Name: Sandrine Van Slee
Decade you were born? 1960's
Where were you born? Island of Curacao, Dutch Netherlands, Antilles
Three things you remember from the first decade of your life?
1. I remember our summers in Italy on the Adriatic Coast and eating the Italian donuts with apricot jam inside and powdered sugar. I have a picture with sugar all over my face.
2. Being with my Grandmother and baking her butter cake together. I remember asking her secret in making it and she told me she always had all the ingredients at room temperature. I also remember her making "children lattes" and all the smells in her house.
3. Growing up we believed in St. Nicholas and didn't know my father was pretending. We would put our shoes by the fireplace before we'd go to sleep and leave water and cookies for the "white horse". In the morning we'd run down and hope there was a gift in the shoes. I remember when I finally realised it was my Mom and Dad pretending to be St. Nicholas because I had counted the cookies in our cookie jar and there had been eight cookies the night before ( minus the 2 on the plate for the white horse) and Christmas morning ten cookies were back in the jar!
What is the dessert?
Dutch Apple Pie
Who would you want to eat this last dessert with and where?
I hope to eat it with all my good friends and family. I can't even say one person. I would just love to share it sitting somewhere cosy in one of the coffee shops outside on the canal in Amsterdam with boats and people going by.
What comes to your mind when i say the word FOOD?
Happiness, exploration, discovery and mouth-watering.
Profession:
Make up Artist and Fine Arts Painter
Best advice anyone has ever given you?
When I was considering to change my profession as a make up artist and become a reflexologist told me - an old friend said to me, "as long as you are in NYC you must always be a make-up artist!" - it was the best advice.
What is your favorite object I can find in your kitchen?
My Japanese teapot - I love making Earl Grey tea
What is your favorite quote?
"I belong to no religion, my religion is love and every heart is my temple." - Rumi
Where do you see yourself in 20 years:
Definitely baking a Dutch apple pie for another 20 years. Waking up to a sunny blue sky, ocean not too far away, and surrounded by the people and places that I love. To know that I lived a rich and satisfying life. To have loved and been loved.
The three most important things in your life?
1. My Dutch passport
2. Organic produce
3. Paints and Brushes
