Photos: Lottie Hedley, Melanie Jenkins
She’s a former MasterChef NZ star and successful pastry chef who’s worked at leading restaurants in Auckland and Queenstown. But a few years ago, Alice Taylor suffered from such severe endometriosis, she was barely able to eat the creations she cooked.
“If I had certain foods, I’d have a painful flare-up. They could put me out of action for days,” says Alice.
The 24-year-old – whose first cookbook, Alice In Cakeland, is on shelves Wednesday – began suffering from endometriosis when she was 14. The debilitating disease is caused by tissue growing outside the uterus. This can result in severe pain, particularly in the pelvic area.
“I knew nothing about endometriosis. I hadn’t even heard the word until I was 21 when a flatmate had it,” says Auckland-based Alice.
“It was an awful burning pain throughout my body that would start in my stomach, then move down to my fingers and toes. I was also very hormonal and emotional, and wasn’t able to eat certain foods because they made it worse. It was horrible, but so many doctors told me they didn’t know what I had.”
It wasn’t until her flatmate’s diagnosis in Alice’s last year of a history and politics degree at the University of Otago that a physician suggested she might have it too. Alice underwent surgery in 2021 and although there’s no cure for endometriosis, thankfully, her symptoms are so much better.
“These days, I might experience some pain once a month as opposed to every day,” she shares. “But I still have to make sure I get enough sleep and exercise, and eat well to help manage it. I’m also big on reducing stress because that can make endometriosis worse.”
Readers may recognise Alice from MasterChef’s 2022 series. She might not have won the popular competition – that honour went to Sam Low – but it’s no exaggeration to say that coming third changed the trajectory of her life.
Not only did MasterChef judge Michael P Dearth offer her a job, but it also put Alice on the path to achieving a dream she’s had for years.
“When I was 15, I wrote a cookbook manuscript and sent it out to at least 12 publishers. I got a rejection letter from every single one of them!”
She’d grown up in a foodie family, with a dad who loved to cook and a mum who taught her how to bake. While her older brother and twin brother didn’t cook, they supported Alice’s culinary aspirations. She was planning to become a tutor at the University of Otago when her father texted her about the MasterChef application. Little did she know, her family’s support would become her secret weapon in the competition.
“I didn’t apply for a few weeks. But then I had this weird feeling that I was going to get in. I don’t normally get those kind of feelings, but it was so strong. I took a huge gamble, cancelling the tutor job and moving back to Auckland.”
Fortunately, she did get selected, which led her to a career as a pastry chef, as well as to boyfriend Orion Quka, a chef she met through the industry. “I still send thank- you texts to the MasterChef producers for picking me!”
She explains, “I was heading to a career in politics before MasterChef happened. I still love politics, and would eventually love to find a way to combine politics and food.”
Alice currently splits her time between working as a pastry chef at acclaimed Herne Bay restaurant Paris Butter and food writing.
“Even though my first cookbook was rejected, it didn’t put me off,” she says.
“After MasterChef finished, I approached a publisher. With the support of amazing people like Nadia Lim and Sam Low, this time they said yes!”
Her guide when developing the 60 recipes was that they had to be accessible and use cost-effective ingredients easily found in the supermarket.
“So many cookbooks have recipes with huge, long ingredient lists or recipes that aren’t achievable at home. But, anyone can make these sweet treats.”
She’s proud that many of the recipes are based on childhood favourites, such as chocolate self-saucing pudding, fruit crumble and the ginger cake that she wowed the judges with on MasterChef.
“I’ve put a modern spin on some of these classic dishes,” she tells. “I’m hoping that will introduce them to a whole new generation.”
When she’s not developing, testing and writing about food, Alice will be documenting the chronic pain she experienced with endometriosis.
“It’s a condition that affects so many women, but we don’t talk about it. I had to do my own research. If I’d known what it was, I might have been able to get surgery earlier and avoid so many years of pain.
“I feel a responsibility to talk about it so that other women don’t have to go through what I did.”
