Acknowledgements

First of all I want to thank my husband, Bruno Vergauwen, who is, as always, responsible for the beautiful design and cover of this book. Creating a book all by yourself involves trial and error, and after many late nights and early mornings his help was indispensable. Starting in a clean kitchen ensures that the day starts well right away. Thanks for the many clean-ups and support! Thanks to Mum and Dad for not getting annoyed with me for locking myself away until the book was finished.

This book is extra special for me thanks to Becky Colletti, who was so generous in gifting me the recipe for my wedding fruit cake. The recipe for Aunt Betty’s gingerbread came to me because of a chance meeting with Joanne Harold on the Eurostar. In the meantime, it has become one of our favourite recipes, gradually becoming our own family recipe – thank you for that.