Lewis Barry - Dinners on!: 100 quick and delicious recipes the whole family will enjoy

For Nan, my best friend, forever missed.

This is a surreal but extremely proud moment for me introducing my very own cookbook.

A few years ago I would have thought you were bonkers if you had told me this was going to happen. Back then I couldnt cook anything; I had absolutely no confidence in the kitchen or interest in food (other than eating it!) I was a cookery virgin, so to speak. If you dont believe me, check out my very first recipe video attempt: Poached egg on toast.

My partner Becky (affectionately known as Mrs Barry) would always have dinner on the table for me when I returned home from work, and when she wasnt around Id just survive on microwave meals or order a takeaway. My cooking epiphany came soon after I bought Mrs Barry a camcorder for Christmas. A few days later I was watching television and saw Jamie Oliver poaching an egg. I thought to myself I can give that a go so I borrowed Mrs Barrys camera, set up a YouTube channel and, with the help of some basic editing software, My Virgin Kitchen was born. I only intended to make a few videos at first to motivate myself, but when I realised I could inspire others it started to become an addiction! There was never a secret business plan; it has always been about my journey in the kitchen, recording my memories and experiences along the way. I have tried to learn as much as possible, and Im happy to say that I have had a huge helping of laughter too, which I think is extremely important laugh and learn folks.

When I realised that cooking could be fun, it gave me the confidence to keep going. Dont be afraid to make mistakes; learn from them! Soon enough you will be adding that sprinkling of creativity next time I might just try adding some different herbs and once you get that same buzz from cooking that I do, you will be well on your way. Thats my aim for this book: to introduce you to my world by getting you to have fun in the kitchen by making great food and creating some happy memories too.

Food really does make memories. Ive absolutely loved getting Phoebe (my eldest daughter who features in some of the beauty and the beast style photos throughout the book) in the kitchen with me learning basic cooking skills. More recently my younger daughter Chloe has been getting involved too and Phoebe is passing on what weve learnt cooking has brought us closer together.

There have been some pretty cool experiences to date on this journey too. Jamie inspired me in a kind of accidental way, then I just kept on making the videos. I made a homemade Big Mac that I thought was pretty funny as I was wearing an afro wig, so Tweeted Jamie and, amazingly, he replied:

@myvirginkitchen good lad good job theres something cool about itkeep it up jamie o

We shared a few tweets back and forth after that. I started to notice that my channel was growing, and it was turning into more than a hobby so when I heard Jamie was launching his FoodTube channel and wanted me to play a part in it, I decided to take a big step. I took a break from my job in the construction industry to concentrate on sharing my story and inspiring more people full time. Things went a little mad after the live launch show and my story hit local, national and international news. Getting to meet and be part of Jamie Olivers network has been incredible, very inspirational and I have learnt a lot. He has been incredibly supportive whenever Ive needed advice. I have also had the chance to do some fun stuff like attempting to make a giant vegan marshmallow for Bryan Adams, blowing up watermelons with my mind on television and cooking in a hotel room using an iron! I have discovered that spatulas are AMAZING (please dont ask me why, they just are. I have declared my love for them a few times throughout this book). I have opened my mind to new flavours and tastes: I now absolutely love beetroot, tomatoes and olives, and rave to Mrs Barry about passion fruit and mangoes. In the past the only discussion Id have about food is why are there gherkins in McDonalds burgers? I never thought I could be this passionate about food. Of course, sharing your kitchen and a certain element of your life online can make things fun when some chap from Brazil notices you have changed your kettle, things do get surreal! I hope this is just the start of it and Im so glad to have you on board!

A popular question is whats my favourite recipe? To be honest, I have several the Chicken & Bacon Caesar Salad (see ) is a great example of this.

Each recipe contains a Barry Tip plus a handy alternative to freshen things up, suggesting different ingredients or adjustments to suit that vegetarian sitting around the table, or if you need an excuse to make a dish again!. I want this book to be customisable for you to adapt, recipes like the Root are perfect places to start. I have also given each recipe a rating by eggs to reminisce from that first cooking experience (sniff).

I feel that anyone could do these recipes

Slightly trickier steps involved

Complex recipes that will require a good amount of concentration

I think Ive rambled on enough now, so you can get cracking with some of these recipes. I absolutely love it when people make my recipes and share them with me on social media, so feel free to keep in touch via the links at the back of the book.

I have had loads of fun writing this book and hope you have fun cooking from it. Get the most from it, love it, stroke it like a cat and it will love you back! I hope you enjoy the book and fall in love with food in the way that I have have fun and let everything from your supermarket, your butcher and your fruit and veg stall be your playground.

Laugh and learn folks, because if I can do it, absolutely ANYONE in the world can. Good luck!

Blackberry Pancakes

This twist on American pancakes has a delicious blackberry and crme frache topping, which is a lot healthier than plastering them in chocolate sauce and golden syrup (which happens to be amazing too, FYI). These pancakes are light and foamy with a gentle vanilla taste and are super-easy to rustle up at any time of the day. Make these and I promise youll wish you made a bigger batch.

Difficulty