Adam Liaw ‘WE’RE MOVING TO JAPAN!’
The busy TV chef and his family are off on a new adventure
You’d think with a celebrity chef at the helm, family dinner would be a breeze for Adam Liaw and his brood.
But the 44-year-old TV star tells Woman’s Day evenings at the Liaw home in Sydney’s Lower North Shore are much the same as those of every other Aussie family.
“The sole goal of the evening is to get dinner made and into the kids’ bellies and get them to bed,” Adam laughs as he sits down at the kitchen table for a chat after his three kids, Christopher, nine, Anna, six, and Benji, three, head off to school with his wife Asami.
Adam’s latest cookbook, Tonight’s Dinner 2, the sequel to his bestselling book of midweek recipes, is all about getting a meal on the table quickly.
“For anyone, whether you’ve got kids or not, cooking is all
about practicality,” says Adam, who’s also focused on affordability, given the state of the economy and with Christmas rapidly approaching.
“I don’t care who you are or how much your family take home – at this point, with what food is costing, everyone is thinking about it,” he says. “It’s just the choices that you make and the dishes that you choose.”
RISING TO THE TOP
Adam says he’s mindful of the cost-of-living pressures when devising recipes for his popular SBS series The Cook Up With Adam Liaw, too, which is up for an award for best lifestyle program at next month’s AACTA Awards.
“I really like the AACTAS and they’re good validation. We do try to make The Cook Up the best show it can be. There’s a big responsibility with being in people’s houses and kitchens nearly every day,” says Adam, who adds with a laugh, “We’re not going to win. We’re up against amazing shows – Gardening Australia, The Living Room, Bake Off – these are massive shows, which are possibly on 10 times the budget we’re on, so I don’t think we’re in with much of a chance, but it’s nice to be nominated.”
Adam admits he “used to worry” about coming up with new culinary creations for the much-loved series but says, “I don’t any more because, in some ways, the show is inspiration in and of itself. I have guests on the show and they’ll cook something and I’ll think, ‘Oh, I can cook something like that.’”
His biggest inspiration, though?
“There are a lot of fantastic chefs but I actually get inspired, and I know this sounds a bit trite, from the feedback I get from my family,” he says. “My wife is a great cook, and even my kids. I’ll just try things out in the kitchen and they’ll give very honest feedback.”
Adam admits the trio “love” being in the kitchen with him.
“We do a lot of cooking together,” he says. “We did a fabulous thing yesterday
– I made pink lemonade for them but from cabbage.”
When they aren’t whipping up weird and wonderful things, Adam says the Liaws enjoy going to museums and heading out on “lots of long bike rides”.
But their biggest adventure is yet to come, with the family preparing to pack their bags and head over to Japan for two months for an extended holiday.
“The kids love winter sports and we’ll be doing lots of skiing,” says Adam, who’s keen to recharge before another busy year.
‘I made pink lemonade for them but from cabbage’
As well as working on another season of The Cook Up,
the star is teaming up again with fellow Masterchef
favourite Poh Ling Yeow for Adam and Poh’s Great Australian Bites on SBS, writing another book, working on a new podcast and he’s also released a line of crockery, Everyday by Adam Liaw.
It’s no wonder he tells Woman’s Day that catch-ups with his old Masterchef friends have been few and far between.
“Life is busy,” says Adam, who laughs when asked whether he’d ever return to the reality hit for a celebrity season.
“No,” he says. “I think once was enough.”