As far as I am aware, I have always loved food. Whether this is cooking food, eating food, or watching food being cooked and/or eaten on television – I am always invested. Growing up, I would watch almost any show that featured food. I watched Rick Stein’s many travel shows, The F Word by Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson’s copious home cooking shows.
As I got a bit older, I began to notice different cuisines and chefs being featured on TV – most notably Yotam Ottolenghi. His Levantine-inspired, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous, meat and vegetable dishes made my mouth water. But I think I reached the peak of my TV food obsession when Rachel Khoo’s Little Paris Kitchen emerged on BBC2. I instantly wanted to be transported to Paris to sample everything she made. Next came the formidable Lorraine Pascale. In all my life I had only ever seen a Black food TV presenter once on British TV, Ainsley Harriott, so seeing her baking and cooking an array of delicious treats filled me with immense joy.