Hungry? Here’s something I prepared earlier – now fully cooked and ready to share. Ta-dah!
If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been pretty absent from this blog for the last year, this is the reason (it turns out juggling writing a book with a family and a full-time job is quite time-consuming). Homecooked is a collection of seriously cookable recipes for every New Zealand season and every occasion.
Obviously I can’t talk about it with any objectivity, but the press release says it’s “beautiful, honest and useful”, which is exactly what I want a cookbook with my name on the front to be. It’s been an absolute labour of love (plus many, many late nights, early mornings, and copious amounts of Whittaker’s 72% Dark Ghana Chocolate).
I wrote all 65,000 words of Homecooked, but I had a lot of help in making it happen. Enormous thanks to Claire Murdoch at Penguin NZ for understanding my love for honest, useful home cooking and encouraging me to bring it to life with the aid of her incredible team. Heartfelt thanks too to Evie Kemp for the stunning cover and illustrations.
Homecooked would be nothing without the work of Carolyn Robertson, who did the gorgeous photographs and styling. I basically moved in with Caro and her family over the summer, completely upending their kitchen renovation plans and forcing her to spend a lot of time at tip shops looking for props. Not only is she massively talented, she is also a saint with a great taste in bad 90s music. When we first worked together at the Waikato Times nearly 20 years ago we often dreamed up mad schemes and plans. I think this exceeds all of them!
Homecooked is a book about food but to me it’s also a book about whānau near and far. I couldn’t have written it without mine – and I hope it encourages you to cook for yours. It’s available now from all good booksellers in Aotearoa (or try Book Depository if you’re further afield).
Congratulations on the book. I’m truly impressed by the amount of work this must have needed. I hope it sells in truckloads – no, I hope it sells in containershiploads.
Author
Thanks Phil! Container loads would be nice… but I’ll settle for a truckload!
Congratulations
Double peanut brownie cheesecake looks good.
David (Cousin to Jenny)
Author
Thank you! It truly is…
Well I’m definitely going to buy and may I say, your Perspective column in today’s Sunday magazine was really delightful!!
Such a lovely read x. Good luck with the book sales.
Author
Thank you so much!
Congratulations on writing a cookbook between family and a job! Fantastic achievement. I hope it is selling in Australian bookshops. Those recipes and photos in the post look amazing!
Author
Thank you! I think at the moment it’s available in AU via the dreaded Amazon or Book Depository (the benign face of the dreaded Amazon). Hope you’re well x
Congratulations, Lucy! It takes long months of intense work to get a book to market. But, if NZ publishing is anything like US publishing, now even more work begins—getting out there and promoting it! Best wishes. Pinning and tweeting.
Author
Thank you so much Jean! Yes – it’s a very lengthy process.
It’s a great book – I am delighted to see it out there in the wild! Thanks heaps – it’s much easier to have a book, rather than all the scrappy bits of paper with recipes printed off your blog. Looking forward to a signing event…
Author
Thank you, that’s so kind!
Terrific book – lovely style, great structure, really good blend of the imaginative and the everyday, nice quirky tips and asides. Straight into my top 5, already bristling with bookmarks. Cracker!
Author
Thank you, this has made my day!