Xanthe Clay spent her youth backpacking through the Sudan, Egypt and Sinai, across China and around South America, before settling down in London to work as a cookery book seller. In her mid-twenties she trained as a chef at Leith’s and worked as a chef and caterer in the West Country before starting the Readers’ Recipe column for the Telegraph. Since then she has worked on both food and cookery features for Weekend Telegraph, as well as contributing to Good Food Magazine, Olive Magazine, Delicious Magazine and Sainsburys Magazine. She has also written five cookery books, the latest of which is The Contented Cook.