Media & Reviews
Awards
Gourmand World cookbook awards 2022
Winner of the prestigious “Best in the World” title for 2nd place in the diet category of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2022!
Magazines & News
Focus magazine July 2022
“The 5 Best New Cookbooks”
Whilst we’re on the Keto theme, here’s a great cookbook that you’ll love. Winning second place in the ‘Diet’ category in the prestigious Gourmand and World Cookbook Awards 2022, Chef Nerys has created easy-to-follow recipes for followers of the keto diet. In early 2019, she adopted the keto diet and started adapting and creating recipes which led to this debut cookbook. She’s a firm believer that following a keto lifestyle should be easy, indulgent and sustainable.
The hard cover cookbook, filled with gorgeous imagery, is full of wholesome tasty recipes that are keto, low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-free, diabetes-friendly, and calorie conscious. Each recipe includes a breakdown of the nutritional components and symbols on each recipe indicate if the recipe is sugar-free, gluten- free, egg-free, etc…”
New Zealand HERALD – MAY 2021
“Chef Nerys Whelan has been working in kitchens she was just 16 years old. Early in her career she competed and won several culinary competitions early, which led to her being part of Team New Zealand in 2016 for the esteemed Bocuse D’or – Asia Pacific Continental Selection.
Thinking outside the box is part of Nerys’ skillset and she thrives on the challenge of creating and adapting recipes. In early 2019 she adopted a keto diet and noticing a lack of quality, easy-to-follow recipes, she decided to create her own and produced her debut cookbook, The Keto Chef’s Kitchen. Nerys is a firm believer that following a keto lifestyle should be easy, indulgent, and sustainable. Here she shares a few insights into her lifestyle and cooking habits.
I’m a Naki girl through and through, but I live in Auckland now.
My home kitchen is my playground, science lab and happy place! I spend a lot of time in there messing around with my recipes, so a lot of the time it’s organised chaos…”
OTAGO DAILY NEWS – MARCH 2021
‘Living keto’ spurs quest
…However, carbohydrates are cheap, quick and easy to prepare, while keto foods, generally, are not. “But fat keeps you full for longer.”
So, to save the pennies, Whelan has included some tips to make keto more affordable… There are some surprising inclusions — such as a keto pasta dough, fish batter, bagels and chocolate chip COOKIES, all made with a base of ground almonds.
Whelan also points out the recipes can be used by anyone looking for gluten-free, sugar-free and low-carbohydrate recipes.
Each recipe is accompanied by a nutritional breakdown.”
NZ book lovers – March 2021
” How difficult are the recipes in your book?
I wrote these recipes with the everyday person in mind. They are all easy to follow and cook – bar one! The crêpe recipe is absolutely amazing (one of my favourites) BUT… cooking a thin, delicate crêpe with no gluten to hold it together is a bit of an art! However, there is a few notes and tips at the top for guidance.
If you had to pick three favourite recipes from the book, what would they be, and why?
I try to challenge the norm of what can be keto friendly. I am continually learning more about how different ingredients act and creating things that I did not even think were possible without things like sugar and gluten. So, my favourite recipes are the ones that took the most number of revisions to get right: Cupcakes, crêpes, bagels and cookies!
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why?
My favourite ingredient to cook with is cheese. I know that sounds weird, but it’s great for holding things like keto doughs together! Also, cheese is life.”
Reviews
KIWI REVIEWS | 9.5 / 10
“I love beautiful cookbooks. Something about the glossy pages, full colour illustrations, and lists of mouth-watering ingredients draws me in. I don’t read a book like this from start to finish. I dive into it at random, hoping to find inspiration for a meal – and I certainly did. I eat keto most of the time because I have Type 2 diabetes which means watching the carbs, but I have been known to avert my eyes now and again when tempted by a sandwich made from real wheaten flour… Having access to a cookbook like this is bound to make life easier for anyone who is basically a foodie but has to watch the carbs.
First, the format. The book has a sturdy binding which looks as though it will survive a little rough handling and still come out looking good. The front cover is intriguing: certainly it was enough to make me want to explore more. The layout inside is clear with excellent use of white space; there is nothing worse than a cookbook that is difficult to read when you are trying to juggle it with several items of kitchenware and not get food smeared everywhere! The photographs of the prepared meals are beautifully presented and clear, important when you are trying to visualise what the finished product might look like…”
GAZETTE
“…Firstly, it’s beautiful. Hardcover and filled with divine photographs from front to back. It’s also really informative – there’s a whole section on sweeteners which compares nine different types and in a neat and easy to understand table show cost, calories, if it will caramelise, if it has an aftertaste etc. I can see that if you were considering transitioning to a ketogenic diet this would be enormously helpful. ..”
