Relish: my life on a plate

Relish: my life on a plate by Prue Leith. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780857384034.

Prue Leith describes herself as greedy in all senses of the word. Cook, caterer, restaurateur, food writer, journalist, novelist, businesswoman, teacher, television presenter, charity worker, lover, wife and mother, she has certainly been greedy for life. Born in South Africa, the daughter of a well-known actress, Prue came to London in the early 1960s, set up a successful catering company, and later opened Leiths Restaurant, a food lovers oasis in Londons then gastronomic desert. By the mid-seventies she was a regular food columnist on the Daily Mail, had published several cookbooks and opened Leiths School of Food and Wine. But it wasnt all work. For thirteen years she had a secret affair with the married man who was to be her husband for another twenty-five years. She writes movingly of the anguish for both families; of her longing for children; the birth of her son, Daniel, and the adoption of her daughter, Li-Da. Prue writes with relish, humour and honesty. Whether she is running her own businesses or sitting on the boards of public companies; founding charities or leading institutions, her down-to-earth attitude to triumph and disaster is an inspiration. She is forthright about her love life; her mothers senility; her husbands smoking himself to death; the theft of her savings, and falling in love at sixty-six with a manic-depressive. Above all, Relish reflects one lucky womans incredible zest for life.