I learned to cook at my mother’s side. She had little disposable income so from an early age I would watch her creating delicious meals out of very simple ingredients, from what was lurking in the fridge. From teaching me how to make a béchamel sauce, or making the most of onions, my mother taught me the essentials of home cooking.
Hers was also the ethos of every knowledgeable home cook - if you buy good ingredients, in season, they not only taste better, but also do you good. This was an ethos also taught at Ballymaloe Cookery School, where I started to learn about farming, soil and how what we eat is so intricately linked to the health of us, and the planet.
I made cheese in West Cork and sourdough in my free-time to sell at farmers’ markets. I then went to Mexico, where I had first travelled in my teens, to open and run a cocktail bar. The diversity of the ingredients and the quality of the food in Mexico stunned me and I travelled around the country, learning all I could about the different regions and their recipes.
In 2005, still looking for what to do next I decided to apply to Masterchef, a newly launched cooking show on the BBC. After my unexpected win, I went to cook at Petersham Nurseries under the watchful eye of Skye Gyngell.
A few years later, and with much research, I co-founded Wahaca, inspired by the food markets of Mexico. From the first year we opened we recycled everything from our food waste to our bottles, putting a delicoius emphasis on vegetables; to this day half of our menu is full of mouth-watering vegetarian dishes.
I am the author of seven cookbooks, the latest being Meat-Free Mexican: Vibrant, Vegetarian Recipes. You can also find my recipes in my regular weekend Guardian Feast column.
I care deeply about where our food comes from, how it is grown and how its growth supports the soil, biodiversity and the planet. Everyone should have access to good ingredients, and more locally grown fruit and vegetables. Much of my work delves into this, from work with the Soil Association, to creating a garden in my local primary school with help from the Fork to Fork food festival, to my work with Chefs in Schools, a charity I started with Henry Dimbleby, for which I am a trustee.
CONTACT
Literary, collaboration and event enquiries: Sabhbh Curran
sabhbh.curran@curtisbrown.co.uk
For all other work including TV, radio and brand work please contact Vanessa at Curtis Brown: fogartyoffice@curtisbrown.co.uk
For all PR enquiries: ricky.davison@wahaca.co.uk
FOLLOW