30-second Q&A with Rachael Bermingham from ‘4 Ingredients’

With the count down to Christmas beginning we get some simple tips from one of the Aussie ladies behind the '4 Ingredients' phenomenon.

Christmas is full of greats: great fun, great friends and family, with any luck great gifts. It’s also full of great feasts that require a lot of preparation. **iLoveMyGrub.com** spoke to Rachael Bermingham, co-author of the '4 Ingredients' cookbooks that have become a ‘must have’ addition to households all over Australia.

The '4 Ingredients' principle is to keep it simple. No more than 4 ingredients per recipe, clear instructions that anyone can follow and no complicated tools. All you need is “a cup, a teaspoon and a tablespoon.” It was an idea that Rachael and her friend and co-author Kim McCosker came up with, whilst supervising Rachael’s son’s first birthday party. The book has now sold over 2 million copies in Australia and has risen to the top of the cookbook charts. The duo now have three titles in their book range, including a gluten-free edition.

**Q:** **What type of cook are you around Christmas time – shouty Gordon Ramsay or calm Nigella Lawson?
A:** Neither I'm more of a casual Jamie Oliver. I'm a very chilled out home body.

**Q: Has Christmas changed for you since your success with the books?
A:** I have heaps more awesome cocktail food and recipes to whip up now - the hard part is in choosing which ones to make - they're all so delicious AND quick and easy! 4 Ingredient cooking makes light work of any Chrissie Day meal. 

**Q: You and Kim have recently returned from a tour of the ****UK****. Can you narrow down a favourite moment from the trip?**
**A:** There were so many! Most memorable was a book signing at Piccadilly Square. Most fun was letting off firecrackers on Guy Fawkes Day. Favourite day was when we visited Cambridge - it is so beautiful. 

**Q: What foods did you try when you were in the ****UK**** that you can’t get in Oz?
A:** I had a good old English pub Yorkshire pudding and Kim also had a traditional Irish Guinness pie while we were in Dublin.

**Q: What dish makes your Christmas special?
A:** Lots and lots of fresh, juicy and cool seafood - we live on the Sunshine Coast in Australia so we enjoy 30 degree heat, cool seafood and lots of dips in the pool.

Try the '4 Ingredients' alternative to a complicated Christmas pud this Christmas. 
 

**Written by:** Anne Giacomantonio