Photo: McGrath and @recipe_tin
New York Times 2022 bestseller RecipeTin Eats: Dinner is a cookbook now almost essential to Australian nighttime rituals. Its pink-and-navy spine can be found creased open on many kitchen benches, its pages lovingly splashed with the side effects of a hearty meal. The book, based on a 2011-founded blog of the same name, was the country’s bestselling non-fiction title in 2022 — it even outsold culinary heavy hitters Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi in its first year on the shelves. Little wonder the brand’s creator, much-beloved Nagi Maehashi, has earned herself a bit of cash to splash.
And splash she did, dropping $7 million on a Victorian-era home in the affluent Hunters Hill in March 2024 — a cut above the suburb’s $4.05 million median. The purchase marked a move south away from Mona Vale on Sydney’s north coast, where the former Brookfield Multiplex senior executive lived in a beautiful beachside five-bedroom abode with her trusty sous-chef, Golden Retriever Dozer. Nagi spent less than four years in the home, selling it in early 2023 to Clean Energy Partners’ Colin Liebmann and his wife, Julia, for $6 million — making a tidy $2.5 million in the process, thank you very much.
Despite calling the c1883 cottage, ‘Daybreak’, her forever home (big claim), it appears fate had other plans, as Nagi has already put the home back on the market mere months after settling, despite the proposal the author lodged just one month ago for almost $1 million worth of renovations and expansions. Although the reason that she has re-listed the home remains a mystery thanks to NDAs, exciting new career prospects were hinted to the Sydney Morning Herald by Nagi’s real estate agent of choice, Tracey Dixon. Here’s hoping she can recoup the funds — and some.
The Lower North Shore pad, now back on offer, sports an ultra-charming facade complete with iron lacework, hedge-lined pathways, a gabled roofline, stone steps, and the perfect symmetry you’d expect from a property of its historic standing. The gardens, described as “park-like”, sprawl to the rear of the home and encompass a swimming pool, vine-covered pergola, courtyard, shed, and studio with one extra bathroom.
The home was sold to Nagi off-market by BresicWhitney in December 2023. Before that, it sold for $4.75 million in November 2019, which was in turn $450,000 above what it sold for earlier that same year. Now, the home has been listed with Tracey Dixon of McGrath, and you can view the property listing here.
You can get your hands on Nagi Maehashi’s record-breaking cookbook, RecipeTin Eats: Dinner for $24 from Big W.
Inside Nagi Maehashi’s Hunters Hill home for sale
The home is practically bursting with heritage charm and includes French doors that open onto the wraparound sandstone verandah and hardwood timber floors.
Arguably the second most important room in any cook’s home; the dining area is exquisite, featuring yet another ornate fireplace and traditional timber skirting.
The open-plan kitchen is generously sized and features a simple palette and plenty of storage — though we can’t help but wonder whether it would have received a Nagi-worthy makeover.
The rear of the home is light and bright. Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors lead the way onto a stone-paved courtyard, which flows onto the expansive rear garden.
The vine-covered, paved pergola marks the perfect place for alfresco dining and comes complete with an outdoor built-in BBQ. Golden retriever Dozer approves.
A glance back at the home from its rolling lawns reveals the second storey, which includes two bedrooms and a bathroom.
The solar-heated swimming pool and spa are shaded by a well-maintained, established garden.
Mature trees surround another of the property’s winning assets: the backyard studio, which houses a bathroom and kitchenette.
