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Recipe: Elly Curshen’s Spiced Plums in Cookie Dough Crumble

***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***

Times best-selling author, owner of Bristol’s infamous the Pear Cafe and our everyday Insta-crush, Elly Curshen, or Elly Pear as she’s better known, is a woman we’d have cook for us any day of the week – breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between.

Elly originally shot to the spotlight with her delicious recipes catering for the 5:2 diet but her light, flavoursome way of cooking provides the building-blocks anyone needs for exquisite everyday modern cooking. And with two cookbooks under her belt (Fast Days and Feast Days, and Elly Pear’s Let’s Eat!), we’re not the only ones obsessed by her recipes.

Today she’s sharing one of her favourites as part of our celebration of female cheffing talent and the upcoming Severn Sisters Feast taking place on October 4th in Borough Market, organised by Romy Gill MBE.

So in the lead-up, we had a quick chat with Elly to find out more about her and her love of food before drooling over the thought of cookie dough crumble…

What does food mean to you?
“Everything! It’s my job but also my hobby, passion, main joy!”

What was your earliest or most impactful memory of food?
“Probably my great grandma emptying her entire fridge onto her table whenever we came over! She’d take great pleasure in making us eat until we were stuffed!”

Why is it important to you to provide a platform for female talent?
“For me, doing events like this is such a great chance to learn from each other. I love collaborating with other chefs – it’s the best way to learn and grow.”

What advice would you give to your younger self & what advice would you give to other women looking to get into the industry?
“If you want to work in food, don’t let ridiculous stereotypical images of shouty, sweary restaurant kitchens define for you what that means. There’s loads of opportunities that are nothing like that at all. Watch, learn, work for people you respect and don’t think anything is going to happen without a lot of hard work!”