Laura Nickoll has worked in the cookbook industry as a writer and editor for over 20 years. She is a member of The Guild of Food Writers, restaurant reviewer and contributor to Phaidon's Where Chefs Eat series and Waitrose Weekend, and is currently writing a landmark 6-volume cookery techniques encyclopedia for Le Cordon Bleu. Recent publications include The Vegan Kitchen (co-author) and The Science of Spice (contributor). She develops and edits cookbooks for major lifestyle publishers and is a judge for The Great Taste Awards. She is based in Kent, where she lives with her husband and two young children.