A few things about Julie
I love candles, pens, pencils, stationery, flowers, cats and chocolate cake. Not necessarily in that order.
I passed my motorbike license at 15 but failed my first car test a few years later because I reversed into a letterbox. Mowed it flat.
I don’t really drink coffee, though I love it, ‘cause it makes me manic. You’ll always get great coffee at our house though – but I’m only allowed to sniff it!
I loathe slimy things like sea cucumbers.
I couldn’t live without lemons and mint. They always cheer me up.
I can’t cook when I’m full – hunger is the best motivation to cook, I think. But it’s wiser to go shopping on a full stomach because it stops you buying so much, well, in theory at least!
My end of day ritual – a glass of sauvignon blanc, and a small ramekin of salted toasted peanuts. I eat them one by one off a tiny silver teaspoon. My son and daughter have picked up the peanut eating habit. Sometimes we fight over the teaspoon. OMG what have I created!
I sometimes open the pantry and just sniff, not looking for anything in particular.
For a professional bio email [email protected]
Where it all started – my first book
Julie, 2016, with a shelf of her own books and with translations in Dutch, German, French, Polish and Danish, and USA versions, and other books she has contributed to.
Julie and Ilaria 2013
Ilaria 2017
New year, new projects, or something like that …
Over the past few months my life has seemingly been turned on its ear as I’ve not only moved back to New Zealand from London after a year and a half living there, but to a small island, Waiheke, a 35-minute ferry ride from the city of Auckland. It’s summertime here and the sky is blue, speckled with salt, and it’s got nothing on what seemed like an eternal grey blanket that becomes a UK winter.
What these changes in season have brought me is a profound sense of comfort in food. Food makes me happy, I can’t lie, though it’s not the only thing that does: music has just as tight a hold of my heart. But cooking and creating with seasonal produce that reflects the morning dew or blistering sun is pleasing. It’s about being in sync with nature, and I’m liking that. In a world that is as much growing as at times devolving, producing tasty delights in the kitchen is wholesome and reminds us of the simple pleasures in life that are often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of weekly life. My recipes are not the most complicated things you’ll come across but what they offer is something yummy, easy, and fairly stress-free, which in an ideal place is what life is about!
Ilaria with Feta & roasted pepper dip
Ilaria with zucchini fritters
Ilaria’s 5-min Guac!
A few things about Aaron
Aaron Mclean
I love to shoot people, places and food.
Born in Queenstown New Zealand, it wasn’t until I moved to Auckland in 2001 in pursuit of a photography career that I discovered my grandfather and great grandfather had both been professional photographers. I think it’s in the blood.
I was 11 when I first started scrubbing pots and chopping onions in the restaurant of a family friend and I worked in and managed many restaurants in various parts of the world once I left school.
Food has been the central passion in my life, so it was an inevitable progression when I also fell in love with photography that my lens found itself frequently aimed at a plate, or at the people and places that revolve around good food and wine.
I work regularly with New Zealand’s leading Food and Lifestyle magazines and have now illustrated more than 20 books with Random House, Penguin, New Holland and a variety of international publishers.
In 2010 I was recognized as one of the Best Food Photographers in the world, being awarded a Golden Ladle at the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. In the 2009 Travcom Travel Media Awards, I was the winner of the Best Series of Travel Images and was Highly Commended in the Photographer of The Year category. I have also been the photographer in many award winning covers and features for a variety of magazines and this year (2015) I’m a finalist for Best Photographer in the New Zealand Magazine Publishers Association awards.
Julie Biuso and I have worked together for more than a decade now, we’ve produced hundreds of magazine features and advertisements together and I’ve illustrated four of her books. When Julie evolved towards the digital sphere I was quick to jump on board for the journey with her into this exciting space. Secretly I just didn’t want to forfeit days spent drinking Remo’s coffee and sampling Julie’s delicious food and hospitality.
Good people
Julie here again – I’ve always believed in surrounding myself with people that I like, people I admire, people that I love, clever people, kind people, people with good hearts and good intentions. Anyone who has worked with me on this blog site falls into this category.
Photography (main images and other credited images) by Aaron McLean
Creative Direction by Charlie McKay
Site build Elspeth Dick
Communications Advisor Belinda Cooke
nz.linkedin.com/in/belindacooke
grande bel blog. un abbraccio dallìitalia.
Grazie bello!
Lovely ladies – look forward to seeing more recipes posted from both of you 🙂
Inspirational blog, makes me want to cook, grow and experiment , can’t find the classes though
Love your Blog Julie and of course all recipes.
Have a Very Merry Xmas and continue all your good work and well wishes for 2016
Love Karen and Haggis x
Thanks Karen. You have a great Christmas too!
Nice to see you are now living here on Waiheke Island and looking forward to catching up at upcoming events on the island
Nice site Julie and Ilaria. But one comment on recipes – the printer format is terrible. It turns a recipe into 4 pages – the title, a photo, and the body of the recipe. I resorted to copying and pasting into Word. I don’t usually need the image for a recipe. Could you look at this and make to a little more user friendly?
Thanks, Greig
PS many food sites seem to have this problem – I think users want recipe on one page to print out or save.
Hi Greig,
yep, unfortunately, it comes down to budget. We started this on the smell of an oily rag, so had to do the best we could with our resources. There is no printer facility for recipes on Shared Kitchen, it was prohibitively expensive, though it is planned for the second stage of development once we get there! For now, it is copy and paste, old-school style. But, HEY, one thing is sure, when you really want a recipe, copy and paste just takes a second, and you don’t mind waiting.
Hi and thank you. I am in my seventies and my cooking had become uninspired and a chore. Your postings had inspired me and I am now enjoying cooking again. I try out at least two of the recipes on each posting. Much appreciated.
Thanks
Margaret
That’s wonderful to hear Margaret! I am so pleased that you have regained an interest in cooking. Not only is it pleasurable but cooking from scratch ensures we know what we are eating … and with my recipes, that means plenty of vegetables!
Hi Julie
Thanks for your wonderful salad ideas the past few weeks. Are you going to be offering any specials on Furi knives in the lead up to Christmas?
Best wishes
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
no didn’t do knives this year (as you will have guessed!). Glad you have been enjoying the recipes.
Hi- love your website. It inspires life! Am in isolation at a farm with mushrooms popping up – can you remind me where your recipes using mushrooms are?
Thanks Sonya, that’s lovely to hear. Mushroom time – lucky you. If you go to the Home page of Shared Kitchen and type in Mushrooms in the SEARCH field on the right and press enter, they will pop up. Here you go https://sharedkitchen.co.nz/?s=mushrooms
I am so happy to have found this site! Lordy, I can’t believe that I didn’t think of googling you, Julie! My (still) favourite cookbooks on my shelf are “Take a Vine Ripened Tomato”, “Fresh”, & Hot nights cool days” – Yep, they have been so well-thumbed through and have splatters all through them too. They are loved as much now, as when I first purchased them all those years ago. Cookbooks have come and gone from my collection, but those remain. Oh and also “Viva L’Italia”
I learned to make awesome risotto – that is a super sexy dish to cook. I love the calmness of stirring it constantly, it contains so much love.
I always always get compliments about it, guess where the recipe and technique came from?
xx
That’s so amazing to hear Wendy. Thank you for sharing, and I am delighted to hear that you have gained so much pleasure from cooking. I will have a new book out in October this year and will keep everyone posted through my weekly newsletters. Have you signed up for them?
found this on rnz
was wanting to get your update emails……….
Hi Carol, that’s great, I will add you to the mailing list and you will receive the next one some time this week.
Hope you enjoy Shared Kitchen. Cheers.
Happy to have found your site and have subscribed for new inspiration – although I still cook many of our favourites from your 1997 book. Pasta Puttanesca and Eggplant Pie have endured as family went off and now cook them for their own more plant based eating family members.