Pictures: Rob Palmer
Nagi Maehashi’s beloved golden retriever isn’t in the kitchen for her RecipeTin Meals food bank when Woman’s Day visits. Despite being an important member of the team – or, as Nagi jokes, “a little too iconic” – Dozer always has to be locked in the office when he’s there… And he makes his displeasure very much known!
“He barks and barks because he just wants to be with us,” Nagi admits. “But let’s not feel too bad – he lives a pretty good life!”
Fans of the Sydney-based food blogger, cookbook author and occasional MasterChef Australia guest judge understand the vital role Dozer plays as “taste-tester” for Nagi’s hugely popular website RecipeTin Eats.
We had to cancel our original planned visit to her not-for-profit HQ because two chefs were off sick, and she had to step in to cook.
“I’ll cancel all my plans so we can get the meals out every day,” she explains of her passion project. “There are literally 500 people waiting for dinner from us and we can’t let them down.”
Nagi’s determination to help people facing food insecurity stems from her own childhood. Her mum Yumiko was a single mother, and “really struggled” when Nagi and her siblings were growing up.
“She worked incredibly hard to keep food on the table and a roof over the head of her three kids,” shares Nagi. “I really look up to her and admire her. My work ethic came from her.”
Follow Nagi’s home renovation here.
Born in Tokyo and raised in Sydney, Nagi is a self-taught cook and says Yumiko – an IT worker who now works at RecipeTin – didn’t teach Nagi how to cook, save for wrapping gyoza dumplings.
“As a child, we did not get along at all – I was such a brat,” she says, explaining she was the kind of teenager who “snuck out in the middle of the night”.
After leaving home at 18, Nagi developed a love of cooking through sheer necessity and after more than a decade of working successfully in corporate finance, quit to launch her recipe blog in 2014.
By 2016, she was earning more than in her previous job and nowadays the site has more than 500 million views a year.
“The number-one thing people tell me is the recipes just work and taste delicious, which makes me so happy,” says Nagi.
Her first book, Dinner, came out in 2023 and became a worldwide bestseller, while her second, Tonight, is out this month. Unsurprisingly, she finds it hard to do her groceries without crossing paths with fans.
“People always seem to catch me at the checkout when I have embarrassing things in my trolley. For example, my Vegemite Shapes and Diet Coke, which are two of my weaknesses,” laughs Nagi. “But if I bumped into Jamie Oliver at the supermarket, I would look in his trolley too!”
Jamie is among the chefs Nagi admires. “I have a thing about old-school British chefs,” she shares. “The comfort food!”
She especially admires Nigella Lawson, who, like her, writes all her own recipes.
“I had dinner with her last year – I still can’t believe it,” says Nagi. “She is exactly what you imagine her to be, but so much more. She’s cheeky as all hell! I laughed so hard.”
But Nagi has no interest in having a TV career like Nigella’s.
“It’s not what makes me happy and it’s not what I crave,” she says. “I know a lot of people want to be on TV and I totally respect that. It’s just not for me.”
In fact, Nagi says she would turn down a permanent spot on MasterChef if she was offered one, although she will be back as a guest judge next season. Her reason is the food bank.
“I couldn’t afford the time away from RecipeTin Meals. The judges are locked up down there for three or four months. Also, could Dozer come on set each day? That’s the important question!”
Nagi, who is tight-lipped about her private life, says she had an epiphany that explains her reluctance for more TV.
“Quite often people experience a tragedy that makes them re-evaluate. That’s definitely something that did happen six years ago that really changed my outlook on life,” she says. “It made me focus on living every day like it’s my last.”
For Nagi, that means spending time at RecipeTin Meals, as well as coming up with food ideas for RecipeTin Eats, with Dozer by her side.
“I’m very focused on doing what I enjoy,” she says. “If I didn’t, I would have run out of steam a long time ago.”
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