My husband used to do all the cooking in our house, many years ago.

When I lost him I moved to Spain and have never looked back cuisine wise. I acquired a job in a kitchen and was invited by the head chef to assist her and benefit from training at the same time.

Her cuisine is based on using "pickable" local products, all herbs and spices grow wild in the mountains and she even uses poppy petals for colorant and decoration, when they are in season.

She buys her fish direct from a fishing boat on Thursday mornings, its owned by a friend of hers, and has presented the most unusual looking creatures I have ever seen, yet she seems to know what to do with them.

Its a massive learning curve and I rejoice in cooking now, I love my knives, my cookware and my preparation tools. I now consider myself a chef!