Man on a Mission

A positive attitude and a healthy diet …That’s the recipe for a great life says Peter Chaplin who calls himself a self-health culinary educator.

Words: Lyn Barnes  Photographs: Aaron McLean

Peter Chaplin and son Carlos.

He's lived through the turbulent 1960s, the heydays of hippydom and sit-ins, cooked for controversial celebs all around the world and is still on a pilgrimage to bring healthy food into people’s homes. Peter Chaplin has been on this one-man campaign for three decades, long before Jamie Oliver came on the scene. Most of all, Peter is proof that healthy eating keeps you young – that you are what you eat. At 51 and having been a vegetarian for 32 years he’s fit, healthy and physically in good nick compared with most blokes over 50.

Readers may remember Peter from his regular stints on TVNZ’s Good Morning where he presented his signature modern vegetarian food. From this issue he joins the NZ Life & Leisure team to introduce you to his healthy cooking. But don’t worry, meat eaters, Peter can adapt his recipes to include fish and flesh occasionally. He will introduce tofu – but not yet. In his cooking classes he says: “Asking men to eat tofu is like asking them to be gay for the night”. Though you don’t have to be a saint. “I believe you can still enjoy coffee, the odd Guinness or glass of wine and sweet desserts so long as you have a good nutritional platform.”

Peter oozes passion and knowledge as he talks about food, keen to share what he has learnt. It’s been a long, hard journey but he’s now reaping the rewards of practising what he preaches. English born, Peter immigrated to New Zealand with his family at age 15. By that time he had observed London at the end of the 60s, been influenced musically by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin, had seen the fashion explosion and been made aware of the humanitarian issues of the time. It was the “black music” in particular that he found invigorating and inspiring and even today he still wears chunky beads and unconventional clothes – you’re more likely to see him in a sarong than a suit.

As a teenager he worked as a trainee chef at Auckland’s highly regarded Melba restaurant before heading back overseas. Music, he says, has always been a driving force that has influenced his career moves. “It seems quite incredible that in my emerging career as a chef I drove straight into the musical kitchens of the Thompson Twins, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, The Pretenders, Iggy Pop and Madonna.” Twice Peter has cooked for Madonna on world tours, responsible for maintaining the Material Girl’s nutritional levels so she could work out for three hours a day before doing a two-hour show four days a week.

But it was Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders who had the most profound effect on Peter. She’s a reason he became a teacher and she made him realize he could spread the word about healthy food. He believes her advice was invaluable. “How many people do you think you can feed, Peter? You’ve got to teach them – once you get your stage, use it properly!”

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