The former MTV celebrity booker and international sales manager for House of Holland has just released her first book, Eat the Week ($49.99, Murdoch Books), a divine take on a weekly recipe planner.
Tell us about your first book.
Once I was made aware that I'd need to write between 120 and 130 recipes for the book there was an initial moment of panic. Because of the premise of the book, I also had to make sure the recipes worked for the day of the week so, at times, this made it a little more difficult. I wanted to make sure there was a good mixture of both meat and vegetarian dishes while also including all my favourite desserts too basically anything that I love to eat is in there.
Describe your eating style.
I mainly eat meat-free during the week as my boyfriend is vegetarian (he doesn't even sneak in a bit of fish), so it makes sense to make just the one meal. I'll buy fresh ingredients every day so that I cater for what we fancy on the day with minimal waste. I love fresh salads with a bit of everything. Equally we'll scoff huge bowls of pasta, lentil stews, Mexican dishes or home-made curries. I love spice so I cook a lot of Asian food summer rolls, tom yum, pad Thai.
What are your favourite foods?
Ideally, anything you can snack on while cooking! Also home-made pasta sauces and stews that you leave to cook for hours and turn into the most delicious thing to eat with minimal effort. I love making meals that look exciting and vibrant and that you have to get stuck into and serve up yourself tacos, Thai curries with loads of extra garnishes and sides, big salads with roasted vegetables.
What's in your pantry?
It's a mess. Every few months I try to clear out and re-organise, so there's a shelf for dry spices, a shelf for everything baking-related, one for sauces, tins and then a load of condiments. We're condiment crazy in our house.
What was the most recent meal you cooked?
Passatelli served three different ways. One, with hot chorizo and stewed heirloom tomatoes; two, Jerusalem artichoke and chestnut mushrooms with truffle oil; and three, black sesame pesto and radishes. We had passatelli made for us while in Barcelona and it was delicious, a cross between pasta and gnocchi but made from parmesan and breadcrumbs.
Describe your foray into food writing.
I've always cooked a lot so I started my own blog (getinmygob.blogspot.com) in an attempt to document it, and began putting up pictures of everything I was cooking or eating. I was also cooking a lot of vegetarian food so when my friend asked if I'd be up for writing for The Independent blogs I jumped at the chance. The Reluctant Vegetarian started from there. A similar thing happened with the Vogue blog. Having worked in fashion for years, I had a friend that put me forward as a new contributor. I think it's just about getting out there as much as possible for people to see.
Do you enjoy cooking for others?
I love the social aspect of it. Food is the perfect excuse to get people together. For the pop-ups, even though it's a crazy amount of work and lack of sleep, all my friends and family rally around and get involved.
