A life of food
My first cooking experience was with my grandmother when I was about six. I used to help her with her mammoth Saturday bake when she would concoct such delights as scones, shortbread, raisin rhapsody and the best chocolate cake ever. It was then that I realised the advantages of being able to cook - the way to everyone's heart is through their tummy and you get to lick the spoon!
As a child I read a lot of cookbooks, mainly Good Housekeeping ones - Nigel Slater, River Cafe and Moro hadn't been invented - and my early influences were Delia Smith and repeats of Fanny Craddock. (I wasn't exactly the coolest kid at school). Then in my teens Keith Floyd changed my life. I loved his natural enthusiasm and the modern twist he gave to classic dishes. I also admired his easy relationship with alcohol - he was the kind of chef I wanted to be.
In 1998 I began my own catering company in East Lothian. It went so well I decided the smart thing to do would be to open a restaurant and in December 2000, I opened The Stockbridge Restaurant in Edinburgh's New Town. It is a fine dining restaurant featuring game, seafood, everything home made. Shortly afterwards, a publisher asked me to write a cookbook and in October 2002 'Dinner with Juliet' hit the shelves. By this time I was writing a food column for the Edinburgh Evening News and contributing recipes and foodie articles to other papers and magazines.
In 2004 I sold the restaurant to concentrate on my writing and broadcasting career. I love cooking and in my writing try to show how cooking delicious food can be really easy. I have also learned that if you do the cooking, you don't have to do the washing up!
As a child I read a lot of cookbooks, mainly Good Housekeeping ones - Nigel Slater, River Cafe and Moro hadn't been invented - and my early influences were Delia Smith and repeats of Fanny Craddock. (I wasn't exactly the coolest kid at school). Then in my teens Keith Floyd changed my life. I loved his natural enthusiasm and the modern twist he gave to classic dishes. I also admired his easy relationship with alcohol - he was the kind of chef I wanted to be.
In 1998 I began my own catering company in East Lothian. It went so well I decided the smart thing to do would be to open a restaurant and in December 2000, I opened The Stockbridge Restaurant in Edinburgh's New Town. It is a fine dining restaurant featuring game, seafood, everything home made. Shortly afterwards, a publisher asked me to write a cookbook and in October 2002 'Dinner with Juliet' hit the shelves. By this time I was writing a food column for the Edinburgh Evening News and contributing recipes and foodie articles to other papers and magazines.
In 2004 I sold the restaurant to concentrate on my writing and broadcasting career. I love cooking and in my writing try to show how cooking delicious food can be really easy. I have also learned that if you do the cooking, you don't have to do the washing up!