photo Sara Montalbano
ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Letitia
I was born and raised in Devon in an old farmhouse with an orchard which gave me a life-long appreciation for apples, cider and cream teas. My dad later moved to Cornwall when ‘Devon got too busy’. This tells you quite a lot about my family.
I now live in another Westcountry, the so-called ‘Wild West’ of Italy, also known as the island of Sardinia. I write about my life and the food I make and eat here, as well as hosting cooking classes and retreats.
I am a classically trained chef but what I really love is simple home cooking.
I studied English literature and then went to cookery school to pursue my other passion, food. After graduating I worked in a series of restaurants. First at the Dock Kitchen, where I truly fell for Italian food and ingredients, then at Spring, Morito and Ellory (now sadly no more). These kitchens taught me simplicity, and the importance of good ingredients. In between kitchen jobs I tried office work, working for various publishers (Slightly Foxed, Bloomsbury, Profile, Prospect Books), but quickly realised I wanted to cook and write instead. During my last kitchen job, at Morito in Hackney, I met a small, round Sardinian who made me laugh during service and secretly fed me lots of fried things. He persuaded me to move to Sardinia. The rest, as they say, is history.
photo Charlotte Bland
I began writing a book about what I saw, learnt and found on this unusual island. That book became Bitter Honey, which was published in 2020. Since then I have published 3 more books.
I also teach cooking classes and host retreats.
I like clotted cream, cats, cakes, black coffee, lemons, anchovies, red wine, Campari and crisps, and anything and everything bitter.
