Balcony gardens harvest away...

Sydneysider Ellysha Young, is inspired by cook Elizabeth David and defines her own cooking style as, fresh, simple, complicated, fun and friendly. Proving you don’t need the great Australian dream of a grand back yard to harvest your own produce, Ellysha grows tomatoes, carrots, radish, lettuce, parsley, coriander, thyme, chives, spring onions, basil, strawberries, limes, horseradish and chilli’s on her balcony in Bondi.

CMW: What are you harvesting right now?
EY: We are harvesting cherry and roma tomatoes, cos lettuce, rocket, shallots and chili’s right now. Also have parsley, Vietnamese mint, basil and rosemary ready for picking any time.

CMW: What advice would you give to anyone thinking about starting their own balcony garden?
EY: There are more pot growing opportunities than you may think. Research the types of vegetables and fruit you want to grow and see if growing in a pot is possible. In most cases you will find you can, you just need to make sure you have the right size pot for what you want to grow. When starting out seedlings are great then with a bit more experience start with seeds. Drainage is so important, never plant in a pot with no holes!

CMW: How important is it to know where your produce comes from and what kind of farming and packing practice has been used?
EY: Essential. I always check where an item has been grown and will put it down for the most part if it is not grown in Australia. I also try to buy produce from NSW or at minimum Australia. Farming practices are also very important and I will always choose to buy organic when it is available.

CMW: If there was a dish that defined your family what would it be?
EY: Not a dish but a philosophy. In a nutshell fresh not frozen or processed. We would have fresh fruit cut up for us each morning with freshly squeezed orange juice. Lunch was always a salad sandwich and we were never allowed white bread, that was a treat. Dinner changed all the time as Mum was always into cooking and cookbooks.

CMW: its Sunday you have all day with no distractions, access to the world's best produce and your three best mates are coming over for dinner. What do you cook for them?
EY: To start, deep fried crab spring rolls served wrapped in Vietnamese basil leaves and iceberg lettuce with a fish dipping sauce and for the main, I would make a simple Chilli mud crab.

CMW: What do you think of the whole Masterchef phenomenon?
EY: I think it has been fantastic in opening people’s eyes again to fresh and home made food verses the prior trend towards processed foods. It has brought the kitchen and garden back to the mainstream TV audience that had forgotten it existed. It has brought children back into the kitchen and made them talk and get involved in cooking. I think it has been a great thing for all lovers of food.

CMW: Where was the best meal you have ever eaten and what was it?
EY: December 2006 at The French Laundry in The Napa Valley, California USA. We ate Cauliflower Panna Cotta, Moulard Foie Gras Poele, Sauteed Fillet of line caught Atlantic Striped Bass, Tartare of Maltese Blue Fin Tuna, Maine Lobster Tail and Herb Roasted Saddle of Elysian Fields Farm Lamb. Every course just a sensation in the mouth.

CMW: Maggie Beer or Tetsuya
EY: Maggie Beer hands down for the kind of food we love and can cook.

To check out more of Ellysha's balcony harvests, take a look at her profile,
http://www.cookmyway.com.au/cook/leeshy/