What do I do?

I’m an artist that cooks lots of food.

I originally trained and worked as a Chef, (I now prefer the term “Cook,” but I’m not that bothered!) here in England and also Switzerland and Australia.

I left home at seventeen to move to the New Forest from Somerset to start my fulltime job as a chef. It was the recession of the early eighties and I couldn’t find a job close to home. I lost my virginity on the first night.

Ken, a short, married man in high clogs and a very tall chefs hat, was my Head Chef. He was harmless, hilarious and simmering with sexual innuendo He would ask the waitresses if they liked chewing gum. “Well suck this it Wrigleys.” He said laughing, swaying and rolling back on to his clog heels.

Things moved on and I worked as a Chef, getting a whole range of experiences, both here and overseas (as above) for nine years. I now cook food for photography, for cookery books and magazines. I write recipes too and am the author of 4 cookery books. I love to travel.

In between time I graduated from a full time B.A in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 2001. I adore art making. I try to understand by making art. I am seduced by the idea of seduction, desire and the insatiable and equally I’m inquisitive about class hierarchies and I wonder about values. My art and food meld together.

I also write Cheat’s Dinner Party for Stella in the Sunday Telegraph (A three course menu, for six, cooked in an hour, for less than £35.) Cheap doesn’t have to mean bad or tasteless. You just have to become more thoughtful and that’s a good thing. Especially in these times. I love the process of cooking and recipe writing. It’s a challenge to see what I can come up with. I love it when a recipe idea comes together perfectly, surprises me and tastes better than I’d imagined.

I want to be able to show how amazing food can really taste and if I had inspired someone to cook, instead of reheat, once in a while at least, I’d be happier.