We talk to Great Kiwi Bake Off champion Alby Hailes about his latest cookbook, Good Vibes.

Alby Hailes is one of the most exciting young home cooks in New Zealand, with a passion for flavour-packed food that makes us feel good. He is renowned for winning the Great Kiwi Bake Off in 2021 and has spent the past 10 years as a food writer of delicious and creative recipes for all eaters and occasions, with a focus on global flavours, seasonal produce, and the Good Vibes that cooking brings in connecting us to the land, ourselves, and each other. In 2016 he self-published Scarfie Kitchen, a cookbook of affordable student eats, and his recipes have featured on Radio New Zealand and in Aotearoa Vegan magazine. Formerly a psychiatry registrar, he’s stepped away from the medical profession to channel his time and energy into food. He lives in Ōtepoti, Dunedin with his partner and their greyhound. Website: www.albyhailes.com Instagram: @albyhailes

Hi Alby! Give us an elevator pitch of Good Vibes and your career so far.

Good Vibes is a celebration of food that makes you feel good. With veg-forward ingredients and knockout flavours, these are recipes to take your cooking to the next level. From nourishing breakfasts to impressive sharing plates, punchy weeknight meals, soul-warming slow-cooks, and delectable sweet treats, these are my favourite on-repeat recipes. Including vegetarian and vegan options for any eaters, this book is packed with modern, fun and delicious food to reignite the senses and bring a splash of joy to your kitchen.

Rediscovering the joy of food can mean going back to basics and trying to connect on a personal level, beyond the contradictory messages of what you should or shouldn’t eat. Good Vibes encourages home cooks to consider the impact their food choices have on their well-being, and offers flavourful, inventive, and colourful recipes designed to ignite a love of food and bring people together.

Each chapter of the book focuses on the feeling and intention that your food should bring; these are the good vibes to channel as you cook. Energise is about kickstarting your day in style, with breakfast and brunch food to jump out of bed for. Connect is the largest chapter, filled with recipes to place in the centre of the table to share with loved ones. Think layered sharing plates that can be paired with a main or become part of a larger spread, salads perfect for barbecue parties or winter potlucks, and recipes that encourage guests to join you in the kitchen for assembly. Thrive is all about big flavour and minimal effort; speedy meals designed for weeknight cooking. Many of these are played on repeat in my home – nourishing food that’s stress-free to cook. Comfort is filled with warming soul food, including fresh takes on classic comfort foods we all know and love. Delight showcases some of my favourite desserts, cakes, and bakes that surprise and satisfy. These are creamy, crunchy, boozy, fruity, and daringly delicious. Sustain is a collection of staples that feature throughout, often forming the base of other hero recipes or as a suggested accompaniment.

The flavours in this book are designed to nourish your mental health and are also nutritionally balanced to benefit your physical health. Focused on seasonal wholefoods, of the almost 120 recipes, you’ll find over 50% are vegan and at least 80% are vegetarian. The recipes speak to balance and the importance of food in connecting us, to ourselves, the land, and each other.

What was the first dish you ever mastered?

Does an after-school spaghetti & cheese toasted sandwich count?! In terms of a complete dish, I would say a chicken curry.

When I was 14, my parents encouraged me to enrol in weekly cooking classes designed for teenagers and run by a couple of chefs at a local Oamaru restaurant. I was instantly hooked; to the aromas and atmosphere, the process and product, the opportunity for endless creativity. For the final class, we were able to bring a whānau member along to taste our creations. As I presented to my brother the chicken curry I had cooked, I felt the most incredible pride seeing the enjoyment on his face. From memory there were many more chicken curries made in the following weeks, so that was probably the first dish I had down to a tee.

What are your favourite cookbooks? Apart from Good Vibes, what would be your go-to cookbook recommendation to someone?

The cooks who have certainly had the most influence on me would be Nik Sharma, Yotam Ottolenghi and Anna Jones. I love their approach, with flavour always at the forefront, and how they challenge the home cook to push the boundaries of flavour with interesting ingredients in an accessible way. A recent cookbook I’ve been enjoying though is Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage (former Ottolenghi Test Kitchen member) – it’s a book I always get excited to cook from.

You started out writing recipes as a student for students – do you think your original goal to diversify student diets still rings true today?

As my cooking has developed, the audience for my recipes has also evolved. But the values that underpin my cooking have remained the same as they were back in my Scarfie days: try to eat seasonally, connect with friends, whānau and whenua through food, have fun with flavours and be adventurous in the kitchen. There are so many good vibes to be had from the making and sharing of a home-cooked meal.

You recently launched BEAU Cakes – congratulations! How did that come about?

Last year, I decided I needed a break from full-time doctoring, to reassess and clarify my goals. Since being on the Great Kiwi Bake Off, a part of me has wanted to do something more in the food world, alongside my food writing endeavours, and stepping back from my medical work this year has provided an opportunity for this. On moving to Ōtepoti, Dunedin at the start of the year, I was initially looking for premises to start a food business but couldn’t find the right location – so in the interim, I decided to start BEAU Cakes from my home-based kitchen. Following a made-to-order model, it allows me flexibility alongside my food writing and medical work, and with every cake purchased, I also donate a cake to a local organisation/charity of the buyer’s choosing – because everyone deserves to enjoy a slice of deliciousness!

What seasonal produce do you most look forward to?

We’re so lucky with the abundance of produce that can be grown in Aotearoa soils. I definitely get more excited about fruits than vegetables, and the summer fruiting season is always a highlight – especially stone fruit. The arrival of late summer/early autumn figs is also a special time of year, as is the persimmon season, which I think is one of the most underrated fruits around.

What are your tips for a successful dinner party?

Good music is key – you want it to pair well with the food (as you would a glass of wine) to emanate the good vibes you’re bringing to the table.

When cooking for guests, always flick through the recipes you’re planning to make beforehand, to ensure you have all the necessary ingredients, and to see what you can make in advance – reduce the stress and give yourself time to enjoy the company. If you’re able to get dinner guests involved in the kitchen too it’s always more fun – and then everyone feels like they’ve contributed to the deliciousness.

What recipe from Good Vibes should readers try first?

Food is such a personal thing – we all have our own taste preferences and there are certain foods that we connect to on an individual level, often because of life experiences and that powerful nostalgia that food brings. I’d encourage readers to find a recipe that fills them with joy or excitement when they flick through the book, and try this first. I’ve also included vegan and gluten-free icons on each recipe so home cooks can easily identify what fits their dietary requirements. There’s something for everyone amongst the pages of Good Vibes.

Leading up to the release of Good Vibes, I’ve been revisiting some of the recipes in my own kitchen – and I can confirm they are still just as delicious as I remember. Recently I made the Cilbir eggs with curry leaves & saffron yoghurt from the Energise chapter, and it is honestly so so so good – the combo of creamy yoghurt, spiced butter and runny yolks is everything!

Check out Alby’s recipes for Cilbir Eggs, Larb-Stuffed Kūmara and Lime, Apple & Poppy Seed Cake on thisNZlife.

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Good Vibes by Alby Hailes (HarperCollins NZ, HB, RRP $55)