Julie Goodwin

 

Mum, wife, cook, singer and public speaker, Julie Goodwin is the epitome of a busy Australian Mum. Born and raised in Sydney, she started a degree in education but left to pursue a career in youth work. After working for several years presenting workshops in schools across Australia, she moved to the Central Coast where she married her long time partner, Michael. She continued her youth work holding a position in a juvenile detention centre, and as a singer performed at many functions around the area.

In 1995, Julie and Michael’s first son Joe was born, followed quickly by Tom and then Paddy. With three boys under the age of three, life was incredibly active for Julie but far from slowing down, in 2002 she and Michael took the plunge and started their own I.T. consulting company. Hard work and commitment paid off, the business grew and soon they moved their office from the corner of their lounge room to their own premises in North Gosford and built up a team of dedicated employees.

In December 2008 Julie applied for the first series of MasterChef Australia. Little did she realise how much her life would change. Taking Australia by storm, the TV series put twenty amateur cooks through their paces, with just one to be crowned ‘MasterChef’. So it was on 19th July 2009 that Julie, watched by over 4 million Australians, took out the title as the first ever ‘MasterChef’.

In another dream come true Julie has also become a regular columnist for the Australian Women’s Weekly, and resident cook on Channel Nine’s Today Show. She also fronted her own cooking show Home Cooked! - also on the Nine Network.

In a whirlwind of activity since her win, Julie’s first book ‘Our family table’, published with Random House in April 2010, went immediately to No.1, where it stayed for over 10 weeks. Then in October 2011, Julie released her second book “The Heart of the Home”, in which she shares with us more of her beloved family recipes, as well as those from her friends and community.

“I have always loved asparagus. To me, it isn’t really Spring until fresh green Australian asparagus appears for sale in the markets.

Asparagus is beautiful on its own, lightly blanched with a little salt and pepper and butter; beautiful teamed with eggs of any description, and especially lovely with seared salmon and a bit of hollandaise sauce.

On the BBQ I love to do balsamic grilled vegies – along with asparagus I add eggplant, capsicum, onion wedges, mushrooms, whatever is handy – grill on the BBQ with a little olive oil then toss through with fresh herbs and a generous splash of balsamic glaze.”

 

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