■ Lerato Umah-Shaylor is an award-winning chef, broadcaster and author of Africana: Treasured Recipes and Stories from Across the Continent (HQ, £22).
Before we begin, let me first say that I am not your typical green-fingered grower who picks lush tomatoes from her garden and harvests rows of rhubarb and competitive giant squashes. I squeal at the sight of slugs and confess to having thrown out a beautiful flowerpot after spotting some kind of movement in the compost. I also don’t have the outdoor space to even consider becoming the next Monty Don. But as a lover of food, and not just any
