I am a self-taught home cook and baker who loves to experiment. I’m not fancy and I don’t have fancy tastes, but I love good, delicious food, I enjoy feeding people, food shopping is my favourite and I love the very act of eating, whether it’s alone or at a table surrounded by my nearest and dearest. The recipes you’ll find here are the things I cook all the time and the things I really love to eat. If I don’t eat it, you won’t find it here, so if you’re looking for a salad recipe, you might want to keep looking.
My love of good food comes from growing up in the American South where everyone has a garden or access to fresh vegetables donated by a neighbour, organic would’ve included anything you grew, killed, preserved or raised yourself, a homemade edible gift is just as good as anything you could buy in a store, almost everything is made from scratch on a Sunday and recipes are remembered, not written down. While I left the South a long time ago and now live in London, those influences are always with me, but fused with some newer ones from my time in Miami, New York, the Caribbean and now Europe.
I couldn’t cook really when I left home at 18. At 28, I could feed myself, but I wouldn’t say I could cook. It was around that time that I bought my first cookbook. I read it from cover to cover, studying it and trying to learn. I was fascinated and I cooked every day I could after that. More than 10 years later, I’m still reading cookbooks, learning as I go and constantly discovering new flavours, new techniques and new kitchen gear I never knew about. I didn’t even know what garlic looked like when I started and couldn’t tell you the difference between a saucepan and a frying pan, so I am a firm believer that anyone who wants to cook can absolutely learn with a bit of reading, a YouTube video or two and some good old fashioned practice.
I formerly worked in the arts and communications before becoming a full-time fashion & lifestyle blogger, but in the past couple of years I’ve traded in my heels for an apron. I am definitely not a chef and I have no professional training of any kind in cooking or baking. I’m not here to show you how to make tiny, fancy plates of exotic food that you can’t pronounce or afford. I cook at home a lot, sometimes two or three times a day because I enjoy it and never because I have to. I’m the kind of cook who makes the same thing for dinner 3 times a week until I get it just right and I often cook at home for date night rather than go to a restaurant because to me, picking at a roast chicken with a baguette from a local bakery and a great bottle of wine with my husband is the most romantic evening imaginable. I love hearty meals, comfort food, anything in a bowl I can eat on the couch while watching TV, easy desserts, homemade ice cream and the kinds of dishes you can make in one pan to share with a table of friends while drinking too much wine on a Friday night. If this sounds good to you, you’re in the right place so grab your apron and let’s cook together. I’m so glad you’re here!