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Stanmore Bay resident Olivia Galletly is about to launch her first cookbook, The Hungry Cook, and says it’s bursting with tasty recipes tried and tested on her friends and family.
Cooking has been a lifelong passion for Oliva, stemming from her childhood with five siblings and parents who loved to cook.
Leaving for university, she began to develop her own cooking skills, studying hundreds of cooking books and drawing inspiration from everything around her.
She headed into a career as a graphic artist but soon discovered her passion lay with cooking and over time developed her blog, the Hungry Cook, utilising her design and photography skills.
Today the blog has more than 100 thousand annual visitors, and Olivia has an active social media following and is a regular contributor to Dish magazine.
She says her cuisine style is hard to describe – “it’s a bit of everything” – but she strives to create achievable recipes that are family friendly and reflect her love of bold flavours.
“My favourite thing is teaching people how to cook and how to feel more confident in the kitchen. I wanted the recipes in the book to be achievable. They aren’t ‘learning to cook’ recipes but if you have an interest in food and want to extend yourself, this is a great collection for that.”
This is reflected in recipes like marmalade chicken, tarragon chicken with creamy leeks and fish cakes in a spicy capsicum sauce.
Olivia says all 78 recipes in the book have been tested several times by her before being sent off to families and friends for more feedback.
“And they are all my favourite things to eat.”
Importantly, all ingredients are easily sourced from local supermarkets or Asian grocers, she says,
“I haven’t left the Coast to buy ingredients for this book.”
The book offers a range of recipes such as simple chicken, tarragon and celery sandwiches (my family loves those) and fish burgers, to a slow roasted lamb with potatoes, olives and prunes, perfect for a Sunday roast or Christmas dinner.
“That’s my favourite recipe when I’m trying to impress,” Olivia says, “especially followed by the chocolate and cardamom mousse with Campari oranges.”
And her secret to slow cooked lamb? “Wrapping it in baking paper and tin foil and turning halfway through.”
The book also features a cocktail section developed by husband Joel, a keen mixologist.
“We both have big families, and we love having everyone here in the summertime, cooking and standing in the kitchen while Joel prepares cocktails. This cookbook is a representation of our life, because we love entertaining with our family and friends, cooking and eating yummy food.”
Check out Olivia’s blog www.thehungrycook.co.nz/ The Hungry Cook is available in all good bookstores. Hibiscus Matters has a copy of The Hungry Cook to give away. Email hibiscusnews@localmatters.co.nz to go in the draw. But hurry! Entries close 5pm, Wednesday September 3.
