The Food Truck chef Michael Van de Elzen and his wife Belinda went through three gruelling rounds of IVF to have their now 17-month-old daughter Hazel. But while Hazel is the most precious thing in their world, the pair don’t want to shelter her from experiencing the diverse flavours of the world.
Many anxious first-time parents follow childcare guides to the letter, but Belinda was open to eating a few foods that are considered “risky” during her pregnancy. “I didn’t eat shellfish, but I did eat peanuts and ham from the deli,” says Belinda (38). “It’s your body, so you should get to choose. I did what felt right. Hazel hasn’t had any problems with allergies or anything of that nature.”
“You have to wonder how much of what you eat or don’t eat during pregnancy affects that,” chips in Mike (39). Like Mike, Belinda is also a chef by trade and ate with him at their former Auckland restaurant, Molten, throughout her pregnancy – as well as working there up until three days before giving birth. The couple believe Belinda’s food philosophy during pregnancy has helped make Hazel a little spice girl.
“Basically, anything we eat, she eats, and Hazel loves curry,” says Mike. “The other day I made a red Thai curry with grapes and pineapple in it. “It was quite hot because I love hot food. The next day Bee gave it to Hazel and she loved it too.”
With two cooks in the house, it’s no wonder, as well as learning to walk and talk, Hazel is also developing a foodie’s palate. When Mike begins preparing a penne pasta dish for the family meal in their Mt Albert home, she’s keen to get in amongst it, taking a bite out of a raw piece of garlic sitting on the bench, before screwing up her nose.
Mike and Belinda don’t take their foodie baby for granted. After discovering Belinda’s fallopian tubes were blocked, the couple of more than 10 years began IVF. Belinda suffered a miscarriage after the first round and it wasn’t until after a lot of tears and two more rounds of treatment that a successful embryo was implanted. Though the pair consider themselves very lucky to have Hazel, they have made an active decision not to mollycoddle her.
“Sometimes [in society] we’re a little too PC,” says Belinda. “I bumped into a doctor the other day, and while we were talking, I gave Hazel my keys for her to play with and she put them in her mouth. “He said, ‘It’s great to see a parent let their kid play with keys.’ You do need to be careful but sometime we go too far.”
Mike has just returned from a national tour promoting the cookbook from his hugely successful TV show, The Food Truck, in which he’s created healthy versions of popular fast-food dishes. His philosophy for using fresh products is something he follows at home. They feed Hazel fresh food made from scratch. If something is too difficult for her to eat, they blitz it in their industrialsized blender.
Despite being in back-to-back engagements for the past few weeks, there’s no slowing down for the hardworking chef. The couple are currently considering opening a new restaurant where they will make gourmet fast food using only wholesome ingredients. “People say to me, ‘I can’t believe you want to start a new restaurant,’ but ultimately for a chef a restaurant is their show room or piece of art,” says Mike, who worked 80- to 90- hour weeks with Belinda at their previous restaurant.
There’s no doubt busy mum Belinda will be heavily involved in any new business – and she is considering working again with Mike for the odd shift – but the new venture won’t halt their family plans. The couple plan to go through IVF again some time in the next few years, using the eggs they froze during their last round of treatment. “We’d love to have more kids” says Mike. “But there’s never a guarantee,” says Belinda.
“There’s always a chance the eggs won’t survive thawing or they are not going to implant. “At the moment, we’re just so grateful to have Hazel – she is so much fun.”
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