Annette Yates was born in South Wales and grew up in the Brecon Beacons. She is married to Huw Thomas and has two grown-up daughters - Emma and Lindsay. After many years living in and around London, Annette now lives near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. Her hobbies include walking the Welsh hills, furniture restoration, gardening and, of course, cookery. Annette loves cooking and creating new recipes. In particular, she loves cooking and eating out of doors. Though living in Wales often makes this a difficult pastime, Annette has a clay oven in her garden (for days when she is sure the weather is going to stay fine) and a gas barbecue (for cooking between showers of rain!). In summer, she enjoys spending long weekends with her husband in their folding camper (when Annette likes to cook all-in-one-dish meals in her electric wok). She claims that her family and friends are usually the best (and most honest) critics of her culinary creations! Annette's freelance career as a cookery writer and home economist has been varied and has included: writing twenty cookbooks contributing cookery and recipe features to consumer magazines developing recipes for many leaflets, features and books giving and organising cookery demonstrations styling food for photography running microwave cookery classes consulting for several food and cooking equipment companies developing and running a consumer advice line on food and cooking editing publications for schools. She is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and the Microwave Association, and is a fellow of the Institute of Home Economics. Her books have attracted much praise including, above all, the doyenne of British cookery Marguerite Patten, O.B.E. who said of Fresh & Fast Meals From the Microwave "It is an excellent book... not surprising in view of the outstanding ability of both Annette Yates and Norma Miller". Annette is the author of numerous best-selling cookery titles including: Fresh Ideas for Your Slow Cooker; Microwave Cooking Times at a Glance; The Combination Microwave Cook; Microwave Cookery Properly Explained and The Blender Book.