‘Humble’ is the word that comes to mind when North Shore Living chats with renowned cook, writer, television presenter and proud Chatswood local, Adam Liaw.
Despite being a household name, the Malaysian-born, South Australian lawyer-turned-chef has a disarming modesty when speaking about his remarkable success in the culinary world.
“Starting out, I guess I didn’t fit into that mould of someone who was disillusioned with their life and just wanted to change. I really enjoy being a lawyer,” he begins.
“It was more a function of circumstance. I’d been overseas at that point for about seven, eight years and felt like coming back to Australia and essentially just wanted to have a year off. Instead, I thought I’d try MasterChef.”
Since taking that victorious ‘crack’ at Channel 10’s popular reality cooking competition, Liaw’s career has gone from strength to strength with five cookbooks, over a dozen television programs, countless newspaper columns and now a podcast under his belt.
Adam recording his new podcast, How Taste Changed the World.
“I guess I have the luxury of being able to pick projects that interest me and fortunately, or unfortunately, I have a lot of interests,” he laughs.
While it may have been his now iconic travel series, Destination Flavour, that saw him become a familiar face in loungerooms across the country, the pandemic and fatherhood provided Liaw with an opportunity to take stock of his next move.
What spawned was, arguably, his most ambitious project yet – a nightly cooking show of over 200 episodes per season filmed at SBS’ Artarmon headquarters.
“To me, Australian cuisine is what happens in a million suburban kitchens every night, rather than what happens in restaurants. So, let’s see how Australians cook – that was the idea,” he explains.
This time around, Liaw lets his guests take the lead – each bringing to the table a 10-minute, easy-to-follow recipe based on a particular theme.
Adam’s children Anna, Benji and Christopher
And with names such as Pia Miranda, Mark Humphries, Narelda Jacobs, Jimmy Barnes, Jessica Rowe and Colin Fassnidge taking up the challenge, it spans a who’s who of Australian theatre, television, media, and culinary stars.
“Almost for the first time, it’s not what my idea of what Australian home cooking is or my hope for what Australian home cooking is. It’s quite honestly what our guests are having for dinner.”
Adam on the set of The Cook Up with chef Maggie Beer and baker Natalie Paull
Its premise speaks to the very core of what has made Liaw one of the most influential figures in Australia’s food industry with over 300,000 social media followers – he’s a realist when it comes to our cooking needs.
“We don’t want every dish to be something that is aspirational, we want it to be a problem solved. Because
nobody needs another recipe,” he admits.
“If I can find a way to make dinner a little bit easier, then that to me is a noble goal.”
The show’s ‘noble’ nature extends to its ability to celebrate diversity and foster real conversations about culture and
modern Australia. Whether it’s the godmother of Australian cuisine, Maggie Beer, speaking passionately about the need for better food in aged care or the importance of totems in Indigenous diets.
“This is the thing I really love about The Cook Up and the way that we get to talk, not just about food but over food. You get to see these different sides to people in the same way as if you had them over for dinner,” Liaw explains.
It’s these sometimes-tough conversations that Liaw refuses to shy away from, speaking boldly as an Australia Made Week ambassador about the need to shop local to combat climate change, and lending his knowledge as a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) nutrition ambassador.
Adam with Paralympian and advocate, Kurt Fearnley, and renowned cook, Stephanie Alexander.
Adam Liaw’s local top spots
- Chatswood BBQ Kitchen – order the Beef Chow Fun
- 1 Ton Noodle, Chatswood – order the soy sauce chicken noodles
- Forest Way Fresh, Terrey Hills – for your fresh produce needs
“I think if you’re going to be in the privileged position of having that platform, then you have a bit of a responsibility to use it for the benefit of people who are not just yourself,” he says.
In his next move, Liaw is using this platform to encourage the everyday cook to throw away the rule book entirely with his new podcast, How Taste Changed the World.
In a journey through science, history, and culture, he challenges us to think only about the five tastes – salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami.
Himself a pharmacology graduate, Liaw enlists the help of food scientists and renowned chefs to break it down to basics – why and how does our food taste good?
“We can smell a million things, but we can actually only taste five,” he explains.
“You can have a recipe that has 50 ingredients in it, but if you know that the ingredients that matter to salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami are the ones that are going to mean that it tastes good or bad, then every recipe becomes a five-ingredient recipe.”
He’s admitted the process has even helped to make him a better chef, so when it comes down to it, what has been a key take away?
“There is a scientific way to get your kids to like vegetables and I really wish more people knew that!” he laughs. The Cook Up with Adam Liaw airs weeknights on SBS. How Taste Changed the World is available on Audible now.