I was born in rural Sydney Australia, and grew up immersed in the world of flavour, spending my childhood running through my grandparents’ herb garden and helping in their shop, Somerset Cottage, from the age of five. After a career in advertising and marketing, I moved to the UK to live, work, and travel, and in 2003, formalised my culinary interest by obtaining a Diploma at Leith’s School of Food and Wine. Since graduating, I have held various roles in the food industry, including founding a cooking school and health food business. I have been an integral part of the family company, Herbie’s Spices, working on new product development, writing recipes and contributing to marketing. I have created recipes for book titles Spicery, Herbaceous, and the award-winning Spice & Herb Bible, and the recently published How to Add Flavor.

When my children came along, I loved watching them grow strong and healthy on fresh, homemade meals. Of course, there were times when I reached for prepared baby food, but I was always surprised by how bland the options were. When it came time to introduce red meat, I instinctively made a lamb tagine — warm with cinnamon, sweet with apricots and carrots, and subtly spiced with cumin. It’s still a family favourite today. From the moment they could balance on a kitchen stool, my kids have been involved in making staples like pesto, hummus, and bread. As they’ve grown older, convenience foods have inevitably crept in, but they understand the value of real ingredients, how good real food makes them feel, and how easy it can be to make something delicious from scratch. When they head off to university in the coming years, I’ll be sending them with a bundle of favourite recipes, plus the skills and confidence to trust their cooking intuition and knowledge of how to add flavour.