If you’ve ever googled a recipe for cooking at home, chances are you’ve stumbled upon RecipeTin Eats. The food site attracts millions of visitors every month and is run by Australian Nagi Maehashi, with the help of her dog. and flavor tester, Dozer.
It’s fitting that Nagi, a home cook turned web powerhouse and best-selling cookbook, has been selected as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia.
“I love the exhibit because it has all my favorite things — wise home cooks, cutting-edge recipes, and food experts as judges,” Nagi, 46, told TV WEEK. “Tick, tick, tick!”
Entering the MasterChef kitchen this week with a Mystery Box of 50 ingredients, Nagi is on hand to design what the in-house chefs will prepare.
“It was wonderful to work with applicants; they are very talented,” Nagi says of her time on MasterChef. “[And the judges] are brilliant. I felt very fortunate to be in the “other side of the bank” with them.
As someone who gives up his daily task to pursue his dreams as a full-time foodie, Nagi obviously identifies with the candidates.
“Everyone thought I was crazy,” she says of her work in corporate finance to launch the website. “For years, other people would ask, ‘When will you go back to the real world?'”
Ten years later, his bet has paid off, the road is long.
“The day I introduced the website, I had two visitors in total: my mom and me,” Nagi laughs. “It was tricky and I was afraid of making a big mistake. But the concept of surrender never crossed my mind.
With RecipeTin Eats on the rise, his award-winning cookbooks, and a first MasterChef appearance under his belt, is his own TV show Nagi’s next step?
“Never say never!” she mocks.
Buy RecipeTin Eats through Nagi by clicking here.