Jenny Mallin’s earliest memories are of her mother in the kitchen, tapping a wooden spoon against the side of the metal dekshi and then tasting her curry sauce, checking the seasoning. From that moment, Jenny was hooked…

With her passions for cooking, India, research and writing, the outcome has been a labour of love – a memoir which mingles the history of her family, which goes right back to 1844 and British Raj India, with her grandmothers’ recipes that were prudently passed down through the generations. Each recipe has been lovingly researched, leading Jenny on a road of discovery about her ancestors, with her grandmothers’ legacy continuing to assist in providing clues to their rich and eventful past.

Winner of “Best in World Cookbook 2017” by the Gourmand World Cookbook Society, Jenny is continuing drawing crowds and growing awareness of both the Anglo Indian Cuisine and her family heritage through her book talks and cookery classes and is now affiliated to the Women’s Institute Headquarters, Denman College as their Anglo Indian tutor.

Her tour of India in December 2015 appeared to have been orchestrated by some magic wand, whether it was Bangalore or Calcutta, Bombay or Madras, Delhi or Pondicherry, Jenny had well-nigh the best reception that one could ever get – in terms of locale, agenda or audience response. In Bombay she pulled off a four day Anglo Indian food festival at a top hotel with panache. One look at the menu and you go weak in the knees.

There is certainly something about Jenny. More than chronicling the saga of her family, more than dishing out the celebrity dishes with a gentle touch, more than making the world sit up to Anglo-Indian cuisine, she has for all we know, emerged as the finest ambassador yet of the Anglo-Indian community.

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