The Things We Do

It’s been 3 months since the last catch up. Here’s what’s been happening!

There was a time 11 years ago when this website was just a girl and her dog – cooking, shooting and writing up recipes.

Things have changed somewhat since then. These days, we’ve got a food bank, there are cookbooks and we’re now a team of 13. And we do a little more than sharing recipes. Here’s what we’ve been up to lately!! 😀

team day!

This is a team day, the RecipeTin way! Why would we do PowerPoint presentations when we can do an Amazing Race??😂

And why would we use arm bands for teams when we can use wigs…..

….capes (Denelle!)….

…and tutus (Herron – my video editor!)….?

And – ladies and gentlemen – my two boss chefs and my mother. 😂

Honestly though, even our powerpoint presentation days are almost as amusing. I really am so fortunate to have such a great team!

The most popular girl at school is … my assistant, Denelle!

Speaking of team, there’s no doubt the most popular person is Denelle, Denelle, Denelle!

I think everyone in the team has been completely caught off guard by the interest in Denelle, my assistant who started with us at the end of March. At every public event we’ve done since she started, people have approached her to ask questions, from what it’s like to work with us to what her background is.

Admittedly, there was one concerning incident when she was cornered in a lift and asked, “What makes you so special?” 😳 But other than that, the attention has been very welcoming and just genuine friendly interest. Denelle is such a great people person, she is happy to talk to everyone.

To be honest, we’re all completely bemused by it because from the inside, we know there is nothing glamorous about what we do! 🤣

I feel incredibly lucky to have Denelle as part of our team. In just over 3 months, she’s become indispensable and I can’t even think how we survived without her.

Oh that’s right, I didn’t – I had to take a step back. 🤪

Plus, she’s a riot. She has a cheeky streak, she’s a self-declared Shazza, fellow dog lover and eats everything.

new starter, ardyn bernoth!

And still on the team, we recently announced the big news that Ardyn Bernoth joined our team! Ardyn is the former national editor of Good Food Australia (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) and brings with her over 20 years of journalism experience.

Meet Ardyn!

I have known Ardyn for almost 5 years from my time as a contributor to Good Food, and she has always expressed an interest to volunteer her time to help with our not-for-profit arm.

Every so often in life, the stars just align. For years, I’ve had an idea for a new RecipeTin Meals initiative that aims to increase the reach of our mission to get meals to those who need it most, but I needed the right person to spearhead the project.

Ardyn is that person. She brings with her all the skills – people, writing, editorial and management – that this role needs, as well as a genuine passion not only for food, but also the not-for-profit arm of our business.

Plus, she’s just cool. And connected. 😈 Every restaurant and every chef in Sydney and Melbourne knows her. We will get the best service whenever we’re with her, and I fully intend to exploit that. 🤣

PS. Not revealing details of the new project yet!! Need to progress it a bit more, but suffice to say we are all very excited by it and it’s a new chapter in the evolution of RecipeTin Meals!

Mum Cha

Ooooh, the Mum Cha event from last weekend! This was such a special lunch we did with Plate It Forward, an extraordinary not-for-profit hospitality group here in Sydney. They have restaurants and a catering division where the profits are used to provide meals to those in need, as well as employment and training to refugees.

Below is JB and I with Shaun Christie-David, the founder of Plate It Forward. We’re at Kyiv Social, a restaurant that is part of the group. He is one of those rare people whose kindness, vision and relentless drive to help others actually changes lives – and he does it all with a smile.

Since meeting Shaun in person, just thinking of him and what he does inspires me to want to do better and help even more people. He has that kind of impact on people.

And now on to the lunch: Wow, what an incredible event! A huge thank you to the amazing Plate It Forward / Kyiv Social team for inviting us to co-host it with you – your passion and energy are unmatched. To everyone who came, thank you for being part of it. The room was full of laughter, great food, and even better company, it was truly something special, and we’re so grateful to have shared it with you.

We can’t stop talking about it and reliving the day!

JB: we are in awe

And JB. I had to create a separate section to acknowledge him properly for everything he did to make the Mum Cha event such a success!

There is not enough space and too many photos for me to properly thank him for going above and beyond planning and preparing for the event, let alone the massive effort he put in on the day.

The many hours of testing and tweaking to turn my mum’s humble home recipes into restaurant-worthy dishes cooked at scale to serve 90 guests. Prepping everything at our RTM kitchen, and transporting it on the morning of the event. Then powering through a huge day of service in an unfamiliar kitchen, with a team he’d never worked with before. And he absolutely nailed it.

Watching him in full chef mode in a restaurant kitchen was seriously cool. I cannot do what he does. It is only because JB is part of the team that we can do events like this, where we cook for guests.

And it is these events that are the most special, that have the most heart, that are the most memorable – for both us and guests!

Leading up to the day, doing all the planning and prep, then particularly on the day, the way he led the team for our dishes you could see his Michelin training shine through in every detail. From the precision to the calm control under pressure, he was undeterred even by the inevitable last-minute changes.

Everyone who saw him in action could tell straight away: he’s a top chef, through and through.

He really hates it when I talk up his background but as I always tell him, if I don’t then who will? He’s too darn humble!

Thank you, JB! I admire your talents so much, and I’m constantly in awe of what you’re capable of. You bring so much dedication and precision to everything you do, and I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside someone as talented as you.

Home sweet home!

I started RecipeTin 11 years ago and for 10 1/2 of those years, my home and office have been under the same roof. In 4 short months however, I will for the first time have a home separate from my office – and I can’t wait! A few more windows and bricks to pop into place, maybe a couple more missing roof tiles to shingle, and a few blades of grass to sow for the lawn. But it’s so close. You can see it, right? 😅

There’s no point sugar-coating it – this project is far larger and more complicated than I imagined. It was entirely my fault for not doing enough due diligence (I’m better with businesses than houses 😅) so I didn’t fully grasp the extent of what could be involved in “just adding a new kitchen” to a heritage house.

As it turns out, with the full replacement of the unsalvageable slate roof, we have now officially either replaced or repaired every single inch of the house.

I don’t want to dwell on the negatives because I fully realise that whining about a renovation with the much bigger problems in this world is completely privileged and superficial. I buckle down and try to do most of the work related to the house outside of work hours – evenings and weekends – but sometimes meetings during the day are unavoidable.

And I cannot lie. I love it. I used to be in property. I swear it’s in my blood. The amount of time I have spent fretting over the perfect shade of blue-grey for the new kitchen ….I’m more than a little embarrassed!

Also, I am happy to report the builders continue to be willing taste-testers. We like sharing food with them because (a) they have hearty appetites; and (b) they just eat everything!

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Now turning to a more serious topic, one that I wasn’t going to include because I like to keep this website a place of positive vibes. But I will because I want to close it out in my own words.

When your most iconic recipe becomes entangled in a murder case

The Erin Patterson trial has been dominating headlines here in Australia, especially after Monday’s verdict that found her guilty of murdering three family members and attempting to kill a fourth, by serving them a Beef Wellington laced with deadly death cap mushrooms.

To my horror, the dish in question was allegedly made using the recipe from my book Dinner. Evidence provided in court included photos of my cookbook in her kitchen with the Beef Wellington pages “well-splattered”, and group chat threads referencing the recipe.

After the verdict came through, there was a period of time when it felt like my phone didn’t stop ringing as journalist after journalist reached out for comment. I didn’t speak to anyone – What do they expect me to say?? I’m kind of baffled.

But also, I don’t want to talk about it with the press, which is why I’ve chosen to write a bit about it here on my website to my readers instead.

I can’t describe how upsetting and unsettling it is to see your name and your book, and a signature recipe I poured so much care and time into – probably the recipe I have spent the most time perfecting – linked to such a tragic event. It’s deeply distressing, and my heart goes out to the families affected.

And that is all I have to say about that.

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400,000 milestone at rtm!

I don’t want to end today’s post on that sombre note, so I’m going to be a little cheeky and share the news that on Friday, we will cross the 400,000 milestone at RecipeTin Meals!

That’s 400,000 homemade meals that my incredible team has made and donated to those in need in our community. Every meal is made by hand, using recipes from my website and my cookbooks. I AM SO PROUD OF MY TEAM!!! …. Stephen, Hannah, Dan, Harry – led by JB, and supported by the rest of my team when needed. I am so proud to say that we have not missed a meal delivery yet. Through ceiling collapses and flooding, hiccups with produce delivery, broken equipment and fridge failures, every day we promise 600 freshly made meals and every day RTM has delivered for the past four years.

And this is just the beginning. The second half of 2025 is a really exciting period for us and I can’t wait to share more! – Nagi x

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Life of Dozer

Last night – mmmm, food soap sud drips are delicious!

And right now…..

It wasn’t the carrots he was interested in. 🤣