Welcome to the second version of a brand new sequence referred to as The Issues We Do, the place I share tales of what my crew and I rise up to outdoors the kitchen! Group offsites, debut dwell cooking present, a brand new starter at RecipeTin Meals, a particular reader dinner….and MOVING.
Life has been full!
We don’t simply cook dinner anymore!
9 years in the past, I began this little web site with simply Dozer as my right-hand man, sharing recipes I created in my single-bench Ikea kitchen.
At this time, RecipeTin is a crew of 10, together with an precise skilled actual Chef who works alongside me on daily basis (JB!). I’ve a foodbank, RecipeTin Meals, the place we make over 100,000 selfmade meals yearly which we donate to the much less lucky. I made a cookbook. And it appears lately, I’m a weekly columnist for a meals publication and we additionally do meals present occasions. ????
So I believed it is perhaps good to share some behind the scenes of what my crew and I rise up to outdoors the kitchen. Right here’s some issues we’ve carried out since the final version of The Issues We Do!
We had a crew off-site
With the quick tempo of the enterprise and number of new issues we’ve been doing over the previous yr (e-book excursions! occasions! charity!), I felt it was necessary to convey my entire crew collectively and do a presentation on objectives and imaginative and prescient for RecipeTin, and the necessary half they’d play in it.
It was a uncommon event to convey each the RTE and RTM aspect of my enterprise collectively for greater than only a crew lunch. So to profit from it, I held the convention within the Hunter Valley, a wine area 2 hours drive from Sydney.
This was a convention, the RecipeTin Approach! We tried the official group photograph. Simply….awkward….
That is extra prefer it!
As a lot enjoyable because the crew bonding / play half was, the presentation half was critical. It took me many hours to place it collectively and it was price each minute. We left the convention a stronger crew than ever.
However on the subject of the enjoyable – right here’s just a little residence film of the RecipeTin Convention 2023!
We did a photoshoot at RTM
I employed a skilled photographer to do a photoshoot at RTM to seize “official” photographs for the RTM web site that we’re constructing. We obtained some nice pictures – even half respectable ones of me!
However then Barl, our Fijian care-bear, resigned to pursue one other profession, so we have now to do it yet again. The boys are going to be thrilled once they learn that! ????
There was one other photograph shoot
Oh sure, and in the course of the RTM shoot, I needed to duck out to get a photograph taken for a information article asserting that I’m touring Australia with the Good Meals & Wine Present! It was a wierd day. Extra on the present beneath….
Then the Higher Houses & Gardens TV crew took over my home!
The Higher Houses & Gardens TV present got here to my home! They spent a day filming a “day within the lifetime of” in my residence then visited RTM the following day to do filming there as effectively. It was surreal!! You possibly can watch the episode right here. I’m at the start, center and finish.
Additionally – everybody in my crew is now formally in love with Johanna Griggs, the host. She’s as good as she comes throughout on TV and ten occasions extra hilarious!!
There was extra TV…..
Then…2 days after that, we (Chef JB and I) have been again in a TV studio doing a dwell section to announce our new weekly recipe column in Good Meals Australia. Right here we’re on the Channel 9 At this time Present. I can’t even bear in mind what we made that day!!!
Simply on that weekly column….
So, on the subject of my weekly Good Meals column! It’s referred to as “SOS” and can characteristic a recipe that may feed 4 folks for lower than $20, or will be made in lower than half-hour with fewer than 12 elements.
These recipes are unique to Good Meals and within the Good Meals raise out in Tuesday’s Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne’s The Age newspapers. So that they received’t be on my web site – ever (sadly).
My hope is that it’s going to encourage extra folks to ditch overpriced heat-and-eat model dinners, get monetary savings, and eat extra scrumptious meals! Right here’s a preview of a few of the recipes I’ve shared:
Oh and look! They even put me on the quilt of the Sydney Morning Herald on the day they made the announcement. It was a BIG DEAL!!! (Please Dozer, might you present some assist).
Then there was that fancy dinner!
When you instructed me 12 months in the past {that a} hatted restaurant in Sydney would create a one-night-only menu impressed by recipes from my cookbook, I in all probability would’ve snorted then choked on my espresso (being the elegant lass that I’m).
But it surely did occur, and we even made just a little residence film about it so you may see that I truly wore a frock. This was for an unique Good Meals subscriber dinner to have fun the launch of the new-look Good Meals!
And right here’s JB and I with the extremely gifted government Chef at The Gantry, Rhys Connell – the posed shot and the collaborating shot!
Oh, there was additionally the little matter that I used to be sitting subsequent to a few of the strongest and influential media and meals journalists in Australia. Rattling, I want I knew the big-big boss was going to be there, I’d’ve brushed up on my present affairs. ????
Cookbook launch within the UK and US!
My cookbook was launched abroad within the US, UK, Canada and Eire!! By no means imagined in one million years that such a factor would occur. Someone pinch me!!
Launching the e-book within the US was enjoyable, with a 1 hour dwell stream hosted by Premiere Collectibles who promote autographed books. It was presupposed to be a dwell stream for me to signal books – so folks might see they have been genuine signatures – however I obtained moderately sidetracked answering questions and taking viewers on a tour of my home and forgot to signal them on digital camera. Oops!
The dwell stream was recorded so you may watch it right here.
Thanks once more to all of the readers abroad who despatched by means of photographs of my e-book abroad!! Beloved seeing them in bookstores on the opposite aspect of the world.
Oh, there was additionally that little matter of my cookbook making the New York Occasions finest vendor checklist. Spoiler: there have been tears.
Debut dwell cook dinner present in Melbourne!
I arrived residence at midnight final evening after 5 days in Melbourne doing my debut dwell cooking present on the Good Meals & Wine Present with RecipeTin’s very personal Chef JB Alexandre!! We did a forty five minute present cooking 3 dishes as an indication of how one can make a big-impact unfold with pace!
WOW what an expertise. Greater than 25,000 folks got here to the Good Meals & Wine Present over 3 days and we have been doing our present on the principle stage, adopted by a e-book signing / meet & greet.
I can actually say I’ve by no means been so nervous earlier than in my life! I actually couldn’t discuss within the minutes main as much as occurring stage and I feel I went to the bathroom 5 occasions in 20 minutes. ????
However the minute we went on stage the nerves utterly disappeared. It was like chatting to buddies whereas I cooked – I used to be simply lacking a glass of wine. (Or, was I….?? ????).
JB – what a champ. Not one for public talking and having not carried out something like this earlier than, but he completely nailed it. So proud to have carried out my first dwell cooking present with him by my aspect!
And in reality, JB was doing e-book signings with me all through the entire present. By the top of the third day, we needed to get him his personal desk as a result of his queue was banked up!!
And in the event you’re questioning about my OTHER sidekick – he was there in spirit. In 2D type!
Right here’s just a little residence film we made:
What we made for our present – “Cooking up a storm, the RecipeTin Approach”: Vietnamese Shaking Beef (cookbook unique), Singapore Chilli Prawns/Shrimp (created particularly for the present!), Coconut Rice and Smashed Cucumber Salad.
Click on right here for present dates in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth!
And eventually…why I moved.
In amongst the entire above, I bought my dream residence and moved!
Till 3 weeks in the past, I lived in Sydney’s lovely Northern Seashores and have now moved again to the Ryde space of Sydney the place I lived for 10 years. I’m now a lot nearer to town (50 minutes vs quarter-hour), a lot nearer to plentiful (good!) Asian meals, however a lot farther from the seaside.
My former residence was objective constructed for my enterprise. It had 3 kitchens: 2 for work and 1 in my non-public dwelling quarters, my dream kitchen purpose-built to my bizarre specs I by no means imagined I’d ever have.
Promoting it and leaving the Northern Seashores space was a tragic and hard determination. So why did I do it?
Right here’s why I left my dream residence
I bought my dream residence as a result of:
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I must separate work from life.
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I want and need to be nearer to my meals financial institution.
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I plan to maneuver my meals financial institution to a (a lot) bigger kitchen within the Ryde space.
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I must launch capital to construct my meals financial institution and my workplace.
I can’t be trusted with my workplace beneath my lounge….
If I reduce to the chase, the transfer is pushed by my need to maneuver RTM from the present small kitchen we have now on the perimeter of Sydney CBD to a bigger kitchen, and I would like that kitchen to be within the Ryde space. It’s a wonderful location to service the entire of Sydney and for actual property value causes.
It’s additionally a “rip the bandaid off” method to attempt to enhance my work-life stability. I’ve been very open about how I’ve been combating dealing with my workload as my enterprise has grown. And the way the cookbook, whereas I have fun in all its successes, was the toughest factor I’ve ever labored on in my life. It didn’t break me, however I rattling effectively labored myself into the bottom to the purpose of being unhealthy.
It’s only a plain undeniable fact that I’m not the type of one who will be trusted with my workplace beneath my lounge. Too simple to entry and work an excessive amount of!
However, I’ve been faffing round. I didn’t need to depart the northern seashores or my residence. I used to be half-heartedly in search of someplace to hire close to Ryde – however probably not.
It took a giant kick up my bum by my enterprise coach to get cracking! So I took the “rip the bandaid-off” method and bought my home with out realizing the place I used to be transferring.
That definitely obtained me going to discover a new home!!!
So right here we’re on transfer day – feeding folks proper as much as the final minute.
And right here have been are, unpacking within the new place. And – feeding folks, earlier than we’ve unpacked!
Removalist suggestion (Sydney) – Double J Removals 1800 830 506. Quick. Skilled. Entertaining. Pleasant. Useful.
So what now?
I drastically downsized. I’m presently in a rental within the Ryde space with 1 moderately than 3 kitchens (#FirstWorldProblems!). There will probably be an adjustment interval. I want to determine my new workflow. I really feel greater than ever like I’m dwelling at work as a result of there is no such thing as a separation between my private area and work.
Issues will get just a little more durable earlier than they get higher, I do know that.
However I’m within the space I must be. Boots on the bottom, as I say, to pound the pavement to discover a new kitchen for RTM. To discover a location for my work-kitchen which will probably be completely for work, and just for work.
And to discover a residence that’s work-free. No images or video studio!
I’m so excited in regards to the yr to return. Constructing a brand new kitchen for RTM – larger area! Higher tools! Donating extra meals!! ????????
Constructing a purpose-built “house-office” for this distinctive no-other-business-like-it factor we name RecipeTin! A artistic hub the place I can create and experiment with new recipes, the place I can {photograph}, write and movie recipe movies. A spot massive sufficient to host lunches and dinners, a spot I can invite readers to dine with us – hopefully!
And, discovering a house I can escape to on evenings and weekends. Work free.
2023 is THE yr! – Nagi x
Lifetime of Dozer
Ultimate sundown stroll at Bayview canine park the night earlier than we moved out.
However actually, there was zero adjustment interval for Mr Dozer. So long as he will get treats and is with me, he’s as blissful as will be. Canines are the BEST! ❤️