Nagi Maebashi has become everyone’s favourite chef. She and her (very large) dog Dozer are as well known in Australian culinary circles as her sausage ragu and pappardelle pasta and barbecued pork.
Founder of the popular and trusted cooking blog RecipeTinEats, Maebashi quit her job as an accountant to become a chef. Her debut book, Dinner, sold 500,000 copies, was a New York Times bestseller and became the fastest-selling book by a new Australian author.
Maebashi’s next cookbook, “Tonight”, is out and he’ll be making his debut appearance on the Australian version of MasterChef tonight on Network 10 and 10 Play. The popular chef answered a few questions for T Australia and kindly shared some recipes from his new cookbook.
T Australia: You used to be an accountant, at what point did you want to change profession? What do accounting and cooking have in common?
Maebashi Nagi: The decision to change jobs was not that hard as I wanted to pursue my dreams. However, I know at the time people thought I was crazy to “give up” a safe and stable job in corporate finance. Speaking of similarities, my corporate experience definitely gave me a thorough, comprehensive and business-biased mindset to launch the RecipeTin Eats website.
T Australia: Everyone loves Nagi, and I have yet to hear of anyone not succeeding with one of your recipes – they all seem to turn out (and taste) great. How do you make it?
NM: I know what it’s like to have to be conservative (or frugal!) when it comes to healthy eating. My passion for creating recipes was born from the harsh reality I faced when I left home and could no longer rely on my mother (who has her own cooking site, RecipeTin Japan!) to cook delicious meals for me every day. So now when I develop recipes, I am very conscious about delivering content that works every time… This is why I am a “little bit”(?) obsessed with testing and retesting dishes… I can’t stand the idea of people buying produce (especially now!) and it going to waste.
T Australia: Tell us about your experience working on “MasterChef.” What surprised you the most?
NM: To be honest, it took me a while to figure out which side I should be sitting on. But once I got over that, I was blown away by the skill and intelligence of the contestants. I can’t wait to see what they do next. So talented and so inspiring as the “next generation” of Australian cuisine.
T Australia: Congratulations on your new cookbook. What kind of recipes are in it?
NM: “Tonight” is a labor of love and I’m so excited to have it published. It was a completely different experience than my first cookbook, “Dinner.” I wrote “Tonight” with the goal of making dinner super quick and easy for everyone, every day. Because no matter who’s in your family, we’re all plagued by the question “What’s for dinner tonight?” every day…
T Australia: It seems like you’ve mastered just about every platform: blogging/web, social media, book publishing, TV, etc. What’s next?
NM: It’s such an honor, but I always feel like I’m just a home cook. My biggest priority will always be growing Recipe Tin Meals. The food bank that we started in 2021 is my proudest accomplishment. We recently celebrated over 240,000 meals made and increased our annual meal donations from 100,000 to 130,000. I’m very motivated and focused on growing that number and helping those who are most vulnerable.
