I am the author of nine books on food and wine, and a freelance food, wine and travel writer. My work has been published in FT Weekend (Financial Times) and the FT's How to Spend It magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, High Life, Decanter, France Magazine and Culture. For work published in FT Weekend I was shortlisted for the Glenfiddich Food Writer of the Year and for the Guild of Food Writers Food Journalist Award, where my writing was commended as 'well informed, serious and enjoyable, well researched, what good professional food journalism can be about'. I'm a regular contributor to the online food and wine site, Zester Daily. See also my blog.

Picture by Carla Capalbo                        

I never tire of cooking and offer hands-on workshops in my country kitchen - stylish, seasonal stuff, sometimes with a French focus, sometimes Mexican, Italian, Spanish or (increasingly) Catalan. It depends on my mood, and my latest travels.

On my travels - which for me are intimately linked to food and wine - I like to seek out new places and experiences (the overnight bus from Oaxaca to Chiapas, the No. 62 ferry in Hamburg's harbour, rock paintings in the Kimberley in WA...). And I make it a hard and fast rule to avoid using the word 'nestling' in my travel writing.

Wine is an important (essential?) adjunct to food and travel, and though I make copious tasting notes for myself, I seldom write them up, finding them about as interesting to read as a telephone directory. I love to meet wine growers, hear their passionate commitment to what they do, taste the fruits of their labours, and write about them. My most recent wine travel pieces for Decanter include Catalunya, Colmar, Dijon, Priorat, Croatia & Slovenia, Alsace vineyard walks and Beaujolais. I compile (and regularly update) the three sections on Alsace for www.winetravelguides.com and I lead bespoke vineyard tours in Alsace.

When not cooking, writing or wine touring, I'm also involved with the local community on a number of fronts, including helping to set up and run an English-speaking cancer support group in the Basel area. For more information on any of the above, click here or use the Contact button at the foot of this page.