One of NZ’s favourite foodies has a brand-new cookbook.
Chelsea Winter has just released her seventh book, which is crammed full of deliciousness.
“I’m so excited. So the book’s called Tasty, my seventh book. And everything in there is unbelievably tasty.”
But there’s one glaring omission.
“There is no refined sugar,” she said.
“Since having children, it’s something that’s not part of my life anymore. So, it was a natural progression for this book to find a way to make things sweet without being loaded with cane sugar.
“I feel like we should be able to have the same deliciousness that we’re used to with all those good old-fashioned treats, but they’re better for you all around.”
The new book coincides with a new personal chapter for Winter.
“A lot has happened in the personal space. I’m a solo mum with my two boys, and you know what — of course, it hasn’t been easy — there have been tough moments. But ultimately, like right now, where I am, I’ve never felt happier or more grounded. [I’ve] never felt more authentically me.”
The family also recently moved to New Plymouth.
“I’m loving Taranaki, it is such a beautiful place. I kind of feel like I’ve come home in a way. I don’t know what it was exactly that drew me here, but I just have this knowing that this is where I needed to be. This is the next step. I get these feelings and that’s how I kind of go through my life,” Winter said.
“I adore it. I have the mountain just back there; the Kaitake Ranges behind me, Ōakura Beach is two minutes away — I walk there every day.”
Her seaside spot suited her “down to the ground”.
“I’m a bit of a hermit, to be honest. I’m not out here, there, and everywhere all the time. I drop my kids at kindy, school, I go to the Four Square, I walk on the beach, I come home, I cook, I tidy, I clean, I do the washing — and that’s pretty much my life,” she smiled.
The new location has also provided plenty of inspiration.
“The ideas just come to me boom, boom, boom. They come to me in my sleep, and I have to rush up in the morning [to write them down]. Or I’m walking on the beach, I get an idea for a recipe, and I’m like, ‘I gotta get home and do that’.
“It’s an inspired process,” she laughed.
Winter got her start in Masterchef New Zealand, winning the title in 2012.
“I have such fond memories of that time. But I didn’t think I’d even get through the auditions,” she reflected.
“I was an amateur home cook. Like, I wasn’t that great,” she admitted.
“But I got good because writing a cookbook… there are 80-90 recipes in each book that I have to research and test and then test again and then test again.
“You can imagine that after seven books with almost 100 recipes per book – it’s a lot of recipes and cooking. And cooking’s like the more you cook, the better you get. It’s the same as singing.”
On that note, Winter is in fine voice. Her new book offers plant-based — but flexible — recipes that can be adapted for all sorts of dietary requirements.
“There’s a huge, big old section with tasty and delicious dinners and lunches because that’s what people want inspiration for. Then there’s the sweet treats section — your good old cakes, biscuits, loaves, muffins, slices.”
One recipe also features half a cup of fresh mint leaves.
“That peppermint slice took so long to get it just right. It has so much nostalgia.”
The decision to edit out sugar hadn’t come at the cost of flavour.
“All my other books have had what you’d call quite generous amounts of refined sugar in them,” she laughed.
“It’s 2024. We can do better.”
On the day of Seven Sharp’s visit, Winter wore her slippers and made her Chocolate Monster cake with liberal frosting.
“It looks like chocolate buttercream, but there’s no icing sugar in it,” she declared. “We made it with a whole bag of whipped-up dates.
“I want my kids to enjoy it and not be getting that massive sugar high, followed by the crash which, in my experience, doesn’t happen as much with the more natural sugars I’m using.”
The cost-of-living crisis was also on her mind, with recipes people can get right the first time, with fussy little foodies in mind.
“Ingredients are expensive. I’ve just spent the time and money to make it. You want to serve up things people will enjoy.”
Something Winter could relate to.
“You don’t have much time as a mum, especially with two under five. Everything goes out the window – even with me, and I cook for a living. You get to the end of the day and think, ‘What the hell happened?’
“I always get people saying to me that my recipes work well with their kids, and that’s a good thing. You don’t want to have to cook two separate meals all the time. You just want the family to eat.”
Winter’s last book, Supergood, was 2020’s top-selling New Zealand book across all genres.
“People told me when I did my first plant-based book, ‘Are you crazy? You’re doing a plant-based book? All your fans will revolt, you’ll lose everything.’
“I was like, well, I don’t know. But, in here [my heart], I feel I need to do it. So, I did. It turned out to be super popular.”
She hoped Tasty would go down just as well.
“To think all these years later, I’m releasing my seventh book. I never dreamed it for myself,” Winter admitted.
“I just hope it’ll be that book that sits on the bench that never makes it back to the bookshelf; the pages get stained, a bit dog-eared, a couple of pages stick together because you’re always grabbing it out.”
Despite now having quite a batch of books, Winter is by no means done.
“Cookbooks are our thing, which makes me happy because they’re my thing, too.”
“There are always people who love to cook, and there are people who love to eat. Those people come together, and it’s a beautiful thing. That’s what my recipes have always been about — cooking for happiness.”
And happiness is a recipe Winter may also have cracked.
“I heard this phrase once, like, ‘life doesn’t grow in straight lines like corn rows. It’s more like someone has scattered wildflower seeds everywhere, and stuff just randomly pops up and surprises you. Then, when you stand back and look at it, it’s beautiful.’
“And that’s something to be so grateful for. And I truly am.”
