In her new memoir, magazine doyenne Jane
Raphaely shares the story of her remarkable life. And here, exclusively for
Taste, she shares the coveted recipe for her famous chicken soups, as much a
tonic for the spirit as it is for the body
Recognized as one of the Women of Our Time
and recipient of the Media Innovator of the Year and Businesswoman of the year
awards, magazine mastermind Jane Raphaely has led nothing short of an
extraordinary life. in her new memoir, currently selling like hot cake, she
reveals how she got to the top of highly competitive, formerly male-dominated
industry and, far from being the Devil in Prada, she shares the touching, often
hilarious, aspects of her incredible journey and the many people, including
cherished colleagues, who have been a part of it.
Jane
Raphaely
A consummate mother hen known for her
infinite kindness, Jane’s nourishing chicken broth, which she delivers to
colleagues needing a little TLC, is the stuff of legend. Former editor of
Femina magazine, Clare O’Donoghue, recalls receiving a giant margarine tub of
the potent elixir when she was struck down with flu: “years later when my Dad
passed away, a man arrived at the door with a telltale Flora tub – it was still
warm. This wasn’t just soup for the soul… it was soup from the soul.”
“Ever the lady”, Jane prescribed the wonder
broth when enquiring after her family’s health, says Stefania Johnson, former
editor of House and Leisure: “On hearing my husband had flu, she promptly
dispatched a two-litre dose of her legendary cure-all”
Ann Ellis-Brown, deputy editor ò
Cosmopolitan, also received a tub when she contracted pneumonia: “It was so
delicious that my husband insisted on sharing my ‘penicillin’. Any medical
value aside, it was incredibly comforting – like a mother’s hug for a sick
child.’
Even Taste’s own Sumien Brink has had the
privilege of sampling the magic broth: “Once, after a nasty fall, Jane
delivered a Tupperware filled with the golden soup. My children couldn’t
believe their eyes – they only knew chicken soup to be a pale broth afloat with
tiny noddles. Needless to say, I was up and going in no time.”
Jane’s Chicken Soup
Jane’s
Chicken Soup
“Serve the soup as hot as possible – as
Jewish philosopher and physician Maimonides said, ‘Chicken soup is medicine and
should be inhaled, as well as drunk.’” – Jane Raphaely
Place 1 free-range chicken (with feet and
giblets), 500 g beef shin (bone in), 1 bunch celery (leaves, too), 1 gem
squash, halved, ½ clove peeled garlic (optional), 1 knob ginger, peeled and
sliced, and 2 large potatoes, 2 large onions, 2 turnips, 6 carrots and 3 ripe
tomatoes, all peeled and chopped, into a heavy saucepan. Add 4 T NoMu chicken
fond (stock), cover with water, season and top with a tightly fitting lid.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is falling off
the bone and the shin is soft and colorless, around 2 hours. Remove the bones
and celery strings, blend and serve piping hot. Serves 12 to 14
