About Mel

It’s been quite a meandering path from there to here. If you’re interested, I’ll tell you more over a glass of wine one day… Suffice to say, once upon a time I used to be a very small cog in a very large corporate wheel, working as part of a team to help clients be more successful. The pay was good; the work-life balance not so much.
 

Nowadays, I’m still helping clients be more productive – by simplifying inputs, refining outputs and streamlining processes – but on a much smaller scale, in my kitchen.  The hours are better, but, more importantly, I get to see the fruits of my labour.

In between then and now, I’ve had plenty of experiences to help equip me for my job as the Bookless Cook.  I’ve worked with a number of food organisations and individuals who share my passion for food produced with integrity (including an artisan bakery and a traditional butcher) and collaborated on several writing projects (including publications for the organisation Sustain as well as a couple of cookbooks) and spent time raising my two daughters.

I love black coffee, red vermouth, green oil paint and patterns (finding them in ideas and stories and gazing at them on wallpaper and textiles).  I’m grateful for fish fingers, baked beans and the occasional ready meal when life gets in the way of noble intentions, but I get a greater thrill from a heaving veg box full of pert British greens.   

Oh, and I love recipes too – in the Sunday papers, and in glossy cookbooks, and in weathered, old texts in second-hand bookshops.  They provide fascinating windows into other times and places, and nosy peeks into other people’s lives.  They have informed me, educated me, inspired me and, frequently, thrilled me.  I just don't find them a very practical resource for helping with that infernal question ‘What’s for dinner tonight?’