Other media appearance include Women’s Hour on BBC Radio 4, BBC 6Music’s breakfast show, Soho Radio, BBC Radio Bristol, The Pool, Stir The Pot and Olive Magazine’s podcasts and Mumsnet. Everyone has their own journey in life and it’s taken me a long time – success does take a long time. She has appeared as a judge on numerous panels, including Veggie Magazine Awards, Great British Food Awards (alongside Raymond Blanc, Michael Roux, Nathan Outlaw, Mark Hix, Rosemary Shrager and more) and appeared on the highly regarded Great Taste Awards head judges panel for the last two years.

Elly I’d never worked in kitchens up until that point, but my mum instilled a can-do attitude in us all – you just get on and do it. I want to teach people to use beans, lentils and fresh veg – and to eat with the seasons as much as possible. With beautiful photography, more than 100 recipes and helpful sections for weekday and weekend cooking, this is a cookbook you can go back to time and again. With no formal training, Elly Pear (real name Elly Curshen) opened Bristol’s Pear Café 13 years ago, which was such a ridiculous success she’s since written three cookbooks, been a magazine food columnist, cooked at festivals across the UK, and judged The Great British Food Awards. Emma It’s taken minutes to make, it’s totally delicious, and it looks to me a bit like ‘things on a plate’?Elly Yes – there are so many wonderful milks, tofu and delicious vegan foods, but it’s also caused a rise in fake meat products. Recipes to prep at the weekend for the week ahead – again, a really practical approach based on how we really live our busy lives. Elly says: “If you’re already a veggie or vegan, I’m going to show you lots of things you may not have tried – new ingredients, different ways of doing things or fresh approaches to cooking.

If you’re currently a meat-eater, my aim is to prove a meal with no meat can still be satisfying, exciting and delicious”. She has also contributed recipes to both Cook For Syria charity books and produced two e-books, Let’s Eat: Elly Pear’s Home Fridge Deli and Elly Pear’s Fast Days and Feast Days: Tips and recipes to reset your diet for the New Year. From midweek meal planning to weekend feasting, you’re sure to find a cookbook on this list that will help you on your path to vegetarian eating. Families choose to spend their money on different things, and ever since we were small, my parents took us to restaurants.A super-practical section on weekday meal solutions, with sub-sections for freezer food, one-pan meals and easy recipes that can be on the table in 20 minutes. Elly Curshen, founder of Bristol’s Pear Café, better known as Elly Pear and author of Sunday Times bestseller, ' Fast Days and Feast Days' (2016), is passionate about encouraging people to cook from scratch and try new things. Clients for recipe development work include Tio Pepe, Sarsons, Bonne Maman, MacSween, Strong Roots and Peter’s Yard. Elly When I was nine – I copied my big sister because it was the 80s and we were learning about animal cruelty at school and vegetarianism was getting popular.

I don’t own a house or a car, there are loads of things I haven’t got that other people do – for a long time, my business was everything and I didn’t see much of my family and friends. She has also contributed to a wide range of publications both online and in print, including Waitrose Food Magazine, Olive Magazine, Stella Magazine, Sunday Times Magazine, Delicious, Sainsbury’s Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Root and Bone and The Pool and was the food columnist for Instyle Magazine for over a year.The third stop is special treats – like a lime or an avocado, because we’re lucky that we can get them.