Introduction

As a child I was fascinated by TV cooking shows and would spend hours watching them with my sister. It didn’t matter if the chef was Italian, Asian or Middle Eastern – there we were, glued to the television set. We would stage re-enactments of the shows (kitchen cupboards open for the full-size ‘television camera’) and we were presenters of our very own cooking show, even if just momentarily. And, whenever I got the chance, I would sit in the kitchen to watch my mother cook, regaling her with my made-up stories in the hopes of being allowed to stay there just a little bit longer.