Introduction

My father was a butcher, mad fisherman and keen gardener. He had the most amazing effect on me, though I didn’t know it until I was many years into my working life. As with many things in life, I didn’t fully understand the impact he had on me until he was gone. It is a great shame that he never got to see the three books that I have written, as he was instrumental in me being able to evolve them. It’s not that my mother didn’t have a lot to do with it as well, she was and still is a great Mum, and the one who taught me most about loving and caring in the way she created a loving environment not just for her kids, but for all the extended family and beyond. I wouldn’t be who I am now without her, so my balance really comes from having a great Mum and Dad. However, this is a cookbook and I have to acknowledge the first cook who had an enormous influence on me and that, as you may have guessed, was my Dad. I cook and feel about food the way I do today because of his great skill, understanding and love of everything that tasted good in this world. He taught me to taste, to question, to care for produce and to develop a palate that is the driving force in my life. He instilled an understanding that eating was for pleasure, not for fuel. I learnt that if food was thought about, then it was remembered, and it is this that makes me who I am today.