Something else I'm passionate about is looking after my health. I think my respect for health comes mainly from my parents, who were both practicing medical doctors for over 30 years in the small town in Australia where I grew up. In fact, my parents' medical practice was attached to our house, so you could say I was raised in a health-conscious environment!

Consequently, as much as I love good food, the health aspect of food has always been just as important to me. Unfortunately, good food and good nutrition are often mutually exclusive, and on many occasions my tastebuds have had to suffer in order to eat healthfully.

Asian influence

But my whole concept of "good nutrition" changed entirely in my late teens when my brother, Neil, married Vivian, who is Chinese-Malaysian. It was through Vivian that I had my very first introduction to truly authentic Asian cuisine. I remember it was a generous serving of fragrant chicken curry. It was an irresistible and unforgettable taste experience that left me with an addiction to Asian food for life! Incredibly, this traditionally-prepared food was not only delicious, it was also very nutritious—consisting mainly of lean protein sources such as chicken and fish and plant-based foods such as vegetables, grains and legumes. This inspired me to try cooking authentic Asian dishes myself at home, and often.

Vivian was an invaluable source of advice. She shared her own favorite recipes and gave me an inspiring cookbook that featured many of the diverse and wonderful cuisines of Asia. I also remember how much it fascinated me going to Asian grocery stores with her to shop for exotic ingredients like curry pastes, fish sauce and Asian greens—ingredients that were considered "foreign" at that time, but are now commonplace in most supermarkets.

Overseas adventures

My career in the travel industry has also exposed me to many cultures and cuisines other than my own. I now live and work in New Zealand, but for many years I worked as a senior international travel agent in Australia.

One of my duties as a travel agent was to go abroad and inspect the facilities of international hotels. These overseas trips allowed me to have a first-hand look at the traditional foods of different places and peoples. For someone like me who's greedy and loves good food, I took great pleasure in doing my "job." Apart from inspecting hotels, I sampled dishes in foreign restaurants, tasted exotic foods from market stalls and street vendors, and gathered recipes and ideas to recreate at home on my return.

Sharing our passion

In the years since that first fateful curry, my appetite for ethnic cooking has grown and grown, especially after meeting Ric, who introduced me to the wonderful tastes, textures and soul-satisfying goodness of traditional Mediterranean cuisine. Over the last 14 years we've not only formed a loving relationship with each other, we've also formed a loving relationship with Mediterranean and Asian food! We're now delighted to have the opportunity, through this site, to share our passion for MediterrAsian food and living with you.

trudy @mediterrasian.com