Creative cooking courses for international gourmets

Behind the Scenes

Jo Parfitt, author, publisher, cook, mother, spouse. Her list of accomplishments is long.

The diverse tapestry of her publications is a representation of her international lifestyle and her magnificent coping skills to manage the challenges of living abroad. Each relocation, each new country and culture has brought out the best in her and has been an inspiration for others.Jo’s stations in life and the fruits of her labor started with French Tarts.

Jo: I always wanted to be a writer, but my school careers advisor said that it was not a real career and suggested I study French instead. While in France I had the idea for a cookbook on French tarts. It was accepted by the first publisher I approached, soon after I graduated. I have made my living as a writer ever since, and have now written 26 books.

Hilly: What came after France?

Jo: As I had learned to use a word processor in order to type up the manuscript of French Tarts I was offered the opportunity to write word processing handbooks and manuals. I did that for several years. But in 1987 I married and went to live in Dubai. This is where I also started to work as a journalist. I wrote for local magazines, trade magazines, international publications and newspapers. When I lived in Oman, I wrote a second cookbook, called “Dates”, which is now in its second edition.

Hilly: We feature your cookbook “Dates” in our “speedcooking sessions”.

Jo: What is speedcooking?

Hilly: We invite singles and present quick tips for slow food, and also offer a platform for single expats to build their social network. By luck of the draw, a hand signed copy of your book is given to the lucky winner. But all the guests will have won a great evening of food & fun and had the opportunity to meet with other interesting Expat Singles here in Frankfurt- and who knows, maybe the title of your cookbook can be an inspiration for more…?!

But tell us about your other book “A Career in your suitcase“.

Jo: It is now in its third edition and spouses tell me that my book 'saved their life', which is very nice of them, but I believe that they like it because it is authentic. Since many years I send out a monthly newsletter, The Inspirer, and thousands have enjoyed it. Again, all I do, is share real stories and hope they resonate with the reader. Today, I assist others to write books through my mentoring scheme, which helps people with every step of the way 'from brainwave to bookshelf'. But I love to teach and so run workshops on a regular basis.

Hilly: Some of our ExpatCuisine guests are quite accomplished cooks themselves. In your role of a successful publisher, what would you suggest?

Jo: To speak at an Expat Cuisine event about how I found success writing two cookbooks.I aim to share what I know and inspire others how they too could capitalize on what they know and write a book about it some day.

Further information: Jo Parfitt