About Brookford Kitchen Diaries …

Once upon a time I created the fictional Cotswolds village of Brookford.

Imagine a quintessential Cotswolds village nestled between gently rolling hills; with a High Street full of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, independent and quirky shops, pubs and restaurants serving world-class food and local produce; a Norman church, and curving streets lined with cottages built from the local honey-coloured stone.

It’s a place where bluebells grow wildly in the woods, where the fields are full of buttercups during the summer and where it’s not unusual to see children herding a gaggle of geese down a country lane. It’s a place where you’ll want to settle in and get to know the locals.

Then I wrote a novel set there. That novel was Wish You Were Here … but I wasn’t done with Brookford quite yet. Fast forward a few years to another novel - Escape To Curlew Cottage. This novel starred Claire Mansfield - presenter of the hit reality TV shows, Time For Tea and Posh or Not. Claire’s catchcry - and the tagline for this site - is:

Life’s better with tea and scones …

But what does any of this have to do with this page? In the novels Claire has a blog - Brookford Kitchen Diaries. It’s where she writes about what she’s cooking, what’s seasonal, what’s inspiring her - and that’s exactly what this site is about: it’s a place where I write about the recipes I’m writing about in the novels I’m writing.

Sometimes it will be a recipe I’m including in a Brookford novel or something I’m baking for inclusion in one of my Philly Barker cosy mystery novels (starring middle-aged Yorkshire antique dealer and amateur detective Philly Barker).

Sometimes I’ll talk about what’s seasonal here in south-east Queensland (and what I’m cooking with it).

Depending on my mood I might also chat about the vintage china I’m using to style (and I use the term loosely) whatever it is I’ve baked.

Going forward I’ll also be using this space to write, in real time, a book about scones. Yes, scones … because life is better with tea and scones …

My Story …

I live in paradise – on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia with my husband and a cocker spaniel who takes her role as resident flop-dog and guardian of my office very seriously.

An unapologetic daydreamer, eternal optimist, and confirmed morning person, I write cosy crime, contemporary romance, romantic comedy, women’s fiction and what I like to call foodie-lit – which is the perfect excuse to indulge my baking habit in the name of research. My characters cook whatever it is I want to be cooking – or learning to cook - and that’s where this site comes in.

Even though I love where I live, it’s my travels that inspire my stories and my bakes.

When I’m not writing, I love baking, reading, long walks along the beach, posting way too many photos of sunrises on Instagram and dreaming of the next destination and the next story.

My life goals (apart from being a world-famous author) are to be an extra on Midsomer Murders (perhaps a dog walker in Badger’s Drift) and to cook my way through Nigella’s books – yes, all of them.

A little more about me...

Coffee or tea: Tea, English breakfast, no milk, no sugar.

Favourite tipple: wine, especially proper champagne, but I’m also a sucker for a good peaty whisky…neat.

Desert Island Dish: If I was being sent off to a desert island I’d have problems choosing between fresh Mooloolaba prawns or Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Scones - fruit or plain? Jam and cream or cream and jam? Now, there’s a question… I like real butter on my fruit scones and will do cream before jam only if the cream is the real clotted stuff - like butter.

Signature recipe: My Lemon Drizzle Cake or my Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding. My family also raves about my lasagne, Hainanese Chicken Rice and my pavlovas.

Favourite sandwich: Vegemite and cheese. The cheese has to be processed, the bread has to be soft and white, and the butter has to be real.

Favourite destination: Please don’t ask me this! It would have to be New Zealand…or maybe France…but I do love Bali and I have so much more I want to see in Britain.

Last holiday: My last proper holiday was a trip to England in October 2022 followed by a cruise through the Norwegian fjords to see the Northern Lights.

Next holiday: Fitness providing I'm doing another long-distance hike in New Zealand in February 2024 - Queen Charlotte Track. (I'd better get training!)

Favourite movie: I have a number I watch over and over: Love Actually, Notting Hill, Sense and Sensibility, Crazy Rich Asians, A Good Year…

If I was on Mastermind my special subject would be: Midsomer Murders – The Tom Barnaby Years

Where do you next want to set a novel?: I’ve just finished my second cosy crime mystery set in a village in Yorkshire. I've also just finished writing my first Whale Bay mystery set in south-east Queensland. There are, however, more stories planned for the Brookford (Cotswolds) characters, but I also have an idea for something set in Scotland to do with a whisky distillery and something else set in Burgundy, France.

Mantra or favourite saying: Imagine…

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