Interview with blogger Doreen Düe
"Boiling and baking in a motor home is an organisational matter."
A call to Doreen Düe, who has been living and cooking in a motor home with her partner for ten years.Three years of absence - this was the plan of Doreen Düe and Sven Mohr in 2011. Since then, they have not moved out of their mobile home. And have learned to improvise in confined spaces. This is especially true for cooking. Doreen Düe now runs a blog and has published several cookbooks. We're launching twenty of their best recipes on the motorhome couch - and two brand new ones.
Hello Mrs. Düe, where can we reach you right now?
Right in the northeast of Portugal, on the border with Spain. I look through the open door into the sun and the mountainous landscape, where we are over 800 metres high.
You and your husband live permanently in a motor home, how did this come about?
First of all, we had it planned as a three-year project: we wanted to change our lives, do something else, do something that is important to us. Previously, we had permanent jobs and a nice home. First, we thought about emigrants, but motorhomes are better: you get out and around!
Have you often taken camping holidays before?
No, it was never completely new territory for us.
„Baking is a challenge in motor homes. “
In other words, the topic of cooking in motor homes.
Yes, and twice: I didn't cook much, I actually learned it correctly in a motorhome. But I had a lot of fun with it right from the start.
What are the special challenges of mobile home kitchens?
Baking! Many motorhomes do not have an oven or only one of poor quality. I'm thrilled with the Omnia oven that you simply place on the stove. I use it to bake everything, cakes, pastries, bread. Especially when travelling to southern countries for longer periods of time, you miss very dark or wholegrain bread.
Isn't the confined space the biggest difficulty for cooking in motorhomes?
Ultimately, it is a question of organisation, but that is the whole life in motor homes. Sometimes the bed has to hold up as a shelf and the partner has to go outside.
„You can also dry the meringue in the windscreen. “
Are there things that don't work at all?
Yes, very thin pastries that belong on a baking tray. But I've already baked cookies in the pan, that's possible.
You are an improvisation artist!
(Laughs) Maybe, yes, I've dried the meringue in the windshield, made pizza in the pan and made bread in the pot. There's a lot going on when you think a little bit.
What about the odours?
Yes, this is a big topic for motorhome owners, which is why many people never or rarely cook. Rarely have we never had an unpleasant smell, even though I fry a lot, there are even French fries or doughnuts in the fat time and again. You have to ventilate well, I cook directly at the open sliding door, because that absorbs it very well.
Do you also cook for others?
I've already cooked eight people from a mobile home, and that's possible. Even if we are only two people, I usually cook for several days in advance.
"I still have a long list of recipes to try."
Perhaps you also have a lot of regional specialities on the table?
Yes, I get inspired by every country we are in, try new recipes, get to know special ingredients. In summer we mostly drive through Portugal and northern Spain, and in winter we are often in Morocco. We really like the kitchen in both areas. But even spaetzle and dumplings often get on the table, and they're not ready to buy there, so I have to prepare them myself.
How did you come up with the idea for your blog?
Cooking is always an issue on the campsite, and I was often asked how I do what. With my blog I want to show what's going on in the confined space of a mobile home kitchen and how to cook very delicious there.
Do you also go to the restaurant?
Very rarely, we are mostly away from places in nature. What's more, it usually tastes better at home, and I still have a long list of recipes to try.
And what are your favourite recipes?
Yeast snails with blackberry filling, Moroccan omelette, pan-fried flatbread, mango cake, chickpea soup, coffee spread, quiche, you can see that is a cross beet. I have put together twenty of my best recipes and two brand new ones for the mobile travel couch.
Thank you very much for the interview and good appetite!
Find out more
interview: Gerd Henghuber
