NZ Chefs Win Big at Global Awards

New Zealand chefs have taken out culinary royalty like Jamie Oliver, Neil Perry and Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef to win at the world’s biggest cookbook awards.

 Robert Oliver won Best TV Chef and Julie Biusco won Best Easy Recipes Cookbook at the “Oscars for cooking”.

Robert Oliver, Pacific cuisine specialist and star of Real Pasifik, was crowned Best TV Chef at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards held in Beijing on the 19-22 May, beating 187 other contenders in his category, including Kiwi MasterChef Nadia Lim.

The winning series was based on Oliver’s 2010 book Me’a Kai: The Food and Flavours of the South Pacific which earned him Cookbook of the Year in 2011.

Robert is influenced by the cuisine of the South Pacific island nations; Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Cook Islands.

Fellow Kiwi food journalist Julie Biusco, won the Best Easy Recipes Cookbook section with her latest work, Julie Biuso at Home.

Currently a writer for Taste magazine, Biusco said the recognition was a great win for the NZ food industry.

“Winning an award such as this in the presence of such hugely influential people means the world to me, and shows New Zealand off in the very best light.”

Original published 22 May in Radio Australia News