Sep 18, 2026 · 28 min · 10 segments
Since her breakthrough as food editor for Marie Claire, and then going it alone with a magazine and numerous cookbooks under her own name, Donna Hay is now synonymous with Australian home cooking. In…
Matt PrestonHostDonna HayGuest
You are one of those rare things, like if we say Yotam, Nigella, Stephanie, Maggie, they're kind of the fifth name in that quintet is Donna.
And that's a comment on the power of what you've created and the connection you've built with an Australian audience.
Well, she may be humble, but by anyone's measure, Donna Hay is a towering figure in Australian food.
Since breaking through as the food editor of Marie Claire and then going it alone with a magazine and countless cookbooks under her own name, she's now synonymous with Australian home cooking.
It looks to die for.
Last week on Every Bite, we made the case for elevating cookbooks to the pantheon of Australian literature, perhaps inspiring your vote in the top 100 Australian books countdown.
Today we meet one of those literary icons and learn her recipe writing do's and don'ts.
Oh, how many pans did you just use? How many pans? I'm checking out on you already.
And why, nearly 30 years since her first cookbook, Donna Hay has no intention of growing up.
Growing old, I think it would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me, in my head, not physically.
But in my head, I don't prescribe to this, well, you must grow up and you must get serious.
It's all about food and the places where food, culture, science and history collide.
And when her last book, Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt, came out, she was on Good Morning America, cooking up a storm.
But it turns out before Donna Hay was a name on Australian lips, she was probably better known abroad.
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You are one of those rare things, like if we say Yotam, Nigella, Stephanie, Maggie, they're kind of the fifth name in that quintet is Donna.
And that's a comment on the power of what you've created and the connection you've built with an Australian audience.
Well, she may be humble, but by anyone's measure, Donna Hay is a towering figure in Australian food.
Since breaking through as the food editor of Marie Claire and then going it alone with a magazine and countless cookbooks under her own name, she's now synonymous with Australian home cooking.
It looks to die for.
Last week on Every Bite, we made the case for elevating cookbooks to the pantheon of Australian literature, perhaps inspiring your vote in the top 100 Australian books countdown.
Today we meet one of those literary icons and learn her recipe writing do's and don'ts.
Oh, how many pans did you just use? How many pans? I'm checking out on you already.
And why, nearly 30 years since her first cookbook, Donna Hay has no intention of growing up.
Growing old, I think it would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me, in my head, not physically.
But in my head, I don't prescribe to this, well, you must grow up and you must get serious.
It's all about food and the places where food, culture, science and history collide.
And when her last book, Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt, came out, she was on Good Morning America, cooking up a storm.
But it turns out before Donna Hay was a name on Australian lips, she was probably better known abroad.
