Shout outs and thanks!

Firstly and most importantly, I’m grateful for the support I get from home. Beth, Acey, the dogs and crew (Suze and Katie) – thank you so much for allowing me to just get on with doing stuff. Without you making sure that everything is in the right place and looked after, I wouldn’t have the headspace for writing a book.

Thank you to everyone at Bloomsbury and Absolute who has been involved in creating yet another amazing, incredible book. Your help and vision makes my life so much easier. Lisa Pendreigh, Xa Shaw Stewart, Jon Croft, Natalie Bellos, Richard Atkinson, Ellen Williams and Arlene Alexander, all of you guys are by far the best team of publishers and I’m so proud to work with you lot. Nigel Newton, thank you so much for your belief; hopefully we can pop out for another lunch date soon!

To the Marlow squad – the whole team at The Hand & Flowers and The Coach: you are the foundation that everything is built on and your drive for maintaining those high standards on a daily basis is what allows me to put pen to paper, take photographs or just cook the recipes that will end up in a book. Thank you so much for making those places work without the need for me being there.

To the ever-dependable Alex Longstaff, you are the most patient person and put up with my easily distracted, completely childish, and very often stupid behaviour. Thank you so much for helping me focus and actually get the words typed.

To the team at Bone Soup who helped to create a brilliant television show driven by emotion and heartfelt stories, showcasing the beautiful food that’s also in this great book. Richard Bowron, Sarah Myland, Madeline Eaton, Georgia Mills, Sophie Wells, Ceri Elms, Richard Hill, Jack Coathupe, Robbie Johnson, David Calvert, Joanna Boyle, Maria Dennett, Joe Panayiotou, Nick Murray, Tom Berrow, Chris Mallet, Dan Blackman, Lucy Kattenhorn and Martin Morrison, you guys are such a joy to work with.

Thank you to David Eldridge at Two Associates for the beautiful design of this book, and to Janet Illsley as the project editor, Jen Hopley for analysing (and generally being great) and Laura Herring for giving me extra vocabulary – excellent work guys, very proud!

Cristian and Bríd, I love working with you guys so much. The vision and the aesthetic of your pictures is always so beautiful, no matter what I throw at you. Cristian, you are a wizard!

The prop styling and art direction of this book are another thing of beauty. The photographs feel full of life and ‘at home’, and for that I have to thank Lydia McPherson and Lauren Miller. Once again, you have created a fantastic space to shoot in. This leads me to thank John and Lisa at E4 Kitchen Location for the use of their home and for allowing us to make a mess of it every day for two weeks; love you guys.

Now for the most important job of the lot – the food stylists. Nicole Herft, Chris Mackett, Holly Cochrane, Rosie Mackean and Emma Laws, thanks for coming with me on the journey towards easy, lower calorie cooking that tastes great. Nicole, you are a rude, loud and boisterous Australian and I love you dearly. Thank you so much for helping to make this brilliant book come to life, and for holding my hand through the development of the television series.

Borra Garson – ta mate! Keep guiding us through the whirlwind of life. I listen to everything you say and take it on board, even when it doesn’t look like it!

Lastly, to an inspirational team of dieters. Anybody wanting to lose weight just needs to look at what you have achieved. I am so proud of every single one of you. Your stories show to millions of people what can be done with some hard work and enthusiasm. Kayleigh Daniel, Özgür ‘Ozi’ Maden, Pittri Magnusen, Andrew Grant, Louise Fraser, David Shepherd, Ki Price, Samantha Goodman, Rev. Jenny Ellis, Leigh-Jayne Smith, Sandra Fontaine, Beth Meeks and Tom Mitchell: love you all very much.