Music teacher, teacher aide, government worker, youth advocate, marketer, student, chef, the list goes on.
It is this latest role as a chef Adam Doesberg is relishing at the moment, finding it brings together many aspects of his various roles.
‘‘You have to enjoy what you are doing. What I’m doing has to feel meaningful.’’
He is one of the Otago Farmers Market chefs, demonstrating produce and products made and grown by the vendors.
‘‘It consolidates a number of different ‘mes’; it involves elements of education and communications as I’m a spokesperson for the market and helping the vendors show their produce in the best light.
‘‘Those opportunities are as rare as hen’s teeth; it’s a real treat.’’
It also fitted in perfectly with finishing his undergraduate arts degree in sociology and education last year.
Doesburg has worked hard to find a job he enjoys and finds meaningful but admits his varying interests make finding one career difficult.
He started out doing youth advocacy work and event management for the Dunedin City Council, International Science Festival and Otago Arts Festival before moving to Christchurch for marketing and communication roles with Canterbury Opera and the Court Theatre.
He then took a government job which ‘‘doubled his salary’’ but was ‘‘soul-destroying’’ so took the first opportunity to get out when restructuring hit.
It was then he made the decision to train as a chef at Weltec in Wellington.
The decision did not come out of the blue as he has had an interest in food since he was young, spending time in his Dutch oma’s (grandmother) kitchen where herbs, apples and eggs came fresh from her garden.
‘‘She had a huge influence on me developing a palate and an interest in food. Also that cooking is an expression of care and concern for the people you love.’’
The extended family meeting around her dinner table regularly brings back good memories.
As does his working mother’s cooking when he was a child. So much so he and his mother whipped up a recipe from those times on Christmas Day: the infamous seafood cocktail.
‘‘It was really nice to revisit that.’’
His chef’s training confirmed his interest as he thrived on being thrown in the deep end. He remembers doing a catering job with a tutor just three weeks into his training when they discovered 40 extra guests had been invited without their knowledge.
‘‘I’ve never been burnt so many times in my life. We got slaughtered. But wow, the adrenaline!’’
Six weeks into his training and he had his first permanent job at a cafe in Petone at weekends.
‘‘It was a baptism by fire. There were only two chefs, the head chef and me.’’
Mixing the theoretical polytechnic training with work at the coalface paid ‘‘dividends’’ for him, he said.
He finished his training and went to work in restaurant kitchens for four years before realising, ultimately, that sort of environment was like a factory assembly line where consistency rules.
‘‘It’s like Groundhog Day.’’
So he rethought what he was doing and took up some part-time work as a teacher aide, earning more as the latter even though he was untrained, than he did as a chef.
‘‘I was still passionate about young people and education.’’
He admits he would still be teacher-aiding if it was a full-time job that paid better.
‘‘When I’m cooking or teacher-aiding I’m effusive about what I’m doing. I have no regrets.’’
The farmers market job is perfect and he really enjoys learning about the vendors’ work and has a new admiration for what they do.
‘‘They believe in sensible, sustainable food production.’’
New Zealand is still behind the rest of the world in the movement towards direct consumer-producer contact, just as the country was behind in labelling palm oil on food, he believes.
‘‘With the market, people get to know the people producing their food.’’
He hopes to mix the farmers market job with other part-time work this year, hopefully in the social sector, as well as finishing off three postgraduate qualifications in education and sociology.
Last year he also did some clarinet teaching and might develop that further if there is the demand.
Whatever happens, he wants to stay in Dunedin, the place where he grew up and feels the most at home.
Grilled stonefruit platter and honey ice-cream
Peaches, nectarines and plums are such a treat, and this recipe does the bare minimum to turn them into an eye-catching summer dessert.
Doing this on the stove-top is easiest but use your oven grill if you are more comfortable with that, in which case the cut side is face up and the honey, oil and herbs go on top and will require spooning over the fruit once or twice during grilling.
Serves 4
Stonefruit platter
Ingredients
A dozen mixed stonefruit, ripe but not too soft
2-3 Tbsp of honey
1 Tbsp of olive oil
3-4 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme
juice of half a lemon
Method
Wash, halve and pit your stonefruit with a small sharp knife. Pat dry.
In a heavy flat pan add a little honey, some olive oil and your rosemary and thyme and bring to a moderate heat. Add your fruit, cut side down.
Leave uninterrupted for 3-4 minutes then keep a keen eye on the temperature; you want rich colour without any burning.
Add your lemon juice and reduce a little.
When you're happy with the colour, serve your fruit up on a platter, drizzling over any remaining syrup. Top with scoops of honey ice-cream.
Use the very best honey you can afford to make this ice-cream and you will be rewarded tenfold. Make this a good day in advance to ensure it sets perfectly.
Honey ice-cream
Makes about 750ml
Ingredients
600ml cream
⅓ cup wildflower honey, ideally thyme
4 egg yolks
⅓ cup caster sugar
2 tsp natural vanilla essence or paste
Method
If necessary freeze your ice-cream machine bowl before preparation.
In a saucepan scald cream and honey until just simmering; remove from heat.
In a large bowl beat yolks, sugar and vanilla. With beaters running, pour cream a little at a time into yolk mix, incorporating each addition.
When all combined, pass mixture through a sieve and return saucepan to a low heat.
Stir non-stop, in a gentle figure of eight pattern, until the mix holds a line traced on the back of the spoon.
Do not rush this step by cranking up the heat or you will have sweet scrambled eggs!
Transfer mixture to ice-cream machine bowl or another appropriate freezer-proof bowl. Churn mixture according to your machine's instructions.
Alternatively improvise by freezing until just firm (3 hours or so) and then, using an electric beater, whip until smooth, before returning ice-cream to the freezer.
Repeat this step twice more at hourly intervals.
The more you do this the finer the finished texture will be.
Allow to freeze for 24 hours before serving.
Poached beetroot salad
I never get bored with the colour of beetroot, and at the moment you may well be lucky enough to find golden or orange varieties as well. This is inspired by a roast beetroot dish made by my aunt.
Makes 4-6 as a side
Ingredients
6 large beetroots, peeled and cut into chunks
olive oil
¼ cup of blackcurrant apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
2 spring onions, sliced
½ cup feta or cheese curd, crumbled
a handful of toasted hazelnuts
chopped fresh soft herbs of your choosing
Method
Poach your beetroot in plenty of salted water until just al dente, and drain well. If you're using several varieties poach them separately, lightest to darkest, to preserve colours.
In a very hot skillet heat a little olive oil and saute the beetroot for 2-3 minutes. Add the vinegar and toss until glossy and slightly reduced. Add the spring onions as you remove the pan from the heat.
Tumble the beetroot on to a platter, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and scatter with cheese, hazelnuts and fresh herbs.
Panzanella
Even though this salad is based on stale bread it couldn't be fresher. Enjoy it now while tomatoes are at their best.
While a substantial white bread such as ciabatta is the default, I have also enjoyed this salad using a heavy dark bread; the point is to make use of whatever you have at hand. The chili can be red or green, just make sure you include at least one with a little heat as this really elevates the salad.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Half a loaf of stale bread, ideally ciabatta, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
a handful of basil leaves
2-3 chillies, sliced, seeds in or out as suits your palate
half a red onion, sliced into fine rounds
a generous glug of olive oil
a few splashes of good red wine vinegar
pepper, salt, and sugar to taste
Method
Tumble all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl and let stand covered for at least a couple of hours.
Check seasoning. Treating sugar as you would salt here will help you strike the perfect balance in your tomatoes.
Enjoy as is or with your choice of lean protein such as soft-poached eggs or some grilled fish.
