Four hours outside Dubai, UAE. This shot was taken the day before shooting started on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was filmed right here!

2014 was another big year. Time always seems to fly by, but I think I’ve managed to pack more into this year than just about any other. I don’t want to bore you with EVERYTHING I did, so here are just a few of the highlights.

I joined Good Food as a food columnist. You can see my recipes in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age every month or online anytime at www.goodfood.com.au. Here are a couple you might like from the past year:

Salmon oyakodon (and a bit of a primer on sashimi too)

Cinnamon and watermelon granita

Tonkatsu

American pancakes

I still write for Feast magazine and a bunch of other publications as well, so you’ll still be seeing my writing pop up all over the place. Here’s a piece on a dinner I went to in Tasmania that I wrote for The Wall Street Journal.

I released my third book.  I think Adam’s Big Pot is my best yet. Each of my books is generally just a collection of what I’ve been cooking that year, so they’re a bit autobiographical in that sense.

Now that my son is getting older and eats mostly what my wife and I eat, the book is focused on simple family recipes that are also authentic. It’s been getting a huge response and every week I get dozens of photos of all the dishes you’ve all been cooking from it. Thank you, and keep them coming! If you want to have a look at some sample recipes, check them out here.

I think travel is vital to good cooking, and this year I traveled an awful lot. With cooking more than most other things it’s easy to get stuck in a rut of buying the same ingredients and cooking the same dishes over and over. Travel forces you to experience new flavours, new techniques and whole new ways of eating.

This year I was away from home for nearly eight months all up. I visited England, France, Spain Portugal, The United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand and had some incredible experiences – both in food and otherwise. You can follow my further travels on Instagram.

On the balcony. Oia, Santorini, Greece.

Matsuri in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

I ate a lot of great stuff too, and you can see a list of some of the food that floated my boat here.

Of course, I didn’t just go overseas. I travelled all around Australia as well, which brings me to…

Our third Destination Flavour season for SBS, Destination Flavour: Down Under, was our highest rating season yet! Our second episode was actually the sixth highest rating episode of a food program in Australia last year, and the highest on SBS. We put a lot of hard work into the show and it’s great to know you’re all enjoying it.

Edith Falls, NT, Australia.

On an amphibious pearl boat in Cygnet Bay, Northern WA, Australia.

Cooking crayfish in Kaikoura, New Zealand.

Here are a few recipes you might like from the series:

Yoghurt pikelets with kiwifruit jam

New Zealand Hunter’s pie

Salt and pepper Moreton Bay bugs

Ploughman’s lunch with salt-crust pork belly

I visited UNICEF’s operations in Myanmar. It was a life-changing trip in many ways and here’s a piece I wrote on it just to try and get my head around the experience. I’ve been involved with helping children through my mother’s work in China for more than 20 years, and a UNICEF Ambassador for 2 years now. Not everyone will have the chance to see first hand where the money they donate to good causes actually goes, but trust me it’s incredible. If you want to help UNICEF Australia, you can donate here.

Temples at dusk in Bagan, Myanmar.

With kids in a UNICEF-supported school, Thet Ke Kan Village, Myanmar.

I cycled around Hokkaido. Well, not the whole way around but we did more than 700 kilometres over 5 days. It was a fantastic trip with great food that made up for the EXTREMELY sore legs. The food and scenery were incredible but I honestly I think I enjoyed the cycling even more. I’m not a MAMIL yet but I am really liking being on the bike. If only I had more time.

At the top of the Bohor Pass, Hokkaido, Japan.

And finally, my son Christopher turned one! There’s not much more to say about that other than he’s growing into a great little guy and I love being his dad.

Thank you all for supporting me this year in the various things I do. I love hearing from you too, so leave a comment below or try and catch up with me on social media on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

I hope you had a great 2014 too, and here’s to many more good times to come in 2015!