Local chef's cookbook aims to inspire

A local chef has launched his first cookbook with the aim of inspiring Rotorua families to put down the takeaways and pick up the cooking utensils.

But his cookbook, My Revolution, is only the beginning for Capizzi Pizzeria head chef Deep Kumar. The foodie hopes to continue his journey, teaching Kiwi families how to improve their eating habits and make lifelong changes to their health.

His cookbook was officially launched at a celebration on Friday night.

"There were many people from our community who came to celebrate the book launch with me including My Kitchen Rules judge Robert Oliver. It was such a good night.

"I never thought I would write a book but something triggered me two years ago and I was inspired to follow this path. I started noticing New Zealand children were not eating healthy food and our obesity rate was increasing day by day. We are the third fattest country in the world and it is only getting worse so I decided to run a campaign called Food Revolution.

"I started going to schools and community centres, teaching children and their families how to cook and eat healthy, wholesome food. This book is a culmination of that two-year experience."

Mr Kumar said he hoped his book would be used as a tool for children to change their eating habits for the better and pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

"I believe you get the most knowledge from books and this book is full of emotions. I have spent my time going around Rotorua and have understood how bad we are eating and feeding our kids so I want to connect to more schools and community through this book and hopefully change people's lives."

Mr Kumar said the book had been two years in the making and had become a reality through the guidance of fellow chef Robert Oliver and others from the community.

"From my understanding this is the first cookbook ever written by a chef in New Zealand with the objective of teaching kids and empowering families to cook from scratch."

He said the launch of his book was only the beginning of his journey.

"I want to create a Junior Masterchef programme, using the money raised from my book, because I believe it will be an invaluable opportunity to teach millions of kids around New Zealand."

* My Revolution costs $21.50 and can be bought by emailing Mr Kumar at futurediets@gmail.com.

Deep's new cookbook.