Nadia's return to nature 'I NEEDED TO GET BACK TO MYSELF'

After a long, hard winter on the farm, our beloved chef has a new zest for life and more fabulous recipes to share

- Sophie Neville

On Nadia Lim’s farm Royalburn Station, just outside of Queenstown, spring is in full bloom.

Lambs are arriving, seeds are being sown and the snow on the surrounding mountains is beginning to melt. Seasons have never felt more meaningful to the Kiwi foodie, both on the land and in her own life.

And after what she describes as a long, wintry spell, where her energy dipped and her spirits waned, Nadia is delighted to say the sun is shining for her again. These days, she feels lighter, brighter and happier than she has in a long time.

“I really believe that we go through seasons spiritually and emotionally,” she says, catching up with the Weekly on a whirlwind trip to Auckland, just ahead of the launch of her new TV show Nadia’s Farm Kitchen. “It helps to remember that seasons come and go. When you're in a bit of a winter phase and life doesn’t feel very bright, you have to trust that spring will arrive and that you'll start to see little glimpses of light, and that before long, you will bloom again and you're back in summer.”

At the sprawling farm Nadia shares with husband Carlos Bagrie and their three boys Bodhi, nine, River, six, and two-year-old Arlo, the family, alongside their hardworking team, is in the thick of spring planting.

But while the farm hums with activity, Nadia has plenty on her own plate too, with the launch of her new TV show and companion cookbook Nadia's Farm Kitchen. Seasonality is celebrated in both the series and the book, with Nadia embracing a “hyper-local” way of eating. The show follows the My Food Bag co-founder as she visits local producers and creates delicious dishes from food all grown or raised on Royalburn, or within an hour of her South Island home.