We are what we eat. I know how I feel when I eat rubbish foods
with onions and vegetables and then at the end, drip pesto over it; and that just elevates a simple chicken dish. It’s super handy and natural.
“I’m just like other mums really, constantly trying to juggle. Most of the time it works. I love when I get that balance right in my life and that’s when I feel happy and calm. “But when that balance goes all askew – which happens all the time – that’s when I get stressed. “I try to be organised though, get to bed early, I need eight hours’ sleep a night and while I love my glass of wine, I know that if I have it through the week, I won’t function as well the next day.”
Her latest book is all about family cooking – and she knows firsthand just how challenging it can be to feed children with different appetites and tastes.
Her children Josh, 18, Lucca, 16 and Scarlett, nine, are the inspiration for her cooking but her ethos is to find quick ways to feed your family – without having to resort to ready-made foods. She says: “A lot of the time, you need to be able to grab a quick meal but I’m not willing to compromise on what I’m giving my children. “Fast food in our house would be an omelette with pesto. I think it’s about being organised, having good store cupboard essentials that you can add to fresh foods, plus it’s fun to experiment.
“I know how busy it gets but I want to offer up an alternative to cooking chicken goujons and frozen chips to feed the family quickly.” And what about feeding fussy eaters?
“My oldest is more fussy than the other two, and he has been brought up in the same way, it’s a funny one. We do have a responsibility to help our kids make better choices. We are what we eat. I know how I feel when I eat rubbish foods, so I like to keep things fresh and interesting.”
The Irish chef also has a love of Scotland after touring the country with the BBC – and she says that Edinburgh and Bute have a special place in her heart.
Rachel starts most days with a bowl of cranachan. “I just love it; I make my own with oats and I play around with yogurt and cream and mashed raspberries, it’s delicious for breakfast and it’s lovely as a summer time pudding too.”
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And her love of Scottish things doesn’t stop there. “One of the favourite programmes that I ever did was called Country Show Cook Off for the BBC with Theo Randall. We filmed all over Scotland, we travelled around in a little French Citroen van and basically entered cookery competitions in country shows and the judges never knew which entry was ours,” she says.
“It was amazing, we were on Bute, which was just fantastic.”
But her favourite place in Scotland has to be our capital.
“There’s something about Edinburgh…very special.”