“I grew up in the south of Ukraine, in a small town about an hour from Crimea. Mum’s cooking was really varied – day-to-day it was traditional Ukranian food, but when we got our first cookbook in the ’90s, translated from a Canadian chef, she started expanding her repertoire with coq au vin and other things.
“I never took much interest in food as a child or a teenager. It was when I was an adult that I realised what an amazing source of skill and knowledge my whole family is, but especially my mum. She knew so many