Joanna Mary Seagar (born 1955), generally known as Jo Seagar, is a New Zealand writer, TV personality and celebrity cook.
Biography
Seagar lives in the small town of
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in North Canterbury, with her husband Ross.
She initially trained as a nurse, and attended
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...
cookery school in London while working at the Royal Free Hospital.
Back in New Zealand, Seagar opened Harley's Restaurant in Auckland with fellow nurse Helen Brabazon.
Seagar ran "Seagars at Oxford" cooking school, café and kitchenware store for about ten years, but it closed in 2015. Seager cited the decrease in tourism following the
Canterbury earthquakes as the reason for its closure.
The company's collapse left thousands of dollars unpaid to employees and creditors.
Seagar was the first food writer for ''
North & South'', has written for ''
New Zealand Woman's Weekly
The ''New Zealand Woman's Weekly'' is a weekly New Zealand women's magazine published by Are Media. , it had a circulation of 82,040, third by paid sales after ''TV Guide'' and Are Media's ''New Zealand Woman's Day''.
History
On 8 December 1932 ...
'' and ''
Cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...
'' magazine, and writes a regular column for the ''
Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...
''.
Seagar is patron and ambassador for Hospice, and raises money for the charity through cooking classes.
In the
2015 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
, Seagar was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...
, for services to the community.
Books
* ''Jo Seagar's New Zealand Country Cookbook'' (1993)
* ''Pearls from Jo Seagar's Kitchen'' (1999)
* ''Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy'' (2001)
* ''Sugar and Spice: A Taste of Chelsea'' (2002)
* ''Lip Smackin' Fast Cookin' Hunger Bustin' Gr8 Tastin' Cookbook'' (2003)
* ''Easy Peasy Very Cheesy'' (2004)
* ''The Chelsea Cafe: The Simple, Tasty Cafe Food at Home'' (2005)
* ''You Shouldn't Have Gone to So Much Trouble, Darling'' (2007)
* ''All Things Nice'' (2002)
* ''Jo Seagar Cooks'' (2006)
* ''The Cook School Recipes'' (2008)
* ''Everyday Cooking: Easy, Simple Recipes for Everyone'' (2010)
* ''Italia: Simple Recipes from the Italian Cook School'' (2011)
* ''Great Baking Recipes'' (2013)
* ''A Bit of What You Fancy'' (2013)
* ''Easy Finger Food Recipes'' (2014)
* ''Jo Seagar Bakes'' (2014)
* ''Elbows off the Table, Please'' (2016)
* ''Better than a Bought One: Clever Recipes and Ideas for Home-Grown Celebrations'' (2018)
References
External links
* First episode of
Real Food for Real People with Jo Seagar', 1998, via NZ Onscreen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagar, Jo
1955 births
Living people
People from Oxford, New Zealand
Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand television chefs
New Zealand cookbook writers
New Zealand women writers
New Zealand women chefs