My Story

I started this blog in July 2011, a fresh faced and naive graduate with big hopes for this country's capital. So far, I have explored more gastronomy treats than I could have imagined, and have developed as a baker, cook and writer.

Growing up, our house was never particularly passionate about food. I lived on classics like spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie and roasts, with the occasional fish fingers and chips. When I hit puberty, my family discovered alternative therapies and vegetarianism. Bye bye bacon, hello vegetable munge. Being a child, I grew to love the way in which my mum interpreted vegetarian cooking, and I still find it comforting to go home and have a bowl of mushy vegetables in tomato sauce.

I've suffered with anxiety for the last ten years and when I hit secondary school, I developed a great, irrational fear for the concept of throwing up. This meant that my relationship with food became very skewed and I would limit myself to a couple of crackers a day at my very worst. This led to a fear of going anywhere outside of the house, as I was afraid of being in a situation where I couldn't escape, should the need to vomit arise. I lost a fair bit of weight and my puppy fat. I loved that I could now see my collarbones. At school, once I had overcome my issues of leaving the house, my daily lunch would be an apple and a chocolate croissant at 11am. On the whole, I didn't eat too much over my teenage years, even becoming a vegetarian myself at one point.

Once I'd rediscovered my appetite, and the ability to enjoy a steak, I packed myself off to university. Sharing a house for the first time with 4 boys. This was a period were I survived on tins of Lidl Chilli Con Carne and packets of Miso Soup. I attempted to cook a Christmas Dinner for our house and managed to burn most of it through drunkenness. I was also in a relationship where jars of smart price sauces were on the menu all of the time.

I conquered my food demons towards the end of university, and finally discovered my love for all things culinary. Being able to finally make my own sauces felt as though I had been set free from a processed cage. Since then, my passion has grown tenfold and is a a huge part of my every day life. Whether it's cooking dinner, baking treats, visiting new restaurants and trying new cuisines, exploring food festivals or street food markets, I've experienced it. I'm now sharing these experiences with you.