The first of my thanks must go to the wonderful team at Quadrille, headed up by the mighty Sarah Lavelle, for giving me this incredible opportunity. I’ve worked on countless books and magazines and within publishing for many years, so to have my own cookbook is a dream come true. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I hope I have done Big Salads justice and brought the dream to life.
To Catherine Frawley, a photographer extraordinaire, and someone who I am so pleased to now call a friend. You’ve left me speechless many times (and this never usually happens) with your beautiful photos and light touch. I am so lucky and grateful to have had you and Michael help make this book something we can all be very proud of. Thank you for letting us take over your home.
Maeve Bargman is the wonderful designer who has brought together the book you hold in your hands, and I hope you agree it’s truly a thing of beauty. Thank you for pushing the idea of what a cookbook should look like and for raiding the all-you-can-eat buffet with such enthusiasm at the end of every shoot day – the fact that the size of container increased almost daily made this feeder very happy indeed.
Rachel Vere who took my love of strong graphic patterns and ran with it. You have a fabulous eye for props and my food has never looked so at home in the staggering array of dishes and whopping platters you managed to find! Big Salads needed big plates and what beauties you found.
Helen Gatherer – there are no words. I’m struggling to know how to thank you for everything you did for me on this shoot. You are a brilliant, kind and fun person to be around. You kept me going; sang and danced with me as we prepped and cooked, and then cooked some more. And you did it all out of the kindness of your heart. How lucky am I to have met you? Very. Thank you.
Thanks also to Sarah Chatwin for asking all the right questions so nothing was missed or left unexplained and Harriet Webster for coordinating and making sure everything was just where it needed to be!
Thank you to the wonderful St. Ewe Free Range Eggs, who so kindly supplied the incredibly delicious eggs for the making of this book. They are scrumptious, my favourites and look amazing. Thank you all so much!
And I know it’s a bit cheesy and I don’t want these acknowledgements to be like a bad Oscar speech that runs on and on but I must thank my mum, after all I wouldn’t be here without her. I get all my best bits from you – well, perhaps not the love of cooking or broccoli – but certainly the drive, determination and wanting to make everything perfect. You’ve always told me I could do anything if I worked hard enough and you’ve always loved, encouraged, listened or just made it possible, whatever the path. I hope I make you proud. I love you.
Thanks to all my family (particularly Matt, Sanida and Oliver) and friends – especially Liz, Emma and Holly who I’ve known forever – for all the ridiculous laughs and unwavering support. And to everyone else that’s part of the ride, I love you all dearly. Now please go and buy lots of copies and spread the love of Big Salads.
To my incredible husband, Spencer. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I’m a better person for knowing you. You make me laugh so much. You always have my back (and usually a cold beer) when I need one. You give me the love and confidence to keep pushing on and you are my motivation – you’re also a wonderful distraction! Extra-special thanks for being first in line for tasting when I write recipes – I must say you’ve really taken on that job with gusto! Love you forever. Now, if I can just get you to eat cheese…
And lastly, to all of YOU who have bought the book, who embrace the idea that is Big Salads (and are already putting in post-its of the recipes you want to try) … That’s what it’s all about. THANK YOU.
