As a chef an empty bowl means the world. It means that what was once in there is now gone, this equates to a happy consumer of said bowl

I am a South African who had her training wheels removed in London in the height of the 90’s when cheffing still had rock star status, man those were exciting times

But it was all French and Italian cooking, the classics, the food that then gave you Michelin stars. I also did most of my learning before the era of Molecular Gastronomy, so I always refer to myself as a dinosaur!! Of froths and foams and all things chemical I know very little, but I do strive for authenticity and know that flavour trumps all.

I have the great privilege of owning a tiny restaurant on a wonderful wine estate in the valley of Hemel en Aarde, Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa

I love travelling on my own, at my own pace, for new food experiences and hopefully these pages will reflect that. The Asian countries are what’s hitting home a little more at the moment as it is constant discovery. I get to learn things constantly and stretch my knowledge and am just using this platform to document it all. I will be trying to reproduce these in the restaurant and as we achieve it so i will share the recipes with you

I am so incredibly lucky that I have been able to build up a community of patrons to the restaurant that really do trust us and our authenticity when we bring some of these dishes to life for them.

So for now I am just going to keep scribbling and leaving the world with more empty bowls