Lauraine Jacobs
Food & Wine Writer
Welcome!
Lauraine Jacobs, current President of the NZ Guild of Food Writers, is the FOOD COLUMNIST for the NZ LISTENER magazine, an internationally respected food and wine writer and author/editor of eight cookbooks and one travel book, Matakana.
Trained at the London Cordon Bleu School she has been writing on all matters culinary for more than 20 years, starting as food editor of Fashion Quarterly in the late '80s, and served as food editor for Cuisine magazine until 2009. Her bestselling cook book, The Confident Cook, is a much loved and used book in many New Zealand homes. She was editor of A Treasury of New Zealand Baking which has raised more than $28,000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation, and in 2010 worked with NZGFW members, editing a new book Comfort, Food to Share from which all royalties will benefit the Starship Foundation. The New Zealand Vegetable Cookbook, her latest book, co-authored with Ginny Grant and Kathy Paterson, was released in mid August 2010.
Follow @LauraineJacobs A passionate cook and lover of simply presented fresh food, she has won many food and recipe writing awards including two Gold Ladles at the World Food Media Awards. She wrote in Cuisine magazine for 22 years until late 2009 and won prizes for her recipes, restaurant reviews and travel stories. A tireless champion of New Zealand’s fine culinary scene, especially small artisan producers, regional specialty foods and farmer’s markets throughout the country, she was the major contributor to the Gold Ladle winning Cuisine Wine Country. Lauraine teaches cooking classes, broadcasts on food and cooking on Radio New Zealand, and appears at The Food Show and other exciting events around the country.
Lauraine spent eight years on the Board of Directors of the USA-based International Association of Culinary Professionals and served as president of this prestigious group in 2002. She was a member of the 2005/2006 New Zealand Government-appointed Food & Beverage Taskforce, and has also served as a food and wine ambassador for New Zealand's Trade & Enterprise initiative in North America.
Lauraine was very proud to accept an MNZM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2009 for services to the food industry.
She lives in Auckland and spends her leisure time on an amazing stretch of Pacific coast near Matakana. Lauraine loves to make culinary journeys to Europe and frequently eats out. As an antidote to the eating and wine drinking her life demands, Lauraine plays golf regularly.
Lauraine is available for:
- Consulting work
- Hosting events
- Speaking engagements on food trends and eating out
- Freelance writing on food and wine
- Occasional exclusive cooking classes.