Hi, I’m Marcea
Nutrition Coach | Integrative TCM & Ayurvedic Nutrition Practitioner | Chef
For me, cooking has never been simply about recipes. It is a way of living, connecting and coming home to ourselves.
My work brings together the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, modern nutrition and the simple pleasure of preparing and sharing good food. At the heart of my cooking classes is the belief that when we learn to understand food, we also learn to understand ourselves — our rhythms, our needs and our relationship with the world around us.
I teach seasonal cooking as a philosophy for living:
- learning to eat in harmony with the changing seasons,
- adapting our food and lifestyle as our bodies and lives change,
- creating meals that nourish not only the body, but the mind and spirit.
Together, we explore how to:
- Eat with the natural cycles of the seasons and the changing seasons of our own lives.
- Nourish the gut microbiome through diverse whole foods, fibre and beneficial microbes.
- Use fermentation, pickling and traditional food practices to bring flavour, nourishment and vitality to the table.
- Understand how food, movement, rest and self-care work together to support mind–body health.
- Develop greater resilience, vitality and adaptabilitythrough the way we eat and live.
- Rediscover the pleasure of cooking, sharing and eating together.
For more than 40 years, I have taught people in the US, London and Australia how to cook and eat in tune with the seasons.
My classes are an invitation to slow down and reconnect — with food, with nature, with one another and with ourselves. The recipes are the beginning; the deeper practice is learning how to nourish a life.
This is the difference from other teachers and classes and workshops
It is how we build our inner community and express it outwardly in the food we cook, eat and share. It is truly BEYOND THE PLATE
My Books and Philosophy
I’m the author of eight books exploring the connection between food , diet, lifestyle and wellbeing.
My work is published in the United States, England, Japan and Australia. I’ve also contributed to publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald, WellBeing Magazine and Nature & Health Magazine, and have shared my expertise on SBS and ABC TV and Radio.
My early books, The Sweet Life and Naturally Sweet and Sugar-Free, were among the first cookbooks to remove refined sugar and processed ingredients, showing that desserts can be both nourishing and delicious.
Later titles such as The Australian Book of Wholemeals and Wholemeals celebrate global plant-based cuisines and explore how alternative proteins can create a balanced gut, and satisfying meals for every stage of life.
In Macrobiotics and Beyond, I draw on my love of Japanese plant-based cuisine and the macrobiotic philosophy, encouraging people to live in harmony with nature through seasonal eating. My more recent books, Natural Health and Healing for Children and The Encyclopedia of Natural Health and Healing, focus on the role of nutrition and natural medicine in the first thousand days of a child’s life — a vital period for brain development and lifelong health.
Now, I am drawing together all my life’s work in another book.
It brings together all these philosophies and recipes from around the world, including indigenous Australian herbs, which provide an extra balance, taste and health benefits to food.
In my classes, workshops, and consultations, I provide students with the knowledge about spices, herbs, grains, beans, ferments and plant-based high protein meals, which are both nourishing, gut healthy and full of flavour.
We explore how food, seasonal living and mindful habits from around the world, like traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and indigenous cultures support both physical and mental wellbeing – strengthening the gut-brain connection, improving energy and helping people feel more balanced and younger in their everyday lives.
My vision as a teacher is to empower people to create healthy habits through their food choices.
In my classes and workshops, I teach students how to use spices, herbs, grains, beans, ferments and plant-based proteins to create meals that are both nourishing and full of flavour. Alongside practical cooking skills, I explore how food, seasonal living and mindful habits can support both physical and mental wellbeing — strengthening the gut–brain connection, improving energy and helping people feel more balanced in their everyday lives.
My passion for holistic living grew from personal experience. As a child I struggled with recurring illness and later faced fertility challenges for more than 15 years, which led me to explore alternative paths including working with a Chinese herbalist, embracing organic plant-based foods, fermentation, yoga and meditation. These changes transformed my health and eventually led to two natural births at 41 and 46. Today, I share these lessons through my books, classes and coaching, helping others discover how food and lifestyle can support both mind and body in powerful ways..
Contact Marcea
