Jo Seagar

Jo Seagar, ONZM, became a household name with her warm, no-nonsense approach to home cooking through her television series and cookbooks. Raised in small-town Otago, she trained as a nurse before studying at culinary schools in London and Paris. Seagar made her screen debut in 1998, presenting Real Food for Real People, and went on to host shows Jo Seagar’s Easy Peasy (1998 - 1999), The Chelsea Sugar Great New Zealand Bake Off (2000), and Jo Seagar Cooks (2006). She she has also authored numerous cookbooks, was North & South's first food writer, and contributed to Cuisine and The NZ Woman’s Weekly.

TVNZ loved the idea but it took me a long time to convince them to let me present it. They kept saying, 'We've got this 22-year-old aerobics instructor in mind.' I was kind of Aunty Doreen . . . when it eventually got on TV, it was the highest-rated thing they'd done, so it was, 'Take that! Jo Seagar on her television debut with Real Food For Real People, The NZ Herald, 6 November 2018