Most foodies in Sydney, actually Australia, will be fully aware of the blog, Not Quite Nigella. Nearly 8 years on since launching, it remains to be one of Australia's most loved food blogs. The woman behind the street talk, camera lens and delicious creations is Lorraine Elliott. A self described cake and food enthusiast whom with her food-apathetic husband, regularly takes to the streets of Sydney to share with us the latest & greatest restaurant openings and imaginative recipes to make a home. If anyone was to ask me who was my inspiration when launching our blog foodies agenda, I'd reply and say Lorraine was! Through her work I found the courage and inspiration to build a site of my own. Similar to Lorraine, a hub where I could celebrate my crazy love-fuelled passion for food. So in a roundabout way, I want to say a huge public thank you to her. In this weeks interview, Lorraine shares with us her amusing (& very sweet) first memory in the kitchen, what we can expect to find in her fridge and which restaurant in Sydney she's currently loving.

What's your food philosophy?

It probably is just follow your curiosity. I like the cook recipes with an interesting history or is culturally significant but also ones with ingredients that intrigue me. I can't say that I prefer simple or complicated because I do both. I guess I would say that I love learning more about food and find it fascinating. I also love cake :)

What's your first memory in the kitchen?

Haha well that's a bad one actually. I was a kid and I made an apple pie with a wholemeal Lebanese bread crust because my mother didn't know how to make pies and she thought that would do. By the way it doesn't ;)

What is your proudest moment achievement to date?

There are so many happy moments that it's hard to pin one down. But lately I was really chuffed that I made a haggis from scratch. Also having my memoir published by Penguin was out of this world amazing.

When it comes to writing, photography and cooking, do you have a favourite 'child' or love each aspect equally?

I absolutely love writing and putting my thoughts down on paper. I love sharing things with people and if we went out to eat, I'd share my plate of food with everyone at the table and writing to my readers is like a version of that. But cooking probably comes an equal first with that too (along with eating). I do struggle with photography at times and I feel that's probably why it is number 3 in my list.

Any new & exciting projects on the horizon?

We just shot a series of videos for a client Circa Home where I developed three delicious recipes for them. I think that should be out any day now! And then I'm off to Canada for 10 days.

If I looked inside your fridge, what would I find?

So many ingredients to make recipes. And an obscene amount of sauces because I love sauces. Our veggie crisper is always full and I also keep my chocolate and nuts in the fridge too to keep them fresh (the chocolate away from pantry moths) so it's pretty full all of the time.

What would your last supper be?

Hmm I think about this a lot, not because I'm morbid (ok yes I am but that's not why I think about it) but because it changes a lot.

• Entree would be the perfect cheese burger with a good amount of sauce, cheese and pickles
• Main would be a Peking Duck
• Dessert would be a Religieuse pastry, freshly made with lots of strawberries and cream.

And there would be a freshly shucked oysters with lemon and a pizza in there somewhere too...

Which Sydney restaurant/cafe are you currently loving?

here are so many it's hard to choose! I have to say that I had a great birthday at The Bach Eatery in Newtown. It's tiny but the food is great and the service is superb.

To discover more & connect with Lorraine, click below:

Website: http://www.notquitenigella.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotQuiteNigella Instagram: https://instagram.com/notquitenigella/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/notquitenigella Pinterest: https://instagram.com/notquitenigella/