About & Contributors

OUR KITCHEN WAS BORN FROM THE PASSION OF FOOD, FROM A GROUP OF FRIENDS HERE AT FISHER AND PAYKEL. LIKE ANY GOOD RECIPE IT’S PASSED ON THROUGH FRIENDS AND FAMILY. ORIGINALLY WE SHARED RECIPES ON SCRAPS OF PAPER, PHOTOCOPIES OF MUM’S FAVOURITE DISH OR SOMETHING THAT THE FLAT TRIED LAST NIGHT. WE STARTED TO COMPILE AND PHOTOGRAPH OUR FAVOURITE CREATIONS TO SHARE. WE’VE TESTED THEM ON FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND WORKMATES, IN FACT ANYONE THAT HAS A HUNGER TO FILL. ONLY THE BEST ARE HERE FOR YOU TO ENJOY.

My interest and aspirations for cooking have hugely increased since I started working on this blog. Photographing the amazing recipes has inspired me to get into the kitchen more and try a few new challenging dishes expanding my repertoire. I am a self-taught photographer and really like taking photos of food that make people hungry, food is so emotive.

I take immense pleasure from food. Whether I am standing barefoot in the kitchen on a sunny Sunday morning blending herbs from the garden to make a quick pesto, planning a 3 course meal for a mid-winter dinner party, or standing over the stove surrounded by preserving jars, elbow deep in jam, I am happy.
My first food memory is of my little sister and I ‘helping’ my mum bake bread in the kitchen. Sat on the table, we dutifully assisted in kneading the dough and then spent the next however long asking if it was ready to eat!
Bakey Kate’s the name (well it is now thanks to fellow blogger Lauren) but not only do I love to bake, I love all things culinary. This passion started from a young age, mostly inspired by my Grandma and Grandad. I spent hours at my Grandma’s bench ‘helping’ her to ‘fill the tins’, and waiting for the illusive pavlova laden beater attachment to come my way. Grandad tended a huge vegetable garden on their farm which was the source of bounty for the most magnificent soups, roasts and his specialty – campfire baked potatoes. The potatoes were extra special because cooking them involved riding motorbikes out on the farm, building fires and coming home with that toasty, earthy campfire smell embedded in our clothes. These early beginnings led to my training as a chef and specializing in Patisserie. I worked and traveled through Australia, Asia and the USA before coming home to Dunedin
As a child I was always a picky little eater, to be honest I never really grew out of it until I was about 25. However I have always loved being in the kitchen, as a child I was right there by my mothers side watching, listening and learning.
My passion for cooking has really grown out of my love of eating – and boy do I love to eat! Food to me is pleasure, if it were just fuel we wouldn’t have taste buds. I am possibly the world’s messiest cook (it’s chaos in the kitchen when hurricane Lauren is in town) but the results are (almost) always delicious, and I find it so enjoyable I can’t imagine a life without cooking.
It would be without exaggeration to make the statement that my life has grown to revolve around food. I don’t know where the obsession came from but I cracked on early in life that satisfying appetites was a way to make people happy.
We are excited to introduce our guest blogger profile. Here we will share recipes from past members of the blog team, friends, family, colleagues, and you the reader (watch this space). We thought it would be a great way to showcase the beautiful recipes from those outside of the blog team whose culinary exploits inspire us.