My Passion with Samantha Carvis: From dinner parties to summer barbecues, it’s the perfect recipe

One of my first memories is sitting at the kitchen table watching my mother cook. She has always been a wizz in the kitchen and regularly held dinner parties so I spent many an afternoon watching her make a variety of extravagant feasts including her speciality of the 1980s – profiteroles.

I began home economics classes at school when I was 11 and three years later I made the whole family a Chinese banquet from scratch. They were so impressed it spurred me on to continue learning about food and how to prepare dishes from all over the world including Chang Mai in Thailand where I went on a cookery class in my twenties.

The day consisted of us taking a trip to the local market and then going to the cookery school to make hot and sour soup, green curry and sticky banana rolls. I can now cook pad Thai noodles to perfection and my personal favourite is gae satay: grilled lamb marinated with lemongrass, soya sauce, coriander seed and served with a ginger sauce.

More recently, I enrolled in an international cookery class held at Horsforth High School in Leeds. The idea was to extend my existing repertoire and learn new methods of cooking. Dishes included feta cheese, sun-dried tomato & olive scones, fruit tart with crème patissier, tuna niscoise and prawn curry. It was also a great way of meeting other foodies to share recipes and dinner parties with.

My favourite restaurant in Leeds is Bibis. I love authentically cooked Italian food made with ultra fresh ingredients and is great watching the chefs in the open kitchen working their magic.

Viva Cuba on Kirkstall Road near Leeds city centre is another favourite of mine with its relaxed atmosphere, extensive tapas menu, salsa music and mojitos to die for. As far as celebrity chefs go I love Jamie Oliver’s Mediterranean style of cooking and Nigella is my heroine; I love all the naughty treats that she makes guiltlessly.

I don’t have a signature dish as I like such a variety of flavours so I frequently try new recipes. My most enjoyable so far have been Moroccan lamb pilaf, Italian meatballs al forno (which included three types of cheese, loads of garlic, red wine and even parma ham) and Venison sausage casserole. I would consider taking part in the television show Come Dine with Me as it looks like fun but not Masterchef, that looks way too stressful.

I’ve recently started teaching my two-year-old niece, Poppy, how to cook and we made a lovely white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake together.

I love holding BBQ parties in the summer. Nothing gives me greater pleasure then seeing my friends happily tearing my Texan sticky ribs to pieces and devouring them messily over a glass of my homemade punch.