Hi, I’m Dorothy, an American from the West Coast of the USA now living in North London.

I believe in fresh unprocessed food prepared with time and love. I do private cooking for busy families, help artisanal food start-ups shine on Instagram, and develop recipes for bigger brands.

And I want to inspire colourful, healthy, nutritious, sustainable and most of all TASTY food. I’m not wedded to particular diets – let’s have variety. Let’s experiment!

How I landed here and what I learnt about food on the way

My first food influence was mom, a salad-with-everything Californian. As a little girl I watched her experiment in the kitchen every day.

Fast forward to teenage years. I left home aged 16 to work as a fashion model. I travelled the world, trying loads of different foods on the way. Japan, India, France, Morocco, Brazil, Mexico. Fresh, inspiring tastes created from an ever-changing array of local ingredients.

Modelling took me to Paris for 10 years, where I moved into designing fashion bags for a living and went to lots and lots of food markets. Getting the right ingredients. Handling the produce. Thinking, tasting and learning to value fresh simple food on my doorstep.

Next stop, Brooklyn, New York. And a baby! And gestational diabetes, and a 50lb weight gain. Learning more about food and nutrition became my focus as I wanted to nourish myself and my family as I lost weight safely and slowly.

As my partner has an auto-immune condition I was also spurred to research how anti-inflammatory foods might help, which led me to try out gluten, dairy-free and gut-friendly alternatives to classic recipes.

Finally, it’s hello North London. Moving here as a family five years ago, I switched my professional focus from fashion to food.

So, I’m putting my life lessons to good use. I solve problems. I find creative solutions to food dilemmas. And I love to create interesting, beautiful and tasty food.

Let me know what you would love to see here and if you have any questions. Follow me on @dotscookin or message me here!