dining table where dinners are served
a living room with views onto the olive groves

....and the hills.....

the guitar above has been made in Granada by
famous maker Bellido y Gil

sometimes after dinner, the ambiance got
really cool and laid back, with great guitar music.

the exotic touch of the house, decorated with
Indian statues and music instruments and Moroccan rugs
inspired us colorful exotic food

sweet corn fritters and a curried version of a cole slaw salad
Chinese-style fried rice and ginger meatballs

but we also had to remember that at times
good substantial food was needed
to compensate for the long hours of work

French-style sauté potatoes with garlic and parsley
nice chunky entrecôtes

Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes
I loved it when Clive, Youth's mixing engineer
asked me how I did them because they didn't taste
the same when he made some at home.

The answer is very simple....
I like to give them an exotic twist by mixing meat and shrimps
in the tomato sauce and adding grated ginger
and yes I prefer to make my own béchamel even if it takes hours

Give it a try !

and you'll see your guests asking for more !

desserts had not been forgotten
we had orange cake, chocolate cake
and my all time favorite, the lemon meringue pie

time for a pause......

Youth who is ever so cool shows me his journal book
where he writes down his poetry and makes little sketches.
He loves poetry, feels very inspired by the Lorca
culture in Granada. Monchéri mentions other names of
Spanish poets to him. I turn the pages of his book
and am charmed by the sketches below which
somehow make me think of Cocteau

The night before our last cooking day
we took a photo souvenir with the whole team

on the sofa from left to right : Clive, mixing engineer, Youth, Arno,
Alex, guitarist and member of the band Opera House, Tim, keyboards and computer
standing : Jo, assistant, David, drummer and Monchéri

the same with me in the middle

on the last day.....
packing but still playing....

on our last day, Monchéri and I
stopped on the road to lie down under these pines
do you see the sign "land to sell" ?
sigh....

Monchéri is dreaming......

and me as well.....

photos by your devoted blogging hostess and Monchéri