The Block judge Neale Whitaker takes delicious magazine inside his home

HE’S been known to have some harsh words for the renovators on The Block. So what does it look like inside the home of judge Neale Whitaker?

HE judges the renovations of teams on The Block and is the editor-in-chief of Vogue Living so Neale Whitaker must know a thing or two about having a beautiful home and entertaining guests.

The interior designer invited delicious magazine in for a leisurely lunch at the house he shares with partner hair and make up artist and stylist David Novak-Piper and it’s obvious the two lived a semi-charmed kind of life.

Neale tells the magazine: “There’s nothing better than a long, lazy lunch, if you have the time, and Saturday is better than Sunday, because then you have an extra day to recover.

“We’re not great planners, so we tend to do things on the spur of the moment.

Neale (right) and his partner David at home with their dogs.

“I love having people over because David cooks. I just get in the way — so I sit on the other side of the kitchen bench and watch. He can do it all so quickly — he has the menu in his head. All I have to do is make the house look nice, dress the table, open a few bottles of wine and approve the menu!”

David, a former chef says he is inspired by fresh ingredients he finds at the local market, “I don’t really stick to recipes. I often try and emulate something I’ve eaten at a restaurant,” he says.

Neale Whittaker, Vogue Living editor in chief and Sunday Telegraph columnist, is also a design judge on Channel Nine's The Block.

“I always give myself away,” laughs Neale, “I make it so obvious that I’ve had no part in the cooking. I’m like a guest myself and I’ll ask, ‘Oh, what’s this?’ David once cooked for Bill Granger and he was very impressed — he loved it. It’s nice having people to our home. For us, a great time out is actually a great time at home with good friends.”

Neale and David enjoy cooking with fresh produce such as these figs and prosciutto and crab sandwiches.

The design guru, who moved to Australia from England several years ago, says that his style at home is fairly simple and informal.

“We use simple white flatware, flower arrangements in abundance in white and green, or red and orange — Neale’s favourite colour. We love candles, big, small, chunky, and always unscented around food. We always use our really big Riedel wine glasses, even if we’re serving white wine — nothing looks worse than mean little wine glasses at the table.”

See more inside this month’s edition of delicious magazine, on stands now.

Neale and David love to entertain friends with long lunches at their home.

Originally published as The Block judge Neale Whitaker takes delicious magazine inside his home