Foodie’s favourite: Nadia Lim fronts for the final of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand.
Nadia Lim is a guest judge on the My Kitchen Rules New Zealand all-important season final. She talks to Sarah Nealon about the show and shares a recipe from her new cookbook.
Nadia Lim is proof there is life after reality TV – provided you have prepared hard. Really hard. Since winning MasterChef
New Zealand six years ago, the 31 year old has turned herself into an established brand.
There is the website, the magazine and her well-publicised role in the successful food delivery service My Food Bag. There are also TV appearances including her upcoming one in the My Kitchen Rules New Zealand season final. But don’t forget the cookbooks. Lim has just published her seventh one which is simply titled Let’s Eat. During her interview with TV Guide to talk about My Kitchen
Rules New Zealand, Lim and her husband Carlos, who are parents to a toddler, were en route to Motueka to publicise the book.
Lim is one of several guest judges on My Kitchen Rules New Zealand’s season final. It is the third time she has been part of the show and this time around she is judging alongside chef Ray McVinnie who was a judge on MasterChef New Zealand when she was a contestant. “The thought of being a judge with Ray was like, ‘Wow. This is kind of weird. We’re at the judges’ tables together now’,” says Lim. “We get on very well. He’s an awesome guy. We both just love food so much so it was easy to discuss it and talk to each other as peers. It was good fun.” Lim is in hot demand these days but says she’s getting better at saying ‘no’. “I still definitely say ‘yes’ to a lot but it’s just being more mindful and making
sure that I’m not over-committing myself,” she says.
However, she is not about to stop writing cookbooks and says her latest is her favourite so far.
“I think it’s a reflection of now being a mum,” says Lim. “The recipes are very family friendly.
“I went to my fans and asked them what they wanted and the recipes they wanted.
“A lot of people came back saying they wanted more gutsy salad recipes that were satisfying enough to have as a meal on their own and healthier baking recipes.
“There are (also) lots of child-friendly recipes and my favourite childhood recipes like
cauliflower cheese carbonara as well as some of my family recipes that have been passed down and modified slightly.”
In New Zealand, as in other parts of the world, the foodie culture has exploded in the past 10 years thanks to social media and reality TV.
So how competitive is it for someone like Lim?
“I think you have to be aware of what’s happening but definitely you don’t want to focus on what other people are doing,” she says.
“I think it definitely stifles creativity if you pay too much attention to what other people are doing. It’s far more effective to follow your own path.”