About Rachel

As a chef who cooks with seasonal, local and sustainably sourced food, I’ve spent years working closely with local farmers and producers to understand exactly what’s most delicious at any given time of year. My home is filled with exactly the same produce, and I’m extraordinarily passionate about sharing my love of the earth, and all the deliciousness she gifts us.

I BELIEVE IN COOKING WITH THE SEASONS

For me, it all starts with the ingredient, gifted to me by the earth. Whether it’s a crisp autumn apple, rosy-red and oh-so flavoursome, a proud spear of sturdy spring asparagus, pretty little fresh-picked peas or a handmade cotechino sausage bursting with deliciousness, my inspiration starts with the seasonal, local and sustainably-sourced ingredients that light me right up, and make me want to do extremely yummy things with them.

For the most part, I cook with what the earth in my area is naturally producing at any given time. As the year rolls by in wave after wave of seasonal produce, I feel rushes of joy at the appearance of seasonal ‘firsts', and thrill with exhilaration as I ride the season’s highs. As the months travel on, I bid fond farewells to harvests that have come to an end for another year – farewells that are made fonder still knowing that next year, I’ll see them again. Put simply, I let the earth around me guide me as to what is most delicious, and I try to cook and eat in a way that’s aligned with the earth’s natural rhythms of production.

I believe that food is good

Food’s had a tough old gig over the past few decades, falling victim to the 'wellness' movement and the ridiculous body image standards that have pervaded our society for far too long. Let me be clear: food is not your enemy. It's not here to make you sick, or shame you for eating the ‘wrong’ kinds of it, or terrify you with the thought that it might change your body outside the scope of what society tells you is acceptable. Food is here to make you happy! For you to nom right down on and enjoy, making groaning yummy-food noises as you do. It’s here to bring you joy, and connection, and sustenance, and fun. Food is your friend. Food is good.

I BELIEVE IN loving your body, no holds barred

Ah, this one is a doozy. Loving the body we live in is something that most of us find incredibly hard to do. I’m willing to hazard a guess that whatever your body shape is, there’s something about it you’d like to change. Something (or lots of things) that you really wish weren’t the way that they are. If only this looked like that, and that looked like hers (or his or theirs – from what I’ve observed, gender is irrelevant here, and most of us are playing the same self-defeating game).

But what if you didn’t need to change a thing? What if you stared yourself full in the face and simply accepted and celebrated what you are, whatever that is? What if you just totally owned yourself, all of yourself, and focused your energy on absolutely rocking it? Because the fact is, no two bodies are the same. Whatever your body-image ideal is, I can tell you that the person you think embodies it is likely spending their time wishing for a whole different set of attributes. We’ve all been taught to pick ourselves apart, piece by piece, analysing and sighing and feeling like we don’t measure up. It’s time to put that toxic equation away, and focus instead on radical acceptance of who you are. We aren’t made of moulded plastic, we are not all the same. We’re gloriously us, and we are who we are, and it’s called being a human! Curvy, lithe, athletic, large, small or medium: who cares. It’s not about what makes up the parts, it’s about what makes up your energy. It’s your love for your body that shines through, and that is what makes you beautiful.

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