Episode 5: Ballerina Yasmine Naghdi

16 Jul

Episode 5 in 5 O’ Clock Apron Podcast hears Claire cooking alongside Principal Ballerina from The Royal Ballet, Yasmine Naghdi. Claire has never met a ballerina before, nor indeed cooked with one. Yasmine is everything (and more) that Claire could have expected of a ballerina. Confident and poised (of course), Yasmine is also an extraordinary cook.

Yasmine’s roots are Belgian Persian, but she’s a born and bred South Londoner. Yasmine attended the Royal Ballet school from age 11 and has danced her way through the ranks to the very top of the institution. Earlier this month Yasmine announced the exciting news that she is expecting her first child later this year and plans to return to performing next year.

Claire and Yasmine meet at Yasmine’s parent’s house, “their kitchen is better suited than mine” says Yasmine, and immediately the pair start cleaning clams, picking herbs and chopping garlic. Yasmine is a meticulous and passionate cook, teaching Claire her way to make her very favourite pasta dish, Linguine Vongole.

Remarkably organised, clearly very skilled, Yasmine cooks exactly as you might imagine a ballerina would cook, and Claire is in awe throughout the episode.

Enormous thanks to The Royal Opera and Ballet, and in particular Ashley and Chloe, for your help with organising this meeting. I would love to cook with an opera singer for the next series, count me in!