I’ve loved cooking ever since as a small child I learned to make buns and flapjacks for my friends.

Cooking for the family and flatmates was a natural progression, as were a series of cooking jobs in school and university holidays. Since then a three year stint as Editor on the cookery magazine series Good Cooking with Gary Rhodes fired my interest – Gary’s huge enthusiasm and expertise were inspiring – and I also learned loads of techniques and tricks of the trade from him and all the cooks, writers and photographers involved in the project. I’m currently co-editing Baked and Delicious, a partwork that focuses on our current British craze, baking.

My cooking is informal and aims to make the very most of fresh seasonal ingredients while keeping a eye on cost, too. Its inclusive style is down to some very varied influences: a Yorkshire granny with matchless baking skills; my parents whose long stay in India gave us all a taste for spices; my first mother-in-law who cooked sublime English roasts and entertained with consummate ease; my Italian sister-in-law who taught me about proper Italian food; a succession of lodgers – French, Spanish, Italian, Indian and Japanese – who have broadened my culinary experience; and last but not least my Indian husband whose addiction to chillies keeps me on an endless quest for new ways with sub-continental food.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email at: nikki@bookacooklondon.com.

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And check out Book a Cook recipes on ivillage.co.uk and myrecipe.org too