Tanya Plibersek (Sydney)

Annabel’s toughest assignment. The recently appointed Minister for Health is a fervent foodie and formidable cook. Will Annabel’s Roast Strawberry Cheesecake make the grade? Health Minister Tanya Plibersek is known for her calm poise and patience as she straddles the responsibilities of a career in politics, with being a mother of three small children. Criticised for returning to work with a newborn baby, Plibersek discusses the endless juggle for working women, her immigrant father’s work on the Snowy Mountains scheme, and what led her from political activism to politics. In a deeply personal interview Tanya also talks about the way she and her family navigated press revelations of her husband’s past involvement in heroin trafficking and his rehabilitation from a teenage prison term to become a senior public servant. In a true demonstration of multi-tasking, she accomplishes all this while assembling stuffed zucchini flowers, baked cheese and olive pastries and a superb trout pasta.