We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a Gaytime

Susanna Freymark

Dessert should be big on personality. It should be “utterly seductive, ethereal and delicious, with aesthetics that capture your imagination”, says chef Christine Manfield.

I haven’t met her but I like her already. Anyone who takes dessert that seriously deserves my full attention.

Christine, pictured above, will be in Kyogle this Saturday – talking about desserts, Indian food and cooking in general.

She is well known for turning the iconic Australian ice cream Golden Gaytime into a sumptuous dessert that contestants on MasterChef attempted to duplicate.

“There’s something about Gaytime that makes everyone swoon, a dessert that has become synonymous with my name and the menus I have created over the years,” Ms Manfield said

She made her first Golden Gaytime with a twist in 1994.

“I interpreted those flavour memories – the magic combo of chocolate, caramel and honeycomb – to also give a playful reference to a broader message of social justice and equality by adopting the name as a subliminal political message, playing to everyone’s cravings for sweet indulgence at the same time and being brave enough to list it on my menus,” she said

“Dessert needs to be memorable, it’s the last thing you eat in a meal.”

Christine has spent her life pursuing and perfecting, her love of cooking.

She has led food tours in India (she has visited the country more than 40 times), Bhutan, France, Southeast Asia, Italy and South America.

Nigella Lawson has said of her that “Christine woke people up to the flavours and influences from around the world through her food”.

Christine moved to the Tweed Coast in 2020 and she likes to promote sustainable food production.

Join Christine in conversation with Southern Cross University food historian Adele Wessell, as they talk about her cooking career, her travels and her latest book, Indian Cooking Class.

The event is organised by the Kyogle Writers Festival committee and happens this Saturday, October 8 at 2pm at the Uniting Church’s Fellowship Centre in Bloore Street, Kyogle.

Tickets are $15/$10 and are available through the Kyogle Writers Festival website and at the door an hour before the event begins.

Christine Manfield’s version of a Golden Gaytime. Photo: Contributed
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