Even when Belinda was just a little girl, she always knew that cooking was what she wanted to do, or as she used to tell her mum, Cooee, “When I grow up I’m going to be a ‘cooka’ in the kitchen.” Little did she realise just how true those words would prove to be! Although they’re now many years ago, Belinda still has such clear memories of those special times with her mum. As she cooked Belinda would stand on a chair beside her and insist on having her own bowl and spoon, then make her very own version of whatever she was cooking.

As time went by, she just kept on cooking. When she was ten her mum bought Margaret Fulton’s first big cookbook and that was a real turning point for Belinda. She would immerse herself in it during the week and then on the week-ends practice what she'd read. Frying eggs, cooking bacon, learning how to roast, and most importantly for a little girl with a very sweet tooth, baking cakes and puddings.

All through her teens, Belinda continued to cook. Then finally the great day came when she actually started to do it for a living! First in restaurants, then writing for magazines, then onto teaching, television, radio and finally, and to her most importantly, the thing she loves most of all…writing cookbooks.

Belinda would love to think that you use her books a bit like the way she cooked with my mum. To feel that Belinda is there beside you in the kitchen and that you are both sharing the special joy that comes from cooking and learning together.