Word: haying
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...Donna Hay slips a silky panna cotta out of a ramekin and onto a snow white plate. A drizzle of espresso syrup and, snap, her food photographer gets the shot. Hay, still unsatisfied with the way it looks, studiously removes a drop of syrup with a Q-Tip. No wonder Martha Stewart once offered her a job. But the 34-year-old Australian, who oversees a Sydney-based multimedia lifestyle business that includes a magazine, best-selling cookbooks and an upcoming line of housewares, declined the homemaking maven's offer...
Like most of the Martha wannabes who have been grabbing the spotlight since Stewart was indicted, Hay has a decidedly different gestalt. She may be a driven, ambitious perfectionist, but Hay would never embroider a sampler or make marshmallows at home. Her success is based on the premise that you can cook with as many shortcuts as possible. And that's a good thing...
...crop of contenders that has sprung up in the wake of Martha's mess is staggering. As well as "Down Under Martha" (Hay), there's "lowbrow Martha" (Semi-Homemade's Sandra Lee), "pioneer Martha" (MaryJane Butters of Moscow, Idaho), "Gen X Martha" (Katie Brown) and, following the launch of her Kmart clothing and home collection, Thalia Sodi, who will debut a magazine this month that will crown her "Latina Martha." There's even a host of "anti-Marthas," including Dan Ho, whose Rescue magazine is pitched to those in "Martha recovery." While they all tout their own particular niche, what...
Down in Australia, Donna Hay's aesthetic is the opposite of defiantly shabby. The world of her books, including Off the Shelf and Modern Classics, and of an eponymous magazine--which has achieved cult status among U.S. foodies despite being so out of season with the northern hemisphere--is more minimal than Martha's. But any hint of unpalatable perfection is punctured by the Aussie herself, whose longtime companion, Bill Wilson, is the local butcher...
...show. "The next Martha? Who knows. Not impossible," says Ruth Reichl, the editor in chief of Gourmet magazine. "She's the only one who is a cook, a stylist and a businesswoman." Barbara Fairchild, the editor in chief of Bon Appetit, is equally impressed. She describes Hay as "such a down-to-earth person. She's not Martha, and I think a lot more people can identify with her. She struck me as someone who would be pretty easy to get along with...