the recipescelebratetheendresult– thejoy
of eating!Yourprose,too,wasandis full
of suchluscioussensuality– luminousand
evocative– thekindthatmademewant
to runintothekitchenandhavemyway
withsomefigsorwhateverotheringredient
happenedtobelanguishinginthefridge.
It wasyou,Nigella,whogavemefaiththat
cookingcouldbejoyousandpotentially
a careerprospectratherthanjusta duty.
I wasinspiredbyyourworkasa journalist,
too, soI readEnglishandstartedworkasa
writeronwomen’smagazines,allthewhile
ruiningmycolleagues’dietsbybringingin
f foodI spentmyfreetimelabouring
arslater,opportunityfinallyknocked,
hecareerI’dbeensubconsciously
reamingaboutallmylifeunexpectedly
d upandledmebacktothekitchen.
eganwritingaboutfood,cookingat
upsanddoingprivatecatering.Then,
ly, 10 yearslaterin2016,I pluckedupthe
agetojointhecohortofbrilliantwomen
atthehelmoftheirownfoodestablishments
whenI openedmyrestaurantJikoni.
Whenyoucametotherestaurantone
eveningit wasanemotionalandsurreal
momentforme.Overwhelmed,I stumbled
andwasunabletoexpressjusthowgrateful
I wastoyou– anythingI’dhavesaidwould
havesoundedweakandI wasconsciousnot
tointrudeonyoursupper.
Thisis whatI wantedtosay:thatevery
timeI’dbeentoldI couldn’t,there– likean
ally– wasoneofyourbooksorTVshows
toinspiremeagain.It wasthoseprecious
momentsofbeautyandpleasureinwatching
youonscreenandreadingyourbooksthat
helpedshapemyindependenceandcareer.Ravinder
people.
deliciousmagazine.co.uk 47
Turn the page for Ravinder’s recipe →
You gave me faith that cooking could
be joyous and potentially a career
prospect rather than just a duty