Meet Claire
Get to know the Woolworths Food Editor and Fresh Ideas expert Claire Brookman.
“Hi, I’m Claire Brookman. I’m one of the Food Editors at Woolworths, and my passion is food, food, all things food. Did I mention food?"
- Claire
If I’m not in the kitchen creating recipes for Fresh Ideas, you’ll find me pouring over foodie books and magazines; taking my puppy to the beach; or discovering new ingredients on the supermarket shelves.
I love nothing more than cooking for friends and family, and they have never complained! Growing up, most of my weekends were spent pulling out Mum’s cookbooks to cook dinner for my family, or baking a cake.
I remember being 10 or 12 and spending a Saturday afternoon making gnocchi from scratch. I'm not sure why I chose something that tricky when I was that age, but I do like a challenge. That’s when my obsession with food and cookbooks began, and that led me to a career in food content.
I love simple but delicious food. I believe that recipes should be easy to follow, and be possible to make without a million ingredients. I like to allow the produce to take centre stage. I live for combining sweet and savoury. When stone fruit is in season, I add peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots to everything! Nectarine caprese salad is an all time favourite and roast pork belly with a quick nectarine salsa a close second.
I also have an obsession with condiments, to the point of filling an entire shelf in my fridge, which my husband (who is also my Chief Taste-Tester) is never happy about!
I love condiments because they’re an instant flavour hit. One of my favourite cooking tips is to always have chilli sauce, curry paste, chutney and homemade pesto on hand to elevate your recipes. It’s a simple fix for maximum taste impact.
And a handy baking tip: when using a springform pan to make a cake or tart, you can flip the base over after the cake is cooked and cooled. It will slide off the base easily and onto your serving plate without making a mess.