Wahoooo! Anyone who knew the 15 year-old-Rosie will know how fricking exciting it is for me to appear in Jamie Oliver Magazine. I’m not going to even try and be cool or understated about this. The Naked Chef rocked my teenage world, and changed my ideas about cooking. Jamie Oliver was just so enthusiastic, relaxed and good at making food, and sliding down staircases, and riding scooters to Borough Market, where he knew all the traders by name. I loved it! I used to record every single episode and watch it at least twice. OK, I’ll admit I did the same thing with Jonathan Creek, but it’s obvious which show has had more of an actual impact on my life. And I’m thankful it was the former.

Like the show so many years ago, Jamie Magazine captures all that is exciting and modern about food. It’s incredibly well made, creative and inspiring, and features fantastic food writers, stylists and photographers from across the globe, so I am suitably stoked about contributing to it. This food-led travel guide came about when good friend and work co-conspirator Helen Cathcart decided to take a well-earned break and come visit me during my sabbatical. Five days of cycling around Vancouver, eating and shooting all the best restaurants, bars, cafes and street food ensued, with me taking furious notes for the piece. Along the way, we met Renee, who would go on to become such a good friend and fixture of our time in Van. This is the kind of work I relish!

My favourite thing about Vancouver – apart from the friends we made – was the food, and getting the chance to document it, complete with Helen’s vibrant, evocative pictures was a real treat. Eating out there is very easy because there is just so much choice – from amazing, affordable sushi to incredible Baja-inspired Mexican, or brilliant West Coast farm-to-table fine dining. But you can read about all that in the feature, so check it!