If you want to know Aotearoa’s food, visit Nishi Wicks. A cookbook author, broadcaster, food stylist, recipe developer, and food her editor, she’s been writing, talking, and living about food longer than you’ve had a hot dinner.
From the television cooking show World Kitchen to creating, testing and styling over 200 recipes each year for New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, she’s one of the busiest people in the industry.
And now she’s part of the judging panel for Cooks on Fire, a new BBQ contest that launches on TVNZ 1 on Thursday.
Wicks shares some of her favorite things…
TV program
Line of Duty or a gritty British crime series, preferably with so many acronyms and a plot so full of twists that it becomes completely untraceable.
read more:
* The local series Cooks On Fire sees New Zealand players lighting up a barbecue
* Haven Chef Nishi Wicks invited us to his Kiwiana Classic home in Port Waikato
* Seven Kiwi stars share memorable meals from around the world
attached
Nici Wicks is a judge for Cooks on Fire, a new BBQ competition starting Thursday at TVNZ 1.
restaurant
Eating out is still one of my favorite things to do. I’m not really into ‘upscale’ places, casual style suits me better. My favorite restaurants change all the time but if in Wellington Floriditas, Dunedin No7 Balmac, Queenstown Sherwood and in Auckland currently Ooh-Fa for pizza, Ada for atmosphere and pasta, Selera for laksa. I rarely make it at home, so if there is duck on the menu, I will order it.
song
I like songs that either pull the strings of my heart or make me want to dance – there’s nothing in between. Give Bob Marley’s Redemption Song to your heartstrings, Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run or Abba’s Dancing Her Queen to your dance.
what to buy at the supermarket
I have a confession to make – I love going to the supermarket!
I especially like it when I have to stock up on fresh berries and corn cobs. This is a sure sign of summer. I have also discovered that I like to tweet to myself while shopping, so I continue to wear masks even at the supermarket.
attached
“I read anything by food writer Nigel Slater,” says Wicks.
Book
I read anything by food writer Nigel Slater. He writes very well about food and culinary comforts, his recipes are fuss free and always delicious. Speaking of his favorite novel, for the past few years he’s recommended Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library.
Warning, it all starts with a woman trying to take her own life. From there, a wild tale unfolds about every life she could have lived, one that sees the choices we make and how irrelevant our regrets can be, such as A story of hope and wisdom.
item of clothing
Swimsuits, bathers, bikinis… I swim all year round and dive into the ocean most days. Swimsuits are like a second skin to me. Winter swimming is so exhilarating that I feel reborn every time. I started swimming year-round about three years ago and it has changed my life in so many ways. At the very least, any remaining self-consciousness I might have had about my body has been completely removed.
movie
I’m a hopeless romantic, so a romantic comedy with Jennifer Lopez or Jennifer Aniston is the ultimate form of escape for me. Most recently – married to Lopez, so cheesy and unrealistically awesome. It’s shamefully unfeminist to admit how much I love watching these types of movies.
odor
Frying onions, lamb chops on the barbecue, cooking cakes…the smells of all the dishes fill me with joy.
Man
A person ready to show vulnerability. Without it, people become very boring and one-sided.
work
Being the host of World Kitchen was a great job. We have traveled to 40 destinations around the world, met some of the most inspiring people, and eaten some amazing food. Jerk chicken from the hills of Jamaica, fresh mozzarella from Naples, and so much fresh, still warm, baked sweet phyllo his pie dipped in honey. On Crete…
I sometimes have to pinch myself in having to do it all. But even that dream job started to get tedious and I was glad I quit. I believe that work has seasons.
