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Books

I write my books myself - my books are not ghost written. I also cook all the food for the photos in my books at home where it's much more relaxing than in a studio. I cook on my domestic oven and hobs so you know that cooking times will work. The first book I ever worked on was Keith Floyd's The Best of Floyd, for Michael Joseph in 1995. I'm credited as home economist - which basically means I cooked all the recipes we photographed and gave advice on things that seemed a little strange with the recipes. It was an interesting experience and it made me keen to write my own book one day. Which was exactly what happened next.

Fusion A Culinary Journey by Peter Gordon bookcover A Culinary Journey by Peter Gordon bookcover Vegetables - the new food heroes by Peter Gordon bookcover Salads - the new main course by Peter Gordon bookcover A World in my Kitchen by Peter Gordon bookcover

Vegetables - the new food heroes

Published by Quadrille in 2006, and again serialised in The Sunday Times Style magazine. I'm no vegetarian, but I find a meal with too few vegetables is far from satisfying. Perhaps it's because while growing up in Wanganui, New Zealand my siblings and I each had our own patch of garden and we used to compete to produce the most tomatoes and beans. My sister Tracey inevitably won - although I'm sure she had more fertile soil than I did! In this book vegetables are the hero, in that they take either centre stage for a vegetarian meal, or they are the supporting cast that lifts the meat or fish hero to new heights.