About

I am at my happiest when baking sourdough bread listening to Zee Avi ...  
My name is Vanessa Kimbell. When I asked my hairdresser to use one word to describe me he chose the word  "bohemian." Like all good hairdressers he always flatters me.  I love him. 

I am a baker and specialise in Sourdough.  I trained as part of my 7061 & 2 City & Guilds age 18 and trained in two bakeries in the South of France. 

I live in a small village in Northamptonshire with my three children and husband. I am a food writer, BBC broadcaster and teach ethical and sustainable cookery courses from my kitchen and garden. This blog has been written since May 2010 and follows my journey from the moment I gave up my day job to write a recipe book, to present day.  My journey has taken me from being bored and frustrated working mother on the treadmill of life to running a kitchen garden school, harvesting Fairtrade vanilla in Uganda, hanging out with chocolate maker Mott Green and the ships crew of the Tres Hombres in Grenada and there is so more to come. 

The single biggest thing I have learnt along the way is that through our food choices we can make a huge difference to the world we live in and more importantly to the people who live in it. 

I believe that we can change the world through our food choices and my mission is to communicate that. 

Click on the video below to find out more about The Juniper & Rose Kitchen Garden School 




So if you read my blog I must warn you that I am not impartial.  I want to influence you. I want to make you stop for a moment and consider the effect of a lifetime of seemingly insignificant decisions and how making small delicious choices can change the world.  Day to day your seemingly insignificant actions really matter

It’s about doing the right thing and I believe that we have every opportunity to use our day-to-day domestic decisions to make a real difference in the world.


Buy fair products and you give hope to a family of farmers for a brighter life.  Those few extra pence mean better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world and that is what makes food really delicious. 


Small actions make a world of difference.  



5 comments:

  1. Wow Vamessa heavy stuff but I wholeheartedly agree!!

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  2. Excellent Vanessa, and from you I would expect nothing less. Great revamp of the blog which reinforces my view that blogs really are organic creations. It takes courage to talk about feelings openly but I have to say it is one of the reasons I like to read your blog. I look forward to reading more. X

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  3. It's the simple things in life that make the world go round. x

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  4. Vanessa
    I Completly agree with you. If we all emrace this philosophy of life how much better things would be.

    I find eating locally here in Brittany is easy, in London it is far more of a challenge, but I do my best. Baking with Fairtrade ingredients and buying fruit, coffee, sugar and tea has been an important part of my weekly shop for many years, but I hadn't thought about sourcing British flowers until I read your inspiring post.

    Your blog (along with your book) is something I turn to for inspiration. Thank you.

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  5. Amen! So glad you answered my sourdough question. Lovely to find your blog. Best for 2014 and hope to "see" more of you here. cheers... wendy

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If you are reading my blog I must warn you that I am not impartial. I want to influence you. I want to make you stop for just a moment and consider the effect of a lifetime of seemingly insignificant decisions and how making small delicious choices can change the world.

I believe that we can change the world one bite at a time.

It's a delicious revolution.