Welcome to April’s Observer Food Monthly

This month, Honey & Co’s Itamar Srulovich tells us what it’s like being the only male cook in his restaurant group, Zoe Adjonyoh introduces us to her Ghana kitchen, and Jeremy Lee taste tests teas and coffees

I had to fight to be allowed to cook at school. It was pretty much unheard of to give up Mr Oakley’s woodwork lessons for a day in the kitchen. The lone lad in a class full of girls. Forty-five years on, I am still one of the few male cookery writers in a mostly female profession (most other male food writers are professional chefs or restaurant reviewers). In this issue of OFM, we meet Itamar Srulovich from the wonderful Honey & Co, who tells us what it’s like to be a male cook in a restaurant group whose senior staff are mostly women. How different is the working environment? Apparently, it’s less egotistical for a start … well, there’s a surprise.

One of the most unforgettable days I have spent behind a stove was with Ghanaian Zoe Adjonyoh, shopping in Ridley Road market in east London, then going back to her home and cooking and eating with her.