Delicious Magazine: A Vodka with... Jo Malone CBE
In September's issue of Delicious Magazine
What are your earliest memories of tasting something truly delicious, where food was no longer just fuel?
Food has never just been fuel for me because when I was younger, there wasn't a lot of it. I have loved food and the creation of it from a very young age, though. My first memories are of my father who, when he had sold a painting, would go to the market and buy Chinese food. I remember the first time I tried chicken and pineapple - I just couldn't believe the taste in my mouth! And my first spring roll? I thought I died and gone to heaven! To this day, we still call Chinese food the ‘King's Banquet’.
Do you cook and if so, do you have a signature dish?
I love cooking - and for lots of people. I am known for my roasts and really crispy roast potatoes but just recently, I've been playing with what I call a Como marinade for chicken or salmon with risotto. It’s a blend of oil, lemons, limes, white wine, basil, garlic, salt and pepper, mint, basil - and the key is baby mandarins. Add any herbs that you love, maybe a pinch of chili and whizz it up in a blender to make a paste. Smother a chicken or salmon with it and leave it for an hour then roast it. I guess this is now my signature dish.
What’s your all time favourite food and drink pairing?
My all time favourite pairing is quite simple. I love bread and ham and I love, love, love cheese. With that, I like a crisp white wine or a really pale, dry pink. I always toast the bread, often an olive bread and have plates of hard cheese and a glass of rosé. It doesn't matter where I am in the world, that brings me home. I buy Mirabeau rosé in magnums and have large outdoor fridges for people to help themselves! Sometimes, the most simple food and wine combination gives you the most luxurious experience.
Have you experienced a meal so unexpected that it brought tears to your eyes?
Yes. A dear friend came to the UK with his family as refugees from Somalia. They'd left their country of origin being wealthy with jobs and arrived with nothing, yet they invited us for dinner. There were six children and they were so excited! They loved to play games as a family, so we took Twister and the kids were laughing, then suddenly, their mama said, ‘dinner's ready!’ They pushed back all the furniture, bought out a piece of plastic and laid it on the carpet, and we all sat cross legged. I was so humbled because I knew that they had cooked for us with all the money that they had to feed the family that week. I could feel tears running down my face that they had bought the very best for us - delicious chicken, lamb, fried, spring-like rolls... It was a soul moment, and you realised that having a meal together is what the world actually needs right now. It was a very humbling, beautiful and very, very happy evening.
Do you have a go-to comfort food?
My go-to comfort food is chicken pie, especially after I've been ill or I’m hungover! M&S do a great chicken and leek pie with mashed potatoes and peas .
Tell about your vodka and the inspiration for it
I moved to Dubai to see if there were other businesses I could build within the five senses. We were having breakfast with good friends and one of them - Francesca Langlands Pearse, who is an artist, said ‘have you ever thought about vodka?’ The crazy thing is, only six months previously, I’d never drunk much other than wine, but I had just started to enjoy a vodka and soda in the evenings so, it was almost as though life had taken me on stepping stones over a river. Then, when the wonderful master distiller Joanne Moore came to the table, I knew instinctively that there was another business. I told her all these incredible stories and from that, we created each vodka as a part of my personality, from The Purist to The Bohemian to The Artist and the other ones that have yet to come. I wanted the bottle to look like a work of art and Francesca, who is also a partner in the business, designed the labels, which feel like artist paper with watercolour. The red stopper is, of course, the compass - and my signature red.
Why vodka rather than wine or something else?
I chose to make vodka because it’s the closest thing to fragrance. It’s very clean and all about what you add into it, plus the process to create it is similar to fragrance - just one is for your nose and one for your mouth! I had Joanne (Moore) teaching me and I have loved the process of creating with flavour. I’ve learned a lot as well.
Do you sip it neat or is there a favourite serve?
We're going to create our own cocktails for Jo Vodka but I think drinking it is like art - you should do whatever you enjoy. For me, I love a vodka soda in the evening. I live looking at the sea and so I love to have a drink as the sun is setting and treasure the day. The other night, I tried a vodka spritzer with The Bohemian and a little bit of white wine and it was so delicious with lots of crushed ice and lemon. I like that really citrusy, clean taste.
How do you pair your vodkas with food?
When we were testing our vodkas, I thought tapas would be a great food pairing, so I created a vodka version of a ‘café gourmand’ for them! For The Purist, I slice salami and baked it like crisps, then put a tiny bit of guacamole on the top. The Bohemian, I do with tiny pieces of toast with citrus butter and a little bit of tomato on it, like a pomelo bruschetta. And for The Artist, I do parma ham and baked asparagus spears. Fantastic!
Would you ever create a fragrance to match these three vodka ‘personalities?’
Possibly. Jo by Jo Loves is already The Bohemian, I think, with pomelo, bergamot and yuzu. The Purist would probably have amber and linen… It's very smooth and regal. I don't know about The Artist at the minute. Maybe a bit of smoked plum and leather, a bit of dirtiness and a bit of white rose but I haven't put my mind into that - yet.
You famously have synaesthesia. What sort do you have and how does that inform your work?
My synaesthesia comes through the sense of smell: when I see colour I can smell it. When a doctor scanned my head once he said, you have an incredibly large hippocampus, which is the primeval part of your brain. I'm able to take colour and pull it back into my world, but I've now discovered that it's also with taste and I'm starting to teach myself to do it with music. For example, when you taste something for the first time, like crushed, pink peppercorns, you can't taste it straight away, and then boom! In it comes. It has its own little beat. So it's just looking at the senses in a very different way.
What does Ms Jo Malone CBE smell like?
Well, I love grapefruit, which is why I made Jo by Jo Loves. It's a mix of grapefruit, vetiver and orange blossom. Those are my three favourite notes in the world.
Many of your most successful fragrances are named after edible ingredients. Why do you think these are so popular?
When I create, it’s a bit like naming a child. You look at their character and you think, yep, they're definitely a ‘Grace’, for example. And that's how I feel with the fragrances. Sometimes they go, ‘my name is Mango’ or ‘my name is Como’ or ‘Pomelo’ and I think, yeah, okay! I feel the fragrance chooses what they want to be called. That simplicity must appeal to other people too.
Is there a flavour that you’ve never forgotten that you’d still like to try and capture?
A dear friend of ours owns a beautiful hotel in Zighy Bay, Oman. I walked in one evening after seeing the turtles, the light was very dim and there were stars in the sky. We sat on wooden tables with our bare feet and they had prepared this incredible meal where every dish was so delicately done, from the sea bass, to the ceviche and these tiny, little cheese puffs prepared with micro herbs. I remember thinking that this was like my perfumer's organ. Every note was memorable - so it might be something I create in the future.
If you could sum up your life in a toast, what would you say?
I would quote Nelson Mandela. Every day is an adventure; I either learn or I win. Nothing is wasted and life is a precious gift to be celebrated and enjoyed.