Kai & kindness - ‘OUR RECIPE FOR A GOOD LIFE'

The foodie and her brother have dished up a cookbook full of comfort

- Kelly Bertrand

Growing up as the lone sister among five siblings, it's fair to say food writer Jane Rangiwahia never thought one of the highlights of her life would come from working with one of her little brothers.

"I think that's why I only have one child now... I did all my parenting early," she says as the brother in question, Paul, roars with laughter.

"She's not wrong," he adds. "But hey, in a world where one of the biggest issues is loneliness, we're pretty lucky. We're definitely never lonely!" But the Hawera-born siblings can now call themselves best-selling authors, with their innovative lifestyle book, Kai and Kindness, flying off the shelves since its launch earlier this year. Combining their separate passions of food, art and promoting mental health, the pair have taken "comfort food" to a new level, after realising that kai and kindness really do go hand in hand.

The book features mental health advocate and artist Paul's 45 mental health tips, which he dubs his "mental warrant of fitness". They are accompanied both by his own art, as well as 45 of Jane's recipes that have been curated especially to complement each tip.

"Yeah, I wouldn't say they match perfectly," tells Paul.