I grew up in Rheinberg, a small town near Düsseldorf, with three siblings. My earliest memories are of my grandmother’s house. My mother was usually there too, helping to run the family business with her and her great-grandmother. I’d often watch them peel potatoes while my mother worked in the office. It was three women running it all – probably the first time I experienced female power. Lots of my first memories were in our garden, feeding the neighbour’s cat, lying in the hammock, swinging too high on the swings and cleaning [my Wendy house] Villa Claudia, which my parents had built for me. With its colourful ’70s wooden shutters, it looked like Pippi Longstocking lived there – my favourite character growing up.
My parents entertained a lot when I was growing up. Friends often visited for meals. My mother made everything fresh herself and was an incredible cook. Sadly, I didn’t inherit that talent, although I can copy a few of her dishes – her apple pancakes with icing sugar, marble cake, schnitzel and spaghetti Bolognese. I remember this one time when she bought crates of fresh crabs for a dinner she was hosting for friends the next day. She forgot to close the basement door and when I came down for breakfast the next morning, the crabs had escaped and were roaming around the living room!
I remember the first time I tried Marmite on toast. As a German, Marmite’s salty yeast flavour was utterly alien. When I met my future husband, Matthew, he suggested I simply had not tried it in the ‘right’ way: thinly spread on buttered sourdough toast with strong tea, milk and lots of sugar. I became obsessed and it’s since become my favourite treat, followed by a traditional English eggs, bacon and sausage breakfast. I’ve happily embraced the English tradition of drinking tea since settling here.
Family traditions are key. We’ve established a tradition of celebrating Halloween and Guy Fawkes with a large bonfire and fireworks, as well as hosting themed New Year’s Eve parties. I love the way it way it brings families together. Christmas is also huge for us and the cosiest time at home, with my wooden-carved German ornaments displayed everywhere.
I can’t cook, but I did pick up a few dishes from my late mother. Roasted salmon with veggies, salad and anchovies, and lamb are my go-tos, which I have nearly every day. I remember as a little girl my mother taking me to the GP, saying that I ate very little and what should she do? The doctor enquired about what I did like to eat and my mother answered Bolognese. ‘So then make spaghetti Bolognese every day for her,’ he advised in a pragmatic way. It is still one of my favourite dishes, which I make with organic plum tomatoes, beef mince, onions, celery, garlic, red wine and a squirt of ketchup. My children grew up on it too.
Schnitzel reminds me most of family. I prepare it at my house with an almond instead of breadcrumb crust. I remember my mother saving up all the dried-up bread and pasting whisked egg around the chicken before rolling over the crumbs – the crunch and the tender meat was delicious. I miss those very traditional things that I grew up with: breaded chicken with fried potatoes, herring with sour cream and potatoes, white asparagus with ham, potatoes, butter sauce and sauerkraut – and many more.
My go-to dinner party dish is a large informal buffet, for everyone to help themselves. My favourite is Italian-themed with burrata and tomatoes, beautiful Italian olive oil and vinegar, freshly made focaccia, chicken Milanese, mushroom risotto, spaghetti pomodoro, green salad, Italian cured sausages and parma ham with pickles. Then tiramisu for dessert followed by an espresso or fresh mint tea. We also offer an Italian wine – my favourite is Sassicaia – and I use all the bowls, crockery and vases I’ve designed for my Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro collections. My perfect dinners are at home with close friends. I love lighting all my many candles and putting fresh flowers in all my vases.
My tablescaping tip is to keep everything relaxed and informal, but always looking interesting and inviting. I love curating the dining table, mixing the porcelain and ceramics, adding lit cream candles and my brown Prada glasses. I use the acorn porcelain collection, which has lots of different browns, and add in the ceramics like the large mushrooms, the jugs with woodpeckers and the leaves in burnt orange, greens and red. Then I have hydrangeas in green and red in large glass vases, some oak wooden boards for butter and some wooden butter knives to make it more rustic. I also use brown or cream tablecloths with fall motifs.
My interior style is a modern take on country style. I’m fascinated by art, design and interiors, and in our Suffolk home – an Elizabethan Tudor manor house surrounded by fields and farmland – I’ve brought in light and dark oak furniture, lots of reds and pinks, as well as patterned wallpaper, all juxtaposed with modern art. The house is a nest of cosiness where you can get lost enjoying the warmth of a fireplace, both in winter and a cool summer – a place to feel inspired.
I have a thing for 1,000-thread count, Egyptian cotton sheets. They’re from Soak & Sleep. I also have specific paint colours, for example Conch White, for inside walls. I like to find furniture I love, then figure out afterwards where it can go, or work around artwork. I like building things up organically – it feels more personal and reflective of who we are.
I love sitting in front of the fireplace in the drawing room. I’m usually with a glass of red wine and some cheese, playing backgammon or a game of hearts with Matthew, friends and the kids. My favourite pieces include an artwork called Marry Me by Ed Ruscha, which my husband commissioned and is how he proposed to me, and my collection of tortoises in different stones and crystals. The tortoise represents love and protection.
My new ceramics and porcelain collection, Gudrun, is inspired by the nature I grew up with. Gudrun is my late mother’s name and is dedicated to all my childhood memories connected to the countryside – watching the squirrels from my bedroom window, collecting acorns and drawing on them while my mother gathered the fall leaves. I’ve been drawn to ceramics my whole life and Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro are experts at what they do. I had collected so many of their ceramic pieces that I eventually wanted to connect to the team about their history and explore a collaboration. My first two collections of butterfly-adorned decorative items and dinnerware were so successful that we decided to expand the range further. I’m thinking about expanding into linens as well as glassware.
Gudrun by Claudia Schiffer for Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro is available at vistaalegre.com and bordallopinheiro.com
Photographer Credit: Lucie McCullin
Taken from Grazia Casa, on newsstands now.
Jane McFarland is Grazia’s Associate Editor, overseeing fashion, beauty and luxury content. A fashion journalist for over ten years and previously The Sunday Times Style’s Wardrobe Mistress, Jane loves dissecting trends, discovering new brands and writing about personal style. Follow Jane on Instagram here @Jane_McFarland.