Twelve Questions with My Food Bag co-founder Nadia Lim

Nadia Lim missed New Zealand terribly, including the food, when she spent part of her childhood in Malaysia. Photo / Doug Sherring

My Food Bag co-founder Nadia Lim has dedicated her latest cookbook to her father, who died three years ago of cancer. The Malaysian engineer once put her boyfriend to the test by ordering chicken feet for a Chinese New Year meal.

1 What was your childhood in Mt Albert like?

Awesome. I grew up with a mix of cultures, which has pros and cons. You get a bit of a culture clash but equally it's beautiful bringing two cultures together. Mum's Kiwi and Dad's Malaysian Chinese. I lived in Malaysia from age 6 to 12. I missed New Zealand terribly - especially food like macaroni cheese and Jelly Tips. Mum went to the effort of making fish and chips and wrapping it in newspaper for us to eat in the garden, which was brave because there are snakes over there. Malaysians are obsessed with food - it forms about 70 per cent of your conversation.

2 Did you enjoy cooking from a young age?

Yes. I decided at age 12 I was going to have my own cooking show called Food in the Nude, inspired by my idol Jamie Oliver from The Naked Chef. Today the Nude Food philosophy is now behind everything I do - My Food Bag, Nadia magazine and my new publishing company. There are three key points to Nude Food - ignore fad diets; eat more real food that comes from the ground, the sea and the sky; and trust your instincts because everyone's so genetically different and no one diet fits all.

3 Did your father support your career choice?

Food technology was my favourite subject right through Avondale College. I wanted to be a chef but Dad didn't deem that to be a proper career. He was strict and expected all three of us kids to go to university. Luckily, Otago was the only place you could do nutrition and dietetics so it was the perfect excuse to get away. I worked hard but I partied quite hard as well. I met my husband during O-Week at The Cook tavern. What impressed me about Carlos was he wasn't afraid to try different foods. He grew up on a Southland sheep farm eating meat and three veg every night.

4 What did your dad think of Carlos when you brought him home for the first time?

Surprisingly, Carlos was the only boyfriend that's ever passed the test. We'd been together about six months when he came up to Auckland to meet my parents. I was horrified to discover I'd mucked up the dates and it was Chinese New Year. Dad's quite traditional and we have quite a few rituals. I was like: "This is so embarrassing. He's going to think our family is so strange." But Carlos was so respectful and really got into it, which impressed Dad. Then we went out for yum cha. I'd told Carlos that in Chinese culture it's rude to refuse food. Dad never orders chicken feet but he did that time, I think as a test, and Carlos ate the chicken feet! That pretty much sealed the deal for Dad.

5 What did you learn from your job as a dietician?

I soon realised that none of my fancy nutritional knowledge meant a thing to people if they couldn't make a simple home-cooked meal. Doing diabetes clinics in lower socioeconomic areas of Auckland was a real eye opener. Of course people are going to eat fried chicken and chips when it's only one or two dollars. If I was in the same situation I'd be eating like that too. Another great thing I learnt was that people don't respond well to being told, "you shouldn't eat that". I'd focus on their favourite healthy foods rather than trying to make them eat foods they didn't enjoy. While I had a lot of triumphs, I also realised that some patients I couldn't help if they didn't want to do it themselves.

6 Why did you leave your work as a dietician?

I wanted to do more than help one person at a time. When MasterChef came up, the main prize was writing your own cookbook. I was going to do absolutely anything for that opportunity. I created a study timetable and learnt every single thing they could possibly test us on right down to how to gut and skin a rabbit. That never came up, damn it, but I had studied macarons, which were in the final, so it totally paid off.

Nadia Lim at home in Westmere, Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring

7 You've written seven cookbooks now. What's different about your latest one?

It's the first to be self-published under my Nude Food brand. Of all my books this is probably closest to my heart because it's about family. These are the dishes Carlos and I cook all the time for our family and friends. I know these recipes inside out. I've cooked some of them 80 times.

8 Why does the cover say "Mostly healthy"?

People should aim to eat well 90 per cent of the time. The other 10 per cent you should have whatever you want. The last section of the book has my top 10 favourite sweet treats for special occasions. There's a section called Not Too Naughty, with baking that's appropriate for school lunches. A lot of people think sugar's the devil but I'm not that extreme. I'll use a few tablespoons in cooking but then use fruit to sweeten naturally.

9 Why have you dedicated your new book to your father?

The title is what he'd say every night at dinner time. When Dad said "Let's Eat" everyone had to sit at the table. He died of cancer three years ago. He and Mum had gone to the Philippines for a new treatment at one of the busiest times of my life, when My Food Bag was starting up, so I didn't get to see him as often as I'd have liked in those final months.

10 Did your relationship with your dad change as you got older?

Yes. There was a bit of tension growing up. Having similar personalities probably contributed to the clash. I'm stubborn too, apparently. Dad worried that I wasn't as academic as my brother and sister but once I'd done well at university he could relax. A lot of our relationship was through food. He was a good cook. I've included two of his best Malaysian recipes which he'd cook to remind him of home. He was generous, humble and stuck up for the underdog. "Never forget your roots" was the advice he gave me.

11 Your son Bodhi is 16 months old now. How do you juggle work and family life?

Carlos and I are both lucky to have flexibility with work. We nanny share with two other families in our neighbourhood who have kids the same age, so it's really nice.

12 Since launching Nadia magazine last October, circulation has climbed to 43,000 copies per issue. Why did you decide to do a magazine as well?

The publishers (Bauer) approached me last year after doing some research that found magazine readers wanted down-to-earth advice around health and wellbeing. They thought I was right for it. It's another way to get positive messages about food out there in a light-hearted and supportive way.

• Nadia Lim launches her new cook book Let's eat! with a series of events nationwide; nadialim.com. In stores from 7 September.