Catherine
in Westbury Park (Bristol)

A little taste of France and Portugal

all about me I’ve been living in the UK with my Portuguese husband since 1999 and we moved to Bristol in 2003. Although born in Germany (my dad is German) I grew up in Portugal from the age of 7. I

all about me

I’ve been living in the UK with my Portuguese husband since 1999 and we moved to Bristol in 2003. Although born in Germany (my dad is German) I grew up in Portugal from the age of 7. I come from a large family of seven where mealtimes were always home-cooked by my French mum and we all sat at the dinner table to enjoy her delicious meals. I learned to cook, spending hours in the kitchen chatting and watching her make a perfect béchamel or crème anglaise. I used to love helping with the food shopping too. Maman is an incredible cook & host and I have so many fond memories of helping out in the kitchen when she invited friends for dinner. My love of hosting definitely comes from her. I always get a buzz after inviting friends round for dinner, as I love the combination of sharing good food & wine with interesting conversations and plenty of laughter!

Food is utterly emotive and I hope I can recreate a bit of that ‘feel-good time’ by sharing nourishment for body & soul in the comfort of your own homes.

all about my food

I’d say my cooking is probably a bit of a Mediterranean fusion - mainly influenced by traditional French and Portuguese cuisine, sprinkled with the odd German ‘Kräutersalz’ (herb salt) & infused with some British and more far-away flavours. My main focus is that food needs to taste and look good. After all, as we say in French: ‘on mange avec les yeux’ - you eat with your eyes too. I never cooked separate meals for our children when they grew up, rather concentrating on providing healthy & nourishing food for the whole family. Our daughter turned vegan for three years, which opened up a huge array of new cooking possibilities for me. I’m always up for a culinary challenge and am fascinated by the power that food has on our overall health. Having worked in sustainability for over 10 years, I place great importance in sourcing my ingredients, choosing fresh & organic produce where possible. I also try to use reusable or compostable packaging. That’s why I call myself: @acookwithaconscience. I’m excited to share my love of food with you and hope you will enjoy a little taste of France or Portugal on your plate. Whether you haven’t got time to cook or just don’t like cooking altogether yet would still like to host a dinner party, I’d be happy to provide you with a delicious meal to share with family & friends.