AlisonHolst
- Presenter
Alison Holst (DNZM, CBE, QSM) has been a household face since the early days of New Zealand television, when her debut show, Here’s How: Alison Holst Cooks, was an instant hit. Her mission was to cook for ordinary people, use uncomplicated ingredients and stick to a budget. Rejecting her unliberated image, she aimed to get women out of the kitchen by making cooking simple.
Screenography
Biography
In our gluten-free world it is a naughty delight to watch Dame Alison Holst present a 1984 television segment on bread and cheese for the NZ Dairy Board. In one seven minutes long take, she whips up toasted sandwiches ("get the cheese nice and oozy"), mouse traps, cheese rolls, croutons and mini pizzas, moving deftly from food prop to food prop, before summarising all five recipes without missing a beat.
Awards
2011 Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM)
For services to the food industry
1983 Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
For services to home science
“The floor manager would sneak in from left and right and take the dirty dishes, but sometimes they’d take something you hadn’t finished with. You’d have to wing it: ‘I know I had flour somewhere’, and try to keep a straight face.”