To be or not be my Valentine’s Day treat for M’s Kitchen live

A year ago, M’s Kitchen had its first live Facebook show in celebration of Southern African food for Valentine’s Day.

Five minutes before we went live, I remember my heart pounding in my chest.

Will the technology work? Will my friend know the best angles to film? Will the food turn out as planned?

Fact is, doing anything live and in real time is not an easy challenge. There are no outtakes or cuts or do-overs from the top.

It’s live and that means anything can go wrong and will be public for everyone to see.

As someone working in marketing communications where reputation management is everything, this is strategy I would normally avoid at all costs.

So how do you go from being careful and fairly risk-averse to exposing yourself in this way.

In a nutshell I guess it goes back to trust and believing in what you are trying to achieve.

Trust, because I could not see what was being filmed or had much in the way of control over it as I was the one cooking.

Plus courage, because doing something you love in a manner way out of your comfort zone is not an easy challenge on a good day.

Love southern African food, we most certainly do.

From a perfectly cooked steak to a modern make-over on a classic dessert recipe, the ability to showcase the food we know and the cultures that inspires us, is a rare treat indeed. E

Even if this means feeling like we are slaving away on a day where we should be putting our feet up.

In celebrating a whole year of Facebook live demonstrations, we created our version of a perfect Valentine’s day meal.

A North African inspired spicy soup for a starter.

A 16-ounce (about 500grams) T-bone steak (a combination of both Rump and Sirloin) with a crème-fraiche rainbow peppercorn sauce and a spinach, herb and roasted garlic salad as a main.

Topped off by a chocolate mousse with cream, raspberries and macadamia nut brittle.

A real taste explosion for the senses prepared in an hour.

For a full demonstration of the Valentine’s Day menu, have a look here

In the spirit of sharing our love for our southern African heritage this Valentine’s Day, we also include the recipe for our easy Chocolate Mousse:

You’ll need:

• 2 cans of evaporated milk (we used the lighter one)
• 200 grams dark chocolate of your choice
• 300 grams marshmallows
• Cream, raspberries and macadamia nut brittle used for decoration, adapt these to what’s your favourite topping

Method:

1. Chill one of the cans of evaporated milk in the fridge (preferably overnight).
2. Add the contents of the other can plus the chocolate broken into pieces to a pot and heat until melted. Remember to stir so it does not burn.
3. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted.
4. Remove from the heat and chill for around 10 minutes.
5. Beat/ whisk the contents of the other can of evaporated milk until thick and fluffy (around 3 mins).
6. Fold into the chocolate – remember to beat in around 1/3 first to make folding in easier.
7. Pour into molds and refrigerate for at least one hour.
8. Decorate and serve.