MOSSEL BAY NEWS - During the ongoing pandemic people turn to different things to comfort themselves.

National communication manager for Working on Fire, Linton Rensburg (50), has mastered the skill of cooking to calm himself and his family during the Covid-19 panic.

Linton is well-known to the media and although he lives in Cape Town, he visits the Garden Route and Mossel Bay often.

Working on Fire has several bases on the Garden Route and Linton worked in the area during the Knysna fires of June 2017 and the big Garden Route fires in 2018.

He has been a media and communication professional for the past 27 years, of which the past eight have been at Working on Fire. Whenever a journalist needs to get comment from WoF, Linton is the go-to guy.

He has a large and diverse family and friendship group and his home has always been a space where they could go to enjoy his simple fooding. However, the national lockdown in late March has profoundly changed how we integrate and socialise as a community and Linton now motivates his family and friends with his cooking on social media platforms.

Cooking
"This lockdown has once again taught me about the value of humanity and how we need one another as a family or as a community, standing together amid this pandemic.

"I use my simple fooding just to communicate a positive message of hope and I try to be inspirational in showing that despite our situation, you can still lead and inspire others. So yes, cooking has been therapeutic for me and certainly my family, especially now."

When Linton feels stressed, he cooks, such as on the day his beloved Sea Point Promenade was transformed into a high risk Covid-19 zone. That evening, Linton decided on comfort food - his homely lasagne dish.

His fascination with cooking started in the 1970s in his hometown of Port Elizabeth, where he would watch his dad cook for hours on end: kudu meat pieces in a potjie on an open fire.

In 1998, while studying law at the University of Cape Town, Linton struggled to eat the food in his residence. "I ended up reading cooking books and made arrangements with the catering company to use the dinning hall kitchen on weekends to cook up traditional food such as tomato bredie, samp and beans and even bobotie."

His favourite meals include the aromatic flavours and smell of Indian and Malaysian cuisine, "so a lamb Akni curry is always high on my list. I love cooking Asian food, fooding with sweet and sour chicken, ramen noodles, egg fried rice and using soya and teriyaki sauces, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Then there is the tomato bredie stew I love cooking and the traditional samp and beans during winter."

People who know Linton, know he loves outdoor and indoor cooking. "I love the occasional 'yard party' when the weather allows it. 'Yard parties' take me back to my hometown, where our family home was always a welcoming place for comrades and friends to gather and even more so when something was cooking on the outside fire.

Turn to cooking healthy and simple food for your family.

Lockdown cooking
Linton uses his simple fooding to communicate a positive message of hope. "I try to be inspirational in showing that despite our situation, you can still lead and inspire others."

Here are Linton's simple fooding tips as he loves food that's made quickly and easily but is still tasty.

"My love for simple fooding is really based on two things: one, it’s a very busy daily work and family schedule coupled with traveling on work assignments. And secondly, as much as I love my kitchen and my braai, who wants to spend hours on end cooking and not being able to enjoy the social company of family and friends?

Preparation is everything
"The preparation part is important for me to ensure that the cooking process is seamless. Decide what you going to cook or bake, make sure you have all the ingredients you need and prepare everything before you switch on the plate, oven or light your fire. 

The second important part for me is how you present your food on a plate or a platter. My late grandmother always said that any food must look attractive, appealing and appetising.

"In fact, any food, whether it is a cheap piece of meat or an expensive piece of steak, needs to be presented perfectly.

Linton uses few ingredients. He believes in simple cooking.

To stir or not to stir
"Always have good, fresh herbs at home, lots of green veggies and a favorite for me these days, fresh rocket.

"Carrots are making a big return to the fooding table so always have plenty in the fridge. Impress your guests with braaiing huge mushrooms, mielies and a pocket of veggies of your choice in foil with added butter and herbs on coals. Try to get meat cuts that cook within an hour.

"Avoid using salt in food; rather have a good chicken stock (with reduced salt) to add to your cooking. To stir or not to stir is an age-old debate; my advice: do what you feel confident and comfortable with and that which will give you the best results.

"Oh and don't add water to potjies or stews as this will most often ruin everything. I love adding some fresh lemon or lime juice to whatever I’m preparing. Have peach chutney, soya and Bisto ready to complete a good potjie.

"If you braai, make sure your meat cuts are of even size so that they are cooked at same time. But most importantly, find your relaxation in your cooking."

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