Prickly Pear grew from my other business, running Perth-y-Pia Outdoor Centre, which provides accommodation and excellent food in the Black Mountains of South Wales. As time went on, many of my clients asked me to cater for their conferences, training courses, parties and weddings elsewhere. Every time friends got married, I seemed to get an invitation rather earlier than everyone else, and with a different agenda....

Prickly Pear set up in 1999 to cater for parties organised to celebrate the new Millennium. I am now in partnership with my husband, Steve Booker, and we cater for a small number of events each year for clients who care about food and see it as being extremely important in making an event successful and memorable. We source food locally if possible.

About me:
I’m years old, have been married to Steve for years and have two gorgeous boys, Liam ( ) and Sean ( ). I loved cooking from an early age and can remember cooking my first dinner party when I was 12 years old because my Mum was too ill to get out of bed. As I grew up, my passion for food developed and I was in my element cooking for my friends, family, even school teachers! I read cookery books avidly, ate out when I could afford to and generally began to live to eat.

I set up my own business when I was 25 years old and have continued to enjoy cooking for others ever since. Challenges in the kitchen inspire me and I often research food from particular cultures or historical periods for specific events, and try to create imaginative and exciting food for people with special dietary requirements. My own style of cooking is influenced by my favourite cuisine - Italian.