I grew up in a family where food was the focal point of any event or gathering, so I've been lucky enough to observe and taste the foods from people like my mum who make amazing lasagnes, pies, curries and desserts, among others, as well as complex flavour profiles from her and other family members. I suppose it's only natural that from this that I've always loved food.

A few years back I started dabbling in baking but it's only in the last few years that I've really been able to experiment with savoury foods and develop my own cooking skills within that. Cooking can be challenging but it's rewarding in so many ways. Even if you fail, at least you can learn from it or steer clear of that dish altogether!

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With this passion for food, I wanted to start this blog to be able to write it all down, not only sharing recipes that I may recreate from others but to have my own platform that I can use to experiment with what I cook through trial and error. You will also find quite a few travel posts (another of my major passions) - maybe mixed in with food too - because there are few things better than exploring the many things the world has to offer. You'll also realise I love coffee.*

 

I stumbled upon my first food blogs a few years back, only to have bookmarked hundreds more to this day and I haven't looked back since. It's an incredibly talented world out there and it's amazing that people can share their love in their little corner of the internet, spreading their skills and knowledge.

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I hope you enjoy the food I share here and/or the places I travel, to hopefully inspire, experiment, reminisce, or just enjoy another blog to read! Thank you for stopping by!

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Sophie

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Recipes and Cooking

When I cook I don't tend to measure things; I usually eyeball them instead. This is something I've picked up from my mum who goes by the 'a bit of this and a bit of that' method. So, I've tried my best to give measurements to the ingredients I've used in recipes, but for some things it's really all to one's taste, so feel free to use more or less of something to suit you. Enjoy!

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*Coffee

I really enjoy trying different coffee places everywhere I visit because I love the stuff! I'm fascinated how the beans, roasting methods, machines, preparation, temperature of the water and all other technical bits I'm not qualified to state, can make the drink you order taste completely different. 

I write about my coffee experiences as much as I can so I feel I should mention my taste preference as everyone's perfection of coffee is not the same as the person's next to them. This can be for various reasons but the viewpoint I express on my blog is more so towards the lay coffee drinker and not the expert coffee tasters getting heart palpitations in the coffee labs around the world. That being said, the lay coffee drinker is often the expert as one knows what one likes!

 

So, to give you an idea of my coffee tastebuds, my mainstream go-to coffee place is Costa (this includes the taste of their coffee (more specifically their Paradise Street blend - chocolatey notes) plus the preparation, rather than just the coffee beans themselves. A lot of Europeans reading this, particularly Brits, would know Costa but unfortunately, it hasn't made its way over the pond to the US yet - one can hope.

 

My go-to coffee drink would be a flat white. When prepared properly, the steam-wand-perfected creaminess of the milk poured expertly with the coffee allows the flavour and strength of the coffee itself to shine through so, I tend to track others down. However, as it is not a drink prepared by everyone yet, my alternative would be a cappuccino and onwards.

The main commercial coffee place I am not a fan of is Starbucks. I do not find their coffee that flavourful at all and do not understand the hype, but I guess the hype isn't always for the taste of the coffee. 

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So, as you can see, I tend to take my coffee quite seriously (but not too seriously because a bit of fluffy froth and chocolate powder is needed sometimes... most of the time).

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Photos and Content on this site:

All photos used in blog posts and recipes written are mine unless stated otherwise. Please do not use any of these photos for any personal, non-commercial, social media or commercial purposes without written permission from me. 

Some photos used for decorative purposes have been taken from Unsplash, with photographers duly credited.