Hi, I'm Denise!
I’m a cookbook author, cooking instructor and pie champion from beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
I’m classically trained in French cuisine and pastry but prefer the comfort of a good home cooked meal over fine dining. I hope my cookbooks, articles and recipes inspire and nourish your culinary aspirations.
A Message To The Reluctant Cook
Sometimes you’ll scorch the rice or overwork the dough. You might under-cook the fish, over-salt the pasta or curdle the cream. I’ve made all these mistakes and plenty more. But with every blunder, a new lesson unfolds. Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. If your cooking history is, um, colourful, consider yourself ahead of the curve.
With practice, you’ll learn to trust your senses.
Touch your food. You’ll feel when the dough is ready or when the meat is perfectly cooked.
Smell your food. Your nose knows if the fish is fresh or funky — or when the garlic’s about to burn.
Listen to the sizzle and sputter. It’s telling you the if the pan’s the right (or wrong) temperature.
Taste as you cook. You’ll know if the soup needs a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon.
Watch your food. It’s always perfect — just before it burns.
