Damon Gameau was already a well respected Aussie actor before taking a chance and filming himself in an experiment around the effects of sugar in our diet. He wasn’t sure the film would even make it to the public – he certainly was not aware of the effects on his body that the experiment would have, and he definitely did not think that he would become a Food Advocate – highlighting the importance of eating ‘real food’, mostly vegetables and fruits and certainly limiting or cutting out the processed stuff.

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Nadia Lim is a household name due not only to her huge success as winner of MasterChefNZ in 2012 but also as the face of My Food Bag, a recipe and delivery grocery service in NZ.

In more recent times she has launched her own magazine entitled “Nadia” and is the author of 5 cookbooks plus another on the way.

Together we chat about our shared passion for cooking and Nadia’s determination and zeal to win the Master Chef competition in order to jump start the career she always dreamed of. 

This is an inspirational journey of nutrition, food, cooking, motherhood and most of all a story of a girl following her dream to the true height of success.

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For more info or to keep up with Nadia, visit her on facebook and twitter or a video on how to make gluten-Free Banana, Coconut and Lemon Loaf.

Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

Recipe of the week: Breakfast pie by Nadia Lim

Preheat oven to 200°C.

1. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until big enough to line a 28cm pie dish with the pastry overhanging the edges a little. Line dish with pastry but don’t trim the edges – the overhangs will be folded over the pie later (so it’s nice and rustic and we don’t waste any pastry).
2. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook bacon for a few minutes, then add onion and cook for a further 4-5 minutes until soft. Scrape out and set aside.
3. Add another drizzle of oil to frying pan and cook sliced mushrooms for about 5 minutes until soft and all the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated (the less moisture in the pan, the better).
4. Whisk sour cream with half the milk until smooth, then whisk in remaining milk, then eggs, parmesan, thyme, a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk until smooth.
5. Scatter bacon, onion and mushrooms over pastry. Pour egg mixture on top. Arrange cherry tomatoes (cut-side up) over surface, dot with pesto and sprinkle with extra parmesan. Fold over any overhanging pastry and brush pastry with a little milk or beaten egg.
6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is just set. Allow to sit in the pie dish for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
7. Serve with a leafy green salad and avocado with some chutney (or good old tomato sauce) on the side.

Top tips:

• Pastry is easiest to work with when cold; if it’s too warm, it can melt and become difficult to handle. If pastry is frozen, defrost on bench then refrigerate till needed (or defrost overnight in fridge).
• Instead of bacon, you could use sausage (breakfast sausages or leftover ones), or a combination of both.
• Never wash mushrooms in water – you want to avoid moisture soaking into them. Instead, brush or wipe off dirt with a pastry brush or paper towels; don’t forget, a little dirt never hurt anyone. Trim a little off the stalks, too.

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Ness pictured in Tasmania with Glen Shackcloth

Glen Shackcloth is a wonderful, yet self taught, seafood Chef. He won’t tell you this himself as he is far too humble – but I am allowed to say it!  

Glen has grown up by the water in Tasmania, Australia and as a child he aspired to be a deep sea diver. His passion for diving and for the sea is obvious in our chat and reflects his whole determination to protect the environment and to preserve the beauty of the wilderness and surrounds that he has been lucky enough to call home.  

 For years, he earned his money diving for the prized Aussie abalone – a cousin to the Kiwi Paua – and he shares his journey of diving along with his best tips for cooking with abalone. He has a deep knowledge of the industry and loves to share stories with others. I am thrilled he agreed to be a guest on my podcast this week.

I have also shared a fun little addition to this episode where I side step briefly to my quick stop in Melbourne and share a walk down one of the known, famed Melbourne lanes.  I will be returning to Melbourne in March 2017 for some wonderful interview opportunities so view this as a little appetizer of what is to come.

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Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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This week’s special guest is Renee Wright, a friendly and glamourous television presenter and producer for TVNZ. Also an ambassador for Ronald McDonald House in Auckland and a busy mother of three little ones – she made time to chat about family, her food travel experiences and much more.

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Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Eric and Sonya are the owners of Auckland’s most beautiful cooking school location – Main Course. Set in the historic old gas works building in Beaumont Street this is a venue I frequently use when hosting my Fearless Kitchen: Corporate Team Build Events.

Find out more and keep up with Main Course on Facebook here.

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Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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I met Quinn four years ago as a cancer patient and resident of Ronald McDonald House in Auckland. I was immediately drawn to her engaging personality and dogged determination to beat the disease. At only 7 years of age she was a powerhouse and I fell in love with her as we cooked together and ate together.

It was a privilege to visit her school in Palmerston North and cook with all the senior primary students.

It was also wonderful to be able to interview Leigh who is the founder of the Kind Hearts Movement –  which is about inspiring and initiating a kinder world through acts of unconditional kindness. Their most recent cookbook is in honour of Quinn and her family.

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Check out my recent video chat with Quinn!

Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Kiara Ashanti is an author and a man passionate to the core about following through his ideas. In this podcast we chat around his decision to research the traditional Thanksgiving meal as it was first eaten.  Not only did he wish to discover as much as he could about it but he also was determined to recreate it – and the ‘old fashioned’ way.

The book is a wonderful read – educational and insightful yet full of humour and a window in Kiara himself.  Our chat was fun and lively and I discovered more about Kiara, his growing of vegies in a community garden, his decision to go hunting for duck, the negotiations with his friends and the influences of food in his family. His book; America’s First Feast is available on Amazon.

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Thanks for listening to Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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In this podcast I sat down with Will Fleming and his lovely wife Moni to chat about intercultural family life and how they, along with their children, celebrate food and meal times together.

Will is a husband, Dad and works full time but he has a mission which he ponders in his spare time – looking for the missing link to being a happy human!

This interview was conducted mid 2016 and Will had just made the difficult decision to take a break from hosting “My Kiwi Life” – a NZ podcast where Will interviews influential Kiwis and discusses life in an attempt to pinpoint what makes people tick.

It was Will and his podcast that inspired me to commence my own journey in hosting a podcast and I was thrilled to have him on my show. He and Moni are regular, down to earth and a humble team, trying to pull life together with two active sons.

The kids joined us in our interview too and loved the finale of the ‘either/or’ question time.

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Thanks for listening to Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Irene Jansen has been a lifestyle chef in Singapore since 2005.

She started with contributing recipes to magazines and conducting cooking classes for small interest groups.

The idea to start a culinary consultancy was sparked when Irene made a visit to the pediatric ward in a Singapore hospital and noticed many children were ill due to the lack of good nutrition. She wondered if more mothers were to adopt the mindset of cooking at home more often, then their kids would be better nourished.

And so – Culinary Adventures was established. Irene made it her mission to bring cooking back into the home kitchen and make cooking quick and easy to cater to busy working mothers like herself.

She conducts live food demonstrations for magazines and schools in Singapore and writes food reviews.

Irene ultimately married her passion for singing and cooking with “The Singing Chef”, a live culinary musical performance which involves whipping up delicious dishes whilst singing out the recipes.

Get the podcast here:

• Download or Listen to Episode 29 directly
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Thanks for listening to Food, Family & Friends Podcast, hosted by Vanessa Baxter and brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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