Until several years ago, I was running a very succesful business making party foods, cakes and pastries. But then, I realised that the main ingredients that I was cooking with, day in day out, were making me ill. Eventually, I ended the business and set about reinventing both my diet and my career. In the process, I discovered a whole new world of ingredients and possibilities. Allergy friendly cooking certainly isn't without it's challenges but with the collection of delicious recipes that I've created, and continue to create, not being able to eat certain foods has now become far less of an issue. In fact, I actually prefer many of my allergy friendly versions. One of the very best compliments is when I'm asked 'is this *really* made without gluten/dairy/eggs?'
As well as publishing recipes on the blog, I've recently launched a website selling allergy friendly recipes. Have a look ...
Fed up of not being able to find affordable, good quality organic fruit and vegetables locally, I decided that the only option was to grow my own. And what a fantastic decision that has turned out to be! Not the easiest option but definitely the most rewarding. Now I've got the most amazing array of fruits and vegetables to eat, cook with and photograph, practically on my doorstep. A living larder and a constant source of inspiration.
My love of photography first re-emerged when I needed to illustrate some menus and brochures for my catering business. But it wasn't until I started publishing recipes online that I really began to appreciate how much I loved the whole process of creating the accompanying photographs. A diploma course with the Photographic Institute taught me the technical skills that I needed and the rest I've worked out by trial and error. Photography for me is about capturing the beauty in the most ordinary things, whether it's a bunch of freshly harvested beetroot of a slice of lemon drizzle cake.
Creating photographic art is another facet of photography that I also enjoy. Visit www.suziebanks.com to see some of my art prints.
