The Rugby Pantry: Healthy Measures & Guilty Pleasures

After becoming firm "foodie friends" during the 2012 All Blacks end-of-year tour, Daisy Dagg and Amber Vito launched "The Rugby Pantry" Facebook page. It quickly evolved into a popular site, sharing recipes, tips, and insights into what top rugby players eat. After posting and getting feedback on many recipes, they created The Rugby Pantry cookbook. Daisy and Amber's philosophy is that home cooking doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming, but meals should have great flavor and be made with plenty of love. Because they are busy wives, mothers, and businesswomen, they understand that most people have limited time to cook family meals. So their recipes are quick, easy, provide short-cuts, and use everyday ingredients. Their husbands (Israel Dagg and Victor Vito), who have demanding jobs and equally commanding appetites, have sampled all the recipes and given them the thumbs up. They've included a few of their husband's favorites, some recipes passed down from their families, and, of course, their own creations.

Daisy Dagg has a background in interior design. She runs Daisy Chain Interiors in Christchurch. Amber Vito is an honors graduate in communications (Victoria University). She co-owns The Boutique Collective, an online fashion shop, and works at a digital and marketing recruitment agency.