farmer and co-owner
Nadia Lim
- Discipline
- farmer and co-owner
Portrait of Nadia Lim
i. Biography
The early formation here runs through dietetics and television, with Nadia Lim moving from University of Otago into clinical practice at Auckland District Health Board in Auckland (2008–2011). Publishing extended the same food logic onto the page. As author at Nadia's Kitchen (2012) and author at Nadia Lim's Good Food Cookbook (2013), Nadia Lim took the work out of broadcast time and into recipes that could be read, tested, and repeated at home. The television roles that followed, guest judge at My Kitchen Rules New Zealand in New Zealand (2014–2018), host at New Zealand with Nadia Lim (2014), contestant at Dancing with the Stars in New Zealand (2019), host at Nadia's Comfort Kitchen in New Zealand (2020), judge at MasterChef New Zealand in New Zealand (2022), participant at Nadia's Farm (2022), and host at Nadia's Farm Kitchen (2025), show a career built across judging, hosting, and appearing rather than fixed in one format. The longer arc is split between production and retail food access: Nadia Lim is co-founder of My Food Bag (since 2013) and farmer of Royalburn Station (since 2019). Those two roles sit in the same field, one focused on how people cook at home and the other on how food is produced on the land.
Today
At My Food Bag, the work is about making food practical without stripping out the science behind it. Nadia Lim has described that balance directly: “I've got that very strong science background. So, I can combine the art of cooking with the strong science of nutrition.” That same logic carries through the rest of her work. The emphasis is not on chefly theatre but on use: how food is planned, produced, and made workable for the people who buy it, cook it, or watch it.
Career - Co-founder, My Food Bag, New Zealand (2013–present) - Farmer, Royalburn Station, Queenstown Lakes, New Zealand (2019–present) - Clinical dietitian, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland (2008–2011) - Winner, MasterChef New Zealand, MasterChef New Zealand, New Zealand (2011) - Author, Nadia's Kitchen (2012) - Author, Nadia Lim's Good Food Cookbook (2013) - Guest judge, My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, New Zealand (2014–2018) - Host, New Zealand with Nadia Lim (2014) - Contestant, Dancing with the Stars, New Zealand (2019) - Host, Nadia's Comfort Kitchen, New Zealand (2020) Education: University of Otago
Signature
Nadia's signature dishes include Vegful, YUM!, and Nadia’s Farm Kitchen. Those names track the range of her output: direct, commercially legible, and built to travel across media formats. They sit comfortably between dietetics, cookbook writing, screen work, and farming, which is where her practice has stayed anchored.
In Their Words “It was always Carlos’ dream; he has it in his blood. And I’ve always been obsessed with food and wanted to follow its whole journey behind the plate. It was a beautiful, natural fit.” “I've got that very strong science background. So, I can combine the art of cooking with the strong science of nutrition.”
FAQ What is Nadia Lim's current role? Nadia Lim is Farmer. Where did Nadia Lim train or study? Nadia Lim trained at University of Otago. What recognition has Nadia Lim received? Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2024).
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