Why let cookbooks gather dust or woks stay unloved? These are the recipes and techniques we’re finally tackling this year.
Good Food team
New year, new gear and a fresh set of culinary goals. For the Good Food team, 2026 isn’t just about eating well – it’s about cooking smarter.
From rescuing “unloved” woks to mastering the perfect emulsion, we’re sharpening our knives, tying on our aprons and opening our cookbooks to tackle the techniques we’ve always plunked in the too-hard basket.
Whether it’s a quick weeknight stir-fry, experimenting with an unfamiliar ingredient or filling the house with the scent of home-baked bread, these are the resolutions keeping us inspired for 2026.
In a pickle
I spend too much on kimchi and sauerkraut at Harris Farm when I should be fermenting the stuff myself. It’s not like there aren’t 5000 books on the subject. Also: pickles. My fridge is a graveyard of giardiniera, bread-and-butter pickles and vinegared cucumber spears, and perhaps if I started brining my own vegetables, I might stop throwing money at McClure’s and Zuccato. (That Zuccato peperoni is tremendous on a hot dog, though.) Callan Boys
Ready to wok ‘n’ roll
I’ve just bought a rice cooker, and I’m about to inherit an unloved wok, so I’m finally set to master the art of the stir-fry. I’ll start with this masterclass by Adam Liaw, which will hold my hand through everything from chopping ingredients to getting the sauce consistency right. For a quick green fix, Rosheen Kaul’s stir-fried rice cakes with pork and kale are at the top of my list – minimal prep is always a win. And I’m a sucker for a Chinese omelette, so summer dinners will be all about this one with tomato and prawn from Adam Liaw. Emma Breheny
Pandan pandemonium
Every time I open my pantry, I see the bright green glare from my unopened bottle of pandan extract, daring me to finally use it. I bought it on a whim many moons ago (don’t ask me how many) with grand plans to add a dash of it into every future baking project. This year, I’m making it my resolution to put it out of its misery. This Helen Goh recipe uses half a teaspoon of the sweet, vanilla-like extract, so I’ll have to make enough to feed an army. Isabel Cant
Work smarter, not harder
This is the year I’ll reclaim my evenings by blocking out weekend time for batch cooking. Inspired by Nabula El Mourid’s The Weekly Grocery Shop, I’m committing to tactical meal planning and preparing adaptable, freezer-friendly dishes. Truth be told, I don’t cook nearly as often as I’d like to, but that’s about to change. Having had great success with Katrina Meynink’s pork burgers with red curry and coriander mayo, her Wednesday night chicken saag is next. Roslyn Grundy
Bake it ’til you make it
I’ve spent months flicking through Richard Hart’s Bread cookbook, imagining Sundays filled with the scent of focaccia baking in the oven. I’m determined to make that vision a reality and try my hand at a few different loaves, channelling my dad, who often baked fresh bread at weekends (also eyeing off the fougasse, and Hart Bageri’s famed cardamom buns). It’s the perfect excuse to dust off the new bread tin I’ve had in storage while moving house twice in the past 12 months. Emily Holgate
Less talk, more cooking
To stop talking about it and actually host more dinners and long lunches, mixing and matching the many recipes I have saved on the Good Food app under “easy entertaining”. Andy McGinniss
From shelf to table
My walls are lined with cookbooks flagged in every colour of the sticky note rainbow. My goal this year is to cook my way through their pages, starting with Bec Vrana Dickinson’s party-perfect no-knead bread with the lot from Happy Hour Snacks, and Hetty McKinnon’s spicy broccoli and tempeh salad from Linger. Also on my hit list: the greens-filled picnic pie from A Heide Harvest, four-cheese egg bread from Betül Tunç’s gorgeous collection of sweet and savoury bakes in Turkuaz Kitchen, and every recipe from Sarah Di Lorenzo’s nutrition-packed My Mediterranean Life. Megan Johnston
The year of the sauce star?
I’ve had an ongoing New Year’s resolution to become a sauce and gravy master. It feels like an attainable pursuit, and one I can hone every year. I’ll continue to experiment with gravy recipes (if you have a good one, please let me know), but I also have my sights on a killer beurre blanc and a herby gribiche. If I can make my white butter sauce as good as the one at Loulou Bistro Milsons Point, I will have succeeded. Sarah Norris
Tamales and Mali Bakes cakes
I’ve mastered the layer cake, thanks to Beatrix Bakes, and now I’m ready to level up. It’s time to try my hand at retro ruffled piped icing, Mali Bakes-style (check out owner Patti Chimkire’s debut cookbook of the same name), ready to tote to the Cake Picnic during the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
Having participated in my friends’ Italian-Australian family’s annual salami day in 2025, I’m keen to return the favour and make a big batch of tamales together with my Mexican partner. Tradition dictates that whoever gets the ceramic baby Jesus in their slice of Rosca de Reyes cake on January 6 is on the hook to cook − but I’m putting my hand up this year. ¡Prospero año! Annabel Smith
Stay on top of food waste
I have a good relationship with my fridge. I try to build meals around leftovers (if my partner hasn’t devoured them first). But after a few heartbreaking clean-outs – one of which involved some very good, but very off cheese – I’ve realised it’s time to get a little more organised. My plan: a weekly audit. I’ll wipe down the shelves, reacquaint myself with what’s actually in there, and move anything approaching its used-by date to a designated eat-immediately section. First step: invest in OzHarvest’s Use It Up tape, which lets you mark out an urgent consumption zone in your fridge. Erina Starkey
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