"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." - Sophia Loren
When I was around three years old, the first thing I would say to my nan as I walked through her front door was "Pasta, nanny." Sometimes there was resistance to my command. "It's only 11am, Ash", she'd say. But I'd sulk and strop until I had a bowl of pasta in my reach. I was obsessed with the stuff and I still am to this day, twenty years later. "Pasta Nanny" soon became my nan's nickname and it stuck with us for a very long time. Her real name is Sylvia, poor thing.
Food has been a passion and an obsession of mine ever since. Interests and fads, they come and go, but food has stuck with me. I hear people say that food is just fuel, and to an extent they are right. Food fuels my life, from giving me the energy to get through the day, to fuelling my friendships, bonds and everything in between. For me, food is life and I can't see that changing. Now, Pasta Nanny was never one for cooking. She could burn boiled carrots (she'd say they were caramelised) but she loves food all the same. As does my mum, and my dad. I remember making my granddad a Delia's Dundee cake and sitting in the garden talking about our love for Nigella Lawson while we ate it. I baked that cake for his funeral too. Food is emotional like that.
Growing up with people who appreciated food made it easy for me to be interested in it. They'd encourage me to make dinners and experiment in the kitchen as long as I cleared up afterwards. So my love of cooking in all ways and forms bloomed into lifelong infatuation.
I'm definitely not one for bragging but I'm getting a bit of a reputation at work for my bakes. I outsold Yotam Ottolenghi at a charity bake-sale in the office and will take that to my grave. I live in London and I'm always on the hunt for new places to try, especially street food. I love a food market and can spend whole days milling around the world-foods and spices sections in supermarkets. I can honestly say that I love ALL food and find influences from around the world seeping into my cooking at home.
So that's me really. I hope you're as hungry as I am.
Ashley Rose x