If you’re planning an event, whether it’s a dinner party for a few friends or a big celebration, I can offer you delicious food with a genuine difference.
Most of my customers are in and around Haslemere, Surrey, where we live. But I often work anywhere between London and Chichester and Arundel — even as far away as Bath!
I grew up on Java, Indonesia’s principal island, where food is a hugely important part of life. When I was 26 I moved to Italy, to discover a culture that also revolved around the joys of good, healthy food. It was in Italy that I started cooking seriously. You cannot sit down for a meal there without the conversation turning to the food on the table – and I soon discovered the pleasure of my beginner’s efforts being appreciated.
We moved to England in 1988 and I began to combine the best of the cooking I had learned from my mother with what I had discovered in Italy. After the arrival of our daughter I started to cook for friends, and experiment with the cuisine of other countries too. And slowly the business grew, until it needed its own name!
Tanamerah means red earth in Indonesian — it stands for the rich, volcanic soil of my Javanese birthplace. One of the first novels I remember reading, by Noel Barber, was called Tanamera. It was about a love affair between a Chinese Singaporean and a colonial British merchant, set against the birth of Malaysia and Singapore from British-ruled Malaya. I loved it.
I try and post news and comments about what I’m up to on my blog — though inevitably the busier I get the less I find the time to do it! I’m better at updating my Facebook page and my Instagram account. (If you’d like to be updated about new posts please click on the … symbol at the top-right of the page, and follow the instructions.)
Whatever event you have in mind, please take a look at some of my dishes, and what my customers have to say. And however sketchy your plans do call me, or send me a note using the contact form. I’ll be delighted to suggest some original catering ideas.
And if you have a group of friends that would like to go out for a meal together, and perhaps try something different, how about coming to my place for dinner? You’ll get a great meal, at a great price. Bring your own wine — there’s no corkage! It’s a bit like going out to a restaurant — but at my house. See the section Dinner At Mine.
