Power Profile > Jan Bilton
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Jan BiltonIcing on the cake
A regional guide by the unstoppable Jan Bilton has attracted an international award.Jan Bilton thought she was moving to Marlborough to semi-retire. After a long, illustrious and incredibly demanding career as a food writer, editor, publisher, stylist and consultant, she was looking forward to being able to indulge in the region’s world-renowned food and wine simply because she wanted to. Based in Auckland, she edited The Foodtown Magazine with husband Michael Ryan, wrote a weekly food column syndicated to 12 regional newspapers, contributed freelance articles to various magazines and was a regular guest on radio and television. She and Michael, also a food writer, juggled their various projects with running their own publishing and food consultancy company, Irvine Holt Enterprises, through which they have produced and published three cookbooks. They had a lot on their plates by even the most dedicated foodie’s standards and Jan says they were beginning to feel the stretch. “To be honest, we were worried about burning out,” Jan admits. “Michael hadn’t been well for a while and, just prior to the move, had a major operation. We needed a change of scene.” The wine and food mecca that is Marlborough was a natural choice, and they also happened to have family there. Settling into a four-acre block complete with an exceptionally large and fertile fruit and vege garden in 2007, Jan and Michael decided to devote their professional attentions to the business. The plan was that there’d be plenty of time left over to indulge in recreational pursuits such as golf, skiing, boating and, of course, eating and drinking. But life, as it turned out, had plenty of other work-related plans for them. The couple soon realised that although plenty had been written about Marlborough’s wines, it was relatively hard to find comprehensive and objective information on its gourmet attractions. Marlborough on the Menu was conceived. They decided to compile a food and wine-focused guide to the region filled with sophisticated yet simple recipes showcasing its best seafood (think Pacific King salmon, green-lipped mussels, oysters, scallops and crayfish), meat, wild game, artisan cheeses and fresh produce. Jan had the tough job of visiting the region’s top producers and suppliers to source information, advice and samples for the European and Asian-inspired recipes and they recruited good friend and wine expert Belinda Jackson to provide wine matches. Launched in December 2008, Marlborough on the Menu proved a big hit with ‘Marlburians’ and Kiwi and overseas visitors alike. “We received lots of orders from Australia and the USA as well as bookstores throughout the country,” Jan says. “We needed a second print run to keep up with demand.” The ultimate reward for all their hard work on the book, however, came in May this year when it was named ‘Best Wine/Food Guide’ at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. The awards, which received more than 700 entries from around the world, were judged by an international panel of sixty. Jan says she and Michael were “overawed”. Shocked just to have been named finalists, they’d only decided to attend the Adelaide awards ceremony at the last minute. “Michael had an eye operation just beforehand, so we thought we probably wouldn’t make it,” Jan says. “But he actually felt pretty good afterwards, so we hopped on a plane. It was very spur of the moment.” Since the win, Jan says she has been inundated with enquiries from around the world about both the book and Marlborough. As she sees it, it’s high time the region’s wines stopped hogging all the attention. “Marlborough was called ‘The Gourmet Province’ before its wine industry took off in a big way,” she says. “A lot of the crops were ripped out to make way for vines, but there is still a lot of outstanding produce here – the berries, stonefruit, garlic, shallots and saffron are exceptional. And then of course there’s all the fresh seafood. And cheese … it needs to be promoted.” Growing up in Hawke’s Bay and then Otago, Jan says she has always appreciated good food although she wasn’t exactly passionate about cooking. “My mother wasn’t what you would call an adventurous cook, although her meals were very tasty and I did take an interest in them, even if it was only to complain!” She studied fashion design at Otago University but, deciding the food industry would offer better career opportunities, switched disciplines. Graduating with a Diploma in Health Sciences, Jan completed a course in Chinese cooking before heading off on that Kiwi rite of passage, the big OE. Back in New Zealand, she landed a marketing job with Fisher & Paykel which saw her travel the length and breadth of the country demonstrating recipes on the company’s cooking appliances. When her first child was born, she gave up full-time work but, two years later, was “roped in” to helping open a restaurant in Auckland’s St Heliers. Although the European-style eatery, Sails, proved immediately popular, Jan decided she wanted to be there for her children fulltime. By this stage, however, she had acquired a real taste for the food business. She began writing food and wine-focused articles for newspapers and eventually landed a regular column in The New Zealand Herald. In 1991, she started as the editor of The Foodtown Magazine – a position she held for 16 years. Jan cites the highlight of her career as the kiwifruit era, in which she toured the US promoting our fruity national icon. The experience was a spin-off of her hugely successful New Zealand Kiwifruit Cookbook, first published by Irvine Holt in 1981. The book has since spawned three new editions and together they have sold more than 140,000 copies worldwide. Jan says the most important business lesson she has learnt over the course of her career is to trust her instincts. “As a marketer, I probably shouldn’t say this, but you really have to listen to your gut. Our most successful books have been the ones I’ve had the best feelings about from the start, even if major publishers didn’t agree with me.” She’s confident, however, that Marlborough on the Menu’s success will give her and Michael greater freedom to publish whatever they wish. She says they are relishing the less hectic pace of life in Marlborough, punctuating work on a new book, which they plan to publish next year, with smaller projects and regular excursions to the Sounds, ski fields, Kaikoura and Auckland, where they catch up with family, friends and colleagues. Retirement, however, is still on the very distant horizon. “If I get incapacitated in any way, I suppose I might retire but I can’t see it happening otherwise.” A taste of Marlborough
WIN We have two copies of Marlborough on the Menu to giveaway. To enter, email your name, address and phone number to hbgiveaways@strettonpublishing.co.nz with ‘Marlborough on the Menu’ in the subject line. |
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