The Backyard Cook
A love of great food has taken Marty Shanahan from the boardroom to the kitchen, the backyard, and beyond.
Jan 25, 2023
Creating an online persona – the Backyard Cook – in order to share his love of rustic, hearty, flavourful food, Marty Shanahan now works with likeminded colleagues conjuring up food content for corporate entities far and wide.
But that doesn’t mean he no longer puts aside time to create meals framed around a beautiful cut of meat cooked in his wood-fired oven and paired with the freshest vegetables possible. The simple joy of cooking is still what drives him.
“I’ve always been a passionate eater and come from a big family where huge emphasis was put on family mealtimes. My love of food has always been there,” he says.
“After working in the advertising and marketing industry for many years and constantly sharing my culinary creations with friends and family, I finally listened to their advice, which was to change tack and do what I love.
“So, I took a leap of faith and taught myself to cook, photograph and style food and now I’m lucky enough to do it for a living.”
With no formal training, the father of three says a passion for exploring different cuisines and flavour combinations led him into the kitchen. He says his biggest culinary influence is Raymond Blanc, mainly because Blanc also taught himself how to cook, and is now one of Europe’s most celebrated Michelin-starred chefs.
“I learned the basics from my mum and Czech grandmother. I’ve got to this point by pretty much getting in the kitchen and trying everything. I collect cookbooks, I love cooking shows and take inspiration from far and wide.”
Marty has also taught himself how to style and photograph food. Not just simple selfies of great plates for social media, the Aucklander’s enjoyment of photographing food – as much as creating the picture-perfect meals in the first place – has led to an entirely new venture in the last few years: one that his clients have leapt upon.
“A couple of years back I co-developed Spreadable with friends. Spreadable is a food-focused content agency that works with all sorts of suppliers, from small-batch artisan producers to the biggest FMCG distributors.
“We develop recipes, plated photography, video, social media, and ‘how to’ content designed to make a brand’s products look great. I know from experience that making food taste delicious is fun, but often making it look delicious is much harder. So, that’s where we come in. If it looks mouth-watering or is a recipe or an idea that inspires the creation of great food, then we’re doing our job.”
While Spreadable sees Marty back in boardrooms, he’s still most at home in the family kitchen or the backyard.
“I’m a barbeque fiend. I love wood-fired food. There’s nothing like it. And for me, there’s nothing like preparing it for friends or family either. I’m very lucky to be able to create and cook and take that passion and help turn it into great solutions for clients.
“Food represents many different things to many people and cultures, but for me it simply boils down to sharing great food with great people. After all, life is too damn short not to enjoy good food.”