I LOVE food. Like really love food with a passion. And I love to cook and create new dishes that tickle the taste buds and make me smile.

You see my love of food is no accident – I thank my wonderful mum for the love of food she placed in my heart. I’ll say (with complete objectivity of course) that my mum is the best home cook I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing – bar none.

She reminds me of the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten and her love of cooking for her wonderful husband Geoffrey –  my mum is the same. She spent her whole life cooking up the most delightful treats ever for my dad – and us!

We never ate the same meal twice in a month, and she always had something special up her sleeve – no matter what the occasion. When I was a teen, Mum took an advanced cookery class – a class where I once had the privilege and delight in sitting in on. Unbeknown to mum, the class instructor admitted to me that my mum had taught her many things and really didn’t need to be on the course at all. I beamed with utter delight!

However, it wasn’t until I got married that I REALLY started to cook – before, I was an admirer of good food, but not really a cook. Once I realized I had a LOT of cooking to do, I learnt. Pronto. And soon, I knew more dishes than I could count, and wonderfully so, got the appreciation that only a hearty meal can bring,

The ‘mmms’ and the ‘yumms’ and the ‘can I have some more’ said it all. Now, some 11 years later, I’ve decided it’s high time I shared what I love most with everyone else. So this is my attempt at recreating the dishes that I had as a child, the dishes I feed my family and my guests, and more importantly, the dishes that triumph when I get inspired from travel, new experiences and new cultures.

Above all else, this is an ode to my beautiful mum who inspired the love of food in me and shared her wonderful insights into cooking that only a mother so lovingly can.

Enjoy!