Lauraine Jacobs has had a lifelong interest in what’s on her plate, whether she’s cooking at home, eating out or grazing in cafés and bars around the world. She is a former food editor of FQ and Cuisine magazines, the current President of the NZ Guild of Food Writers and a Founding Patron of Oxford Gastronomica. Her approach to cooking at home is that things must be simple to make, so that they’re simple to eat. That way, she says, “Your family and guests will love you!” And it also means she has plenty of time for travelling, golf and wine, the other passionate pursuits of her life.
Lauraine Jacobs
Marvellous meringues
Lauraine Jacobs whips up a wonderful standby – and has a suggestion for the leftover egg yolks. [more]
What to do with aubergines?
Lauraine Jacobs takes the mystery out of cooking one of the most versatile vegetables. [more]
Schoolkids go from Garden to Table
School gardens are one thing, but an innovative scheme is helping kids prepare what they're growing. [more]
Perfect picnic pies
Food tastes better outside, and if the weather holds, pies are the ideal picnic food. [more]
Berry beautiful
It's berry season, and the versatile blueberry can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner this summer. [more]
Nelson’s fresh seafood
While Nelson clears up after the pre-Christmas floods, let’s not forget what a treasure trove of first-rate food and wine the region... [more]
Vegetarian recipes
Beefing up your vege intake is a healthy way to go – and it’s also good for the planet. [more]
Dips and spreads for summer
Here comes summer - and here are the perfect accompaniment for summer parties. [more]
Christmas Goodies: Glazed ham
Lauraine Jacobs finds that there are superior-flavoured local hams available for Christmas Day. [more]
Simple festive fare
Lauraine Jacobs prepares a Christmas menu with – gasp – no turkey, but which can be cooked ahead of time for quick assembly on the day. [more]
The year’s best cookbooks
Lauraine Jacobs picks the best cookbooks of the year, and we giveaway her top five recommendations. [more]
Special occasion fish and chips
Home-made fish and chips are so good they can be served for special occasions. [more]
Lean, red and healthy venison
It contains less fat than skinless chicken breast and more iron than beef, and can be used in any recipe that calls for meat to be cooked quickly. [more]
Sweet, nutritious and versatile kumara
A warm kumara and mussel salad is the essence of New Zealand kai. [more]
Christmas Goodies: Strawberry trifle
From Lauraine Jacobs's larder, two desserts for festive feasting. [more]
Inspired by The Modern Pantry and Now Is the Season
New cookbooks by Anna Hansen and Laura Faire provide original and fresh recipe ideas. [more]
Getting kids cooking in ChCh and Vietnam
Celia Hay's school and Jimmy Phan's KOTO teach the valuable "new" skill of cookery. [more]
Give ‘em a taste of Kiwi
As the country crawls with foreign rugby fans, it’s a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand food and... [more]
Wellington’s food, absolutely
Our food writer is inspired by the capital's food scene to create dishes with snapper and flounder. [more]