Roberto Debono and Clifford Spiteri Cornish met in 2002. Spiteri Cornish was working as cabin crew during the summer, while reading for an engineering degree while Debono used to, and still does, work as cabin crew.

It comes as no surprise that the couple, who got married in June this year, love travelling together. Their travel itinerary includes places in Southeast Asia, South America, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. One of the joys of travel is definitely trying out new food and the two love wining and dining. They also love entertaining and often cook together.

“It comes naturally for us to each prepare a dish, or part of it, and then assemble everything just before serving. Sometimes we don’t even plan who will do what and it just works,” they say.

“Our cooking is always improving as we are always practising. We love entertaining and usually whenever there is a family event, we are definitely in charge. We have been living together for 12 years and since we were the first from most of our friends to have a house, they were always welcome. And that meant lots of food, which we were always eager to prepare.”

The two speak about their cooking life together.

Roberto Debono

“We don’t have a set routine,” Debono says. “Breakfast is always a must. Cliff doesn’t exactly function properly in the morning, so it’s always my turn to prepare it. Dinner and lunch are pretty much standard if we are eating at home. Lunch is usually salad as this can easily be taken to work.”

Both my parents and my grandmother were always into cooking and entertaining for the entire extended family

Debono says that his favourite dishes are salads, soups and anything that can be prepared quickly like stir-fries.

“We avoid pasta and bread at home and base our diets on high protein and fat. Evenings vary, and when we are not eating out, we just improvise. In reality, when one of us is out, the other cooks, and we have no plan. There are times, however, when we are both home and one does not feel like doing anything and the other has to prepare dinner. In most cases that would be Cliff not feeling like cooking, and me stirring away in kitchen.”

Debono’s cooking roots are nurtured by a long tradition.

“Both my parents and grandmother were always into cooking and entertaining for the entire extended family. I used to be fascinated and I guess that was when my interest in cooking started. By the age of 23 I decided to go vegetarian. I guess it was this challenge that fuelled my passion for cooking. For the past five years or so I have been eating fish to reduce carb intake from pasta.”

Debono’s strong dishes are homemade ravioli and stuffed pasta, followed by crème brûlée for dessert.

“Cooking can translate into powerful emotions. I will never forget, back when I was strictly vegetarian, when I cooked salmon for Cliff, even though this went against what I believed in. Cliff got very emotional, and although I’m not supposed to say this, he cried.”

Clifford Spiteri Cornish

“My favourite dishes are stews, desserts, and pretty much anything that involves slow cooking,” Spiteri Cornish says. “I especially love preparing bouillabaisse, prawn bisque to accompany Rob’s homemade pasta, and slow cooked lamb.

“I used to attend St Aloysius College, where we used to have Wednesdays off. So as a young boy, after doing all the chores my mother used to leave for me, I would prepare lunch for the family. At first I started with basic things my mother taught me. Then I discovered her cookbooks and started preparing new dishes. With time, I started being more creative. I would take an idea from a book and give it my own twist.”

I got distracted and accidentally followed two different recipes for the tart

However, that twist not always tasted great.

“I will never forget a particular incident when we decided to cook an almond tart at my mum’s at 10 pm. My mother went berserk. We were fooling around with the rest of the family and I got distracted and accidentally followed two different recipes for the tart. The result? The eggs completely separated from the almonds and I can’t even bring myself to remember what the taste was like.

“And who can forget one particular Christmas lunch? I had fractured my ankle a few days before, but I was still determined to cook for the whole family. All was going well until it was time to serve venison with red wine jus. Of course, this takes hours on end to prepare. Just before serving, I spilled all the sauce as I could not manage to walk properly and I insisted on doing it on my own. Years later, everyone is still waiting for the sauce.”

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