In the Beginning

Food. Everybody needs it to survive, and a lot of us eat it purely for that reason. But there are a few of us for which food has become a passion and even an obsession. By this I don't mean that I sit and think about eating all day long, but rather that I create dishes in my head, imagine what they would look like, smell like, taste like... I'll read every food magazine that I can lay my hands on, pour over thick cooking volumes, watch hours of cooking shows, and spend days in my kitchen cooking, baking, creating.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't always had this obsession. I remember my teenage years, when I used to throw a drama queen hissy fit if my mother would even dare to ask me to help with preparing a simple salad. The kitchen to me was an oppressive prison, I didn't want anything to do with it.

At the tender age of 19 I left my parents' home in South Africa, got on a Boeing 747, and moved to London, UK. Suddenly I had to fend for myself, and most shockingly of all, cook for myself!!! Not only that, but my first job here in the UK was working in the busy kitchen of a country pub with a temperamental Portuguese chef! Not to worry, the irony was not lost on me or my family. I spent hours in that hot little kitchen, prepping veg, making batters, plating puddings, cakes and desserts and washing up. Oh, how I remember the washing up... Somehow, I thrived in that little kitchen, I learned a lot about myself and about food and found that cooking could actually be a pleasure!

After two months of working myself to the ground at the pub, I realised that the English country side, was not the most happening place for a 19 year old to spend their time. So I packed my bags and got on the bus, back to the metropolis of London.

I haven't worked in a professional kitchen since then, and who knows if I ever will. But one thing that has stuck from that experience is my ever increasing love for good food and the pleasure I get from feeding people. I want to share this passion with you, giving you glimpses into my kitchen and my food, and I hope to inspire you to not only eat to survive but to enrich your life as a whole.
Enjoy!!!!!