Looking for the perfect stocking filler for your gluten free pal? Or just thinking of lowering your gluten intake? We chatted to Emily Kerrigan, author of ‘The gluten-free kitchen’ about her inspiration for the book (as well as asking some foodie questions of course, we can’t help ourselves!)

Tell us about yourself, what’s your foodie journey? How did it all start?

I started out writing features for food magazines like Olive and BBC Good Food and reviewing restaurants for Time Out and Mr & Mrs Smith. We moved from London to Oxfordshire when my two kids were little. I used to take them to secret reviews with me sometimes – no-one ever thinks the mum with the double Phil & Teds buggy is the anonymous reviewer! When my daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease, I also did a Masters degree in nutrition (at Oxford Brookes) as well as a nutrition diploma at Leiths. I now contribute nutrition features and recipes to the likes of Waitrose.

Where did the inspiration come from to write this book?

The internet is full of rogue gluten-free recipes that are long and complicated and use expensive, quite obscure ingredients like psyllium husk. And half of them don’t work which is really frustrating when you’ve spent time and money hoping to get something tasty out of it at the end. I wanted to write a book of straightforward, accessible recipes that would work for everyone first time, use familiar ingredients and taste every bit as good as standard versions. I also just wanted to nail a foolproof bread recipe and a really good birthday cake to bake for the kids’ birthdays. You should have seen the first gluten-free birthday cake I ever made using an untested recipe off the internet. It was just after Chloe was diagnosed and it basically fell apart. So I got into the kitchen and I learnt how to do it properly!

What do you think the biggest challenge is with gluten-free cooking?

Gluten-free bread dough doesn’t always look like standard dough – it looks more like cake batter! The more you cook gluten-free, the more you begin to understand what to expect. I’d say the holy grail for most gluten-free cooks is to make really good pizza dough. At the moment I’m experimenting with trying to make a really good gluten-free sourdough pizza crust and have promised myself an at-home woodfired pizza oven once I perfect it.

What’s your fave recipe in the book?

I’ve got a soft spot for the mini ice cream waffle sandwiches recipe. You make them in a little mini round waffle maker that’s the same diameter as standard tubs of ice cream (like Haagen Daaz) and then you slice directly through the ice cream in the tub through the packaging and peel off the packaging to get little round discs of ice cream to pop between the waffles. It’s super satisfying and you don’t end up with dripping ice cream melting everywhere whilst you’re trying to stuff it into the waffles using a spoon. You can’t always find gluten-free ice cream waffle cones so this is my substitute. And I’ve made them sound much more fiddly than they are – they’re really really easy!

As a nutritionist, I should probably give you a more balanced meal from the book too though – so let’s go with my sushi poke bowls which are really simple to make too using smoked salmon trimmings, sliced avocado, cucumber and a pouch of rice and give coeliacs a taste of sushi if they can’t get hold of any that they can eat. Everything in the book is easy to make!

What’s next for you?

I’ve just finished recipe testing for a nutrition cookbook for Penguin which is coming out later this year. It’s by my friend, colleague and fellow nutritionist, Charlotte Stirling-Reed.

Where is your favourite place to eat in Oxfordshire?

I’m off to try the new The Pig pub in the Cotswolds soon. I’ve got a soft spot for Pigs as I got married in the original one in the New Forest close to where my mum lives. We take the kids back to eat there when we’re down visiting mum and they’re great at catering for gluten-free.

Best spot for a gluten-free meal/treat?

White Rabbit pizzas or for a chain, you can’t wrong for gluten-free with Pho in Westgate. I also like the Alpha Bar in the covered market which tends to have GF options, and Mamma Mia in Jericho (& Summertown) is great for gluten-free pasta.

Emily Kerrigan is a registered nutritionist and food writer. When her daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease, she studied for a Masters degree in Nutrition and completed a Leiths Cookery School diploma to boot. Emily combines her years working on food magazines with her first-class nutrition knowledge to create deliciously nourishing gluten-free food for everyday eating. Her recipes are fresh, fuss-free and reliable and she thinks in a balanced diet, there’s room for both greens and gluten-free chocolate.

Her first book The Gluten-Free Kitchen published in July (Vie £10.99)