My love of food all comes from a wholesome upbringing. My mum made everything
from scratch, we knew no different. Growing up, we lived in Surrey and Sussex,
which is where I stayed until I was married and had three children, and spent our
family holidays in South Devon. We later chose to move down to Devon full-time,
where I am now surrounded by the coast I love and Dartmoor, where I get to enjoy
endless river dips and beautiful walks. We live in an abundant area of organic food
producers, people who love and appreciate the land, and near the thriving town of
Totnes, with its many independent retailers.

I have always been supportive of organic food. I remember living in college
accommodation and being made fun of because I was a student buying organic. To
me, this should be normal; food sprayed with chemicals definitely is not.

My cooking life began with days working at a local pub, The Trooper. I was then
drawn to do a ski season, where I spent the winter as a chalet chef. I absolutely
loved it, which made me start thinking about professional training. I spent two
intensive terms at Tante Marie in Woking. I remember initially seeing images of food
and not even being able to imagine how to make it, but we made it all, and I loved
every part of it!

My first job afterwards was with a brilliant lady named Penny. You’ll see some
delicious roulades in this book, which I first learned to make at Penny's. Catering
weddings and dinner parties, I learned an awful lot in those two years.

My dad has always been self-employed, so it felt very natural for me to start my own
business. I began as Potts Pantry, selling at Hampshire farmers' markets, supplying
puddings to pubs, and winning awards for my bakes. The markets were buzzing with
life, full of producers excited by what they sold, and I felt lucky to be amongst them
all.

Those market days drew to a close as I started a family after marrying Olly. We have
three children, Elsie, Merryn, and Rufus. My baking did not stop, though. The baby
days led me to learning about sourdough. I became obsessed with it and went on to
win some well-known awards for my bread. Inspired by a lady in America selling
bread from her veranda, I decided to open my own home up for a pop-up bakery
once a week, selling sourdough and cakes.

At this point, I decided to convert to a vegan diet, which I followed for five years.
During that time, I mastered vegan baking with a focus on using natural ingredients
and unrefined sugars, nothing processed, ensuring everything looked beautiful and
was never compromised in taste. This led me to write my first book, The Plant-Based

Baker: Natural Sweet Bakes. It was self-published, and I learnt an awful lot through
the process.

After moving to Devon, I began baking from home again. This time, I started
supplying The Hairy Barista in Totnes, where I have made a name for myself and
feel very lucky to be a part of the community.

I am so excited to share this new book with everyone. It is double the size of the last
one. I have stepped away from plant-based and created a book that includes recipes
for all sorts of diets, still focusing on the goodness of the ingredients. We have
photographed the food and the seasons over the last four years, capturing many
special recipes to share with you all. It is a book I hope you use again and again with
family and friends.