Hello, I'm Mark Withey

Forty years, One Dish

It all began when I was 5 years old, back in the day when school meals were proper home cooked favourites. Throughout my childhood, Shepherd’s Pie became the weekly family meal, that we all loved.

I then first learned to cook at around 15 years old and it was obviously going to be Shepherd’s Pie that was my ‘go to’ dish. I experimented with all the different meats, vegetables and flavourings and gradually created many versions to share.

Over the years I looked at every recipe I could find, tweaking each until it earned its place in my book.

The result is 44 regional Shepherd's Pies from across the British Isles, each one uniquely different. I explored local ingredients and other favourite dishes, incorporating these into my recipes to give them a nice twist.

Why every recipe is gluten-free

I never wanted anyone at the table to miss out, so all my recipes are gluten-free. The main ingredients that this really applies to is the flour used in thickening the gravy and any stock cubes used, as all the other ingredients are naturally gluten-free. My wife is also gluten intolerant and it is important to me that I use gluten-free ingredients in all my recipes. The taste is identical and also slightly healthier.