Anna Polyviou, the award-winning pastry chef and television personality, is celebrating the holiday season by partnering with Amazon Australia and award-winning regional Australian pudding maker Pud for all Seasons to launch its limited-edition savoury Christmas pudding with an Aussie twist: Amazon Everything Christmas Pudding. Available from November 19.
“The Women’s Weekly recipes are fantastic. I mean, I always go to them when I’m cooking at home. I think they’re fantastic,” she said when we sat down together to chat about all things Christmas.
Read on to find out what’s happening over at the Polyviou household this Christmas…
What about this collaboration with Amazon Australia and Pud for all Seasons that intrigued you?
It’s such a cool concept. Karen [from Pud for all Seasons] is great with puddings. Everyone’s going to talk about this Christmas pudding that’s a bit savoury and it’s got a bit of sweetness to it. It’s out of the norm, but I think it works as well.
Amazon is also very unique. It’s all about the service for me. I ordered cookbooks just the other day, from the UK and it was delivered in less than five days. Unreal. I’m doing all my shopping there for Black Friday. It’s great!
So the description of the pudding, says it has pumpkin, rosemary, ham, and cherry, it’s not the traditional. How would you describe it and serve it at Christmas?
It’s the traditional but the fundamentals are. What we’ve done is we’ve added a few more ingredients to give a bit of a savoury note as well. You don’t necessarily have to have it for dessert. I would personally use it to go with my turkey or my ham with a nice gravy.
This pudding combines elements of sweet and savoury notes, do you like playing with flavours like that?
Only if they work. I think some people try to get too creative and it doesn’t work. This works. It works on a savory note and it works on a sweet note as well. So, if I’m doing it with savoury, I’ll definitely do a gravy and serve it with my roast protein. If I’m doing it sweet, I will serve it with a butterscotch sauce with a custard maybe a little brandy in there. Serve it with some cherries and ice cream. It just works.
What comes into your mind when you’re creating a dessert for a collaboration like this?
It comes down to the brief. When I’m going on MasterChef, for example, it’s a wow factor. It’s the different twist of it.
Normally I start with visuals. I love things that look pretty. I look at what’s season. I look at recipes that I’ve got lying around or, I just picked up a new piece of equipment.
So for this brief, it was Christmas. What do you want for Christmas? Christmas pudding. What do we have with Christmas puddings? Everything.
Like, we can do traditional puddings. But what’s something that people can’t get? What is affordable and fun? Christmas should be fun and not so stressful. I just love it. I think it’s funny.
You mentioned, MasterChef Australia, what was it like to return to the MasterChef Kitchen as a contestant and not as a guest judge for Dessert Masters last year?
I had just done, I’m a Celebrity. Get me out of Here! So, I was in a different mental space. I got released and then I went into Dessert Masters. And I’m like ‘This is the best thing ever!’ Like, I’ve got to cook, but I’ve got running water, I was stealing all the snacks in the green room. It was a really special time. I got to hang out with some good people, all these great mates that I’ve made in pastry. I learned a lot from them because they are such great chefs. And everyone was so encouraging.
I just think I’m so lucky to be paid to be on TV, entertain and learn. I think that’s a blessing. I don’t take things for granted, I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had.
What do you love about your television experiences?
I want to make people smile and laugh. How much of a clown can I be on TV that people just think it’s hilarious, and then how do I go off and just show off what I can do from the Anna’s Mess to the firecracker? I mean, the hot dog looks real, but is it real?
I think life sometimes gets a bit too serious, you know. And I think having a bit of an icebreaker or having a bit of fun is so important. The pudding that we’ve created is a talking point. It’s fun.
In your long history of creating iconic desserts, which dessert or dish do you think people most associate with you?
Anna’s Mess by far. It went viral. Went everywhere. And I think it’s because it’s this beautiful, elegant dessert. And people are like, Okay, first of all, it’s gorgeous, but how do I eat it? And all of a sudden, I’ve picked it up and I’ve thrown it on the table. It’s so not allowed. But is it not allowed? Are we not allowed to play with our food? That’s what I love about it. It’s just a complete mess.
It really speaks to your whole ethos of bringing people together. Has that always been part of your personality, wanting to create an experience with people?
Well, I love attention. I have a big personality. I just like making people laugh. I think just people take life too seriously. Just have some fun with it. Be serious about what you do, like I’m serious about my job and my clients being happy. I think that’s the key thing for me and and people that are engaging with it or whatever, are happy with it, but also really having fun with it. You know, Christmas can be stressful. You can’t just go empty-handed to friends’ and family’s houses. So this $10 pudding, is not too expensive, it’s festive, it’s fantastic, and it’s fun. It’s gonna have people talking about it.
Speaking about being festive, what is usually on your Christmas menu at home?
Don’t forget, I’m Greek-Cypriot. So we didn’t have the traditional Christmas puddings. We have like, qurabiya biscuits. But since my sister-in-law came into the picture, we do have the Christmas pudding because it’s something that she wants. So traditionally with Greek, we don’t, but I do. I do a big spread, I make a pavlova, trifles and puddings and then oysters and salmon and making Bellinis. And I’m roasting my ham, that’s scored so there are nice big chunks.
I think for me, Christmas, it’s about the food, but it is about the people that are sitting around the table as well. We’re such a multicultural country. I’m a first-generation Australian, so we’re bringing the traditions, old and new.
Where can people buy these puddings?
On Amazon. I’m going to buy like 20 puddings for friends and family. I’m waiting for Black Friday!
Speaking of which, what else is on your Black Friday wish list besides these puddings? Do you have essential kitchen equipment that you think everyone should have in their kitchen?
It depends on what you want to cook. My pans mean a lot to me. I’ve got a small frying pan and a large frying pan and that’s it. I love my whisk, I love my knives. I’ve got scales I’m specific about. I’ve got equipment that I really really love, but it’s just basic stuff, it doesn’t have to be fancy. My pants cost me $55.
But I am obsessed with my microplane. I’m so lost if I don’t have mine. I use it for everything like zesting lemons and grating cheese – I hate thick cheese – I bring it to working gigs when I’m travelling and my girlfriend’s always like, what did you put it? Did you take it and you lost it? And it’s packed in my carry-on.
The Amazon Everything Christmas Pudding is available to purchase from Amazon AU from Tuesday, November 19 until Monday, December 2. Prefer a traditional pud? If you subscribe to The Women’s Weekly, you will receive a bonus Pud for all Seasons traditional plum pudding, valued at $35.
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