Fresh Hunger is a place where I share stories & recipes of my life abroad. It’s about food, eating, cooking, discoveries & a journey – one that began almost two decades ago when I decided to move from my homeland…
I attended culinary school in Sydney, Australia where I was born & raised. And that’s where I began my career & with food. During my career I’ve authored six cookbooks & co-wrote over 60. In the dead of winter in 2000 I moved to the frigid, Canadian tundra to become food editor for a publisher’s magazine & cookbook division. Then I decided to self-published a cookbook – Simple, Fresh, Delicious. And that lead me to host a national cooking show in Canada also called – Simple, Fresh, Delicious (named after my book, but you probably guessed that).
Then in 2010 I moved to United States. I met & married an American man. Later I became the food specialist for a fortune 500 company. Several moves & states later, we now live on the outskirts of a tiny town in Indiana where my husband was born & raised. We’re renovating an old house one room at a time. I’m trying to find my Aussie body again after gaining weight. Both the house & I are a work in progress.
I go home when I can – every year usually. I miss Sydney. I miss Canada too. That also used to be my home & Canada was good to me. When you love & live in other countries apart from your own, you leave at little of your heart behind. I miss my family, the Aussie lifestyle & their laid-back approach to life – lost on many Americans. I miss the food. Have I mentioned I miss the food? Ha! Where I live is so far removed from anything remotely resembling a culinary mecca but I try & make it work.
We have a big yard (& walnut trees) so in the summer we grow a lot of our food (& the squirrels enjoy the walnuts). Winter requires more resourcefulness & thought when you attempt to eat seasonally. Often I fail at that.
People ask me all the time which country I like the most. I love & dislike things about all. There’s no perfect place. It’s what you make it. Moving abroad changes you. Once you leave your birthplace nothing will ever be the same. Living abroad is not for the faint hearted. I know: I’ve migrated to two countries. Like many things in life, moving to another country takes guts, determination & an courageous spirit. I applaud anyone who has successfully built a career & a life for themselves in a place different to their homeland.
Be open to fresh ideas. Search for good food. And always be hungry for adventure. You never know where the journey will lead…