Allegra on how she became a chef, her favourite cookery book and why rabbit lasagne is such a winner
Chef, broadcaster and writer Allegra McEvedy originally wanted to be a lawyer, but after a tumultuous few years in her teens things went "a bit wrong for me academically". A few years later she entered catering college and the legal profession’s loss was gastronomy’s gain.
After a spell working at high end places in New York (including Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Grill), she returned to the UK and eventually opened healthy fast food chain Leon with Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent. She’s since taken a back seat to concentrate on her writing and TV career. You can hear about all this and more in our video.
Recipes
Meanwhile if you fancy trying some of Allegra’s cooking, here’s a selection of tasty recipes:
"This Malawian dish makes for a very yummy and simple supper. Mtedza is the Malawian word for groundnuts, which is what they call peanuts due to the fact they grow in the ground."
"Whether you decide to buy farmed or wild salmon is up to you, but if you’re going for wild check that your fish comes from, and can be traced back to, a sustainable fishery."
"This dish is basically a cousin of the onion bhaji but to me it tastes much fresher and more interesting. Less greasy too. You can put as much chilli in as you want."
"Moqueca de Peixe e Camarao is a Brazilian fish stew. This recipe uses flat fish, such as halibut, plaice or turbot, and king/tiger prawns."