Hello, I’m Catherine Phipps, a writer, cookery book author, recipe developer and tester based in Hanwell, West London.
I have written many books with various household names and restaurants, but my own books include my recent best selling book on pressure cooking, Modern Pressure Cooking, as well as Citrus, Leaf, Chicken and The Pressure Cooker Cookbook. I also wrote most of the recipes and edited The Royal Marsden Cancer Cookbook and have an interest in the nutritional aspects of what we eat.
My food influences are various - a rural upbringing on a small holding taught me to be what I describe as an “ethical omnivore” which isn’t the easiest these days. I try to eat as seasonally as possible. I’ve also learned from stints working in the Caribbean and tried to absorb as much as I can from my South Asian in-laws. I read voraciously and I am inspired by children’s books especially. Rapunzel is the reason I wrote Leaf!
Learning to use a pressure cooker properly many years ago was transformative for me on a personal level because like most people I am very busy, but I don’t want to compromise on what I eat. So ever since I have been sharing the joy and much of my professional life is focussed on helping people embrace this way of cooking.
I welcome any questions, comments, ideas, requests to develop recipes - some of my favourite recipes have come from someone asking me “is it possible to make xxx in a pressure cooker?” Feedback from readers and home cooks inform much of what I do so I hope this can be a space where we interact.
