Jeremy Dixon says American audiences love the Kiwi accent.
Jeremy Dixon says American audiences love the Kiwi accent.
New Zealand's Jeremy Dixon followed his dreams and became a chef and owner of a successful cafe. Then he took a step further. You'd almost call it a mighty leap.
Jeremy is now proving a hit on American TV hosting a cooking show. Moving into a second series, Jeremy, who released his fifth Revive Cafe Cookbook recently, answers our questions:
You are returning to the States for a second series in your TV show, Cook:30. Obviously it was popular with viewers. What made it so attractive to an American audience?
I think my style of healthy cooking breaks the mould a little and it is a unique and fresh way of cooking.
They also seem to love the Kiwi accent (if I can remember to talk slowly so they can understand it).
How do American consumers differ from New Zealanders?
There are the healthy and unhealthy ones just like New Zealand.
But there are millions more people who are into healthy eating which means there are excellent restaurants and stores to cater for the whole food market.
Revive 5 by Jeremy Dixon, RRP $29.99, published and distributed by Revive Concepts Ltd.
How do you juggle running a business in NZ and filming a TV series in the States?
I actually have three businesses in NZ, with my cafes, cookbooks and Frooze Ball manufacturing. It is difficult.
But getting excellent staff that I can trust is critical. I carve out certain months that I do the filming. But it is all so much fun so it is not really work.
Do you watch cooking shows at home? Have you a favourite?
I actually do not own a TV (which is a choice my wife and I made 13 years ago when we married) and have not looked back! But I do view on the internet from time to time. I enjoy the simplicity of Jamie's work and can pick up tips from any cook.
What was the most difficult thing being in front of a camera?
Timing. Finishing a show with five dishes within 10 seconds of the end time. I have 24 minutes of cooking time for the 30 minute show. Sometimes I am several minutes behind and have to speed things up and take shortcuts. Sometimes I have a couple of minutes spare so can slow things down and tell some stories (although this does not happen very often). But all this adds to the realness of the programme.
Also keeping a very happy, personable and relaxed look while in the background trying to say intelligent things and co-ordinate what is currently cooking/mixing/setting or being chopped. At the end of each day I am mentally exhausted.
Any funny moments?
I dropped a whole watermelon behind the counter and it bounced inside the counter and behind some shelves so I could not retrieve it. We actually left it in the finished product.
What do you hope viewers will get from your shows?
To see that these wholefood ingredients are actually easy to use and to give them a try. It will benefit their health if they can switch from the default set of ingredients most people cook with.
What is your food philosophy?
Wholefoods (unprocessed) and plant-based (no meat, minimal dairy). Keeping things real.
Tell us six key things to healthier living.
Do these and you will look and feel amazing, have more energy, not get terrible diseases and live many years longer:
Nutrition - eat whole food plant based ingredients.
Exercise - get 30 minutes a day (did you know that you need 30 minutes less sleep if you exercise for 30 minutes - so there are no "I do not have time" excuses).
Water - drink 2 litres a day.
Sunshine - get sunshine regularly on your body.
Temperance - avoid alcohol, drugs, tobacco and caffeine.
Rest - Get seven to eight hours uninterrupted sleep a night.
