Hi, I'm Hayley!
I'm so glad you found your way here!
I'm London-born with Indian and East African Indian heritage, and I'm behind the recipes and words at J Cooking Odyssey. I've been vegetarian since birth so this blog really is a way of life, not just a hobby!
My Story
My mum, Jagruti, started J Cooking Odyssey back in 2010, eager to share the recipes and food knowledge she had built up over a lifetime. She learned from both of my grandmothers - one with a Rajasthani and Gujarati background, the other East African Gujarati.
I spent a huge chunk of my childhood watching her cook. I was so obsessed that at age seven I turned our living room into "Hayley's Mum's Brilliant Restaurant". I would take orders from family members and stuffed toys, then serve dishes straight from her kitchen. I genuinely wish I had the photos to share here!
Over time I went from watching to doing, and eventually took the reins at JCO to start building my own culinary chapter. Want to know more about the blog itself? Head over to the JCO About page.
My Cooking Background
I cooked all through university and that's where I really started finding my feet. I was trying out different ingredients, different methods, dishes I hadn't grown up with.
Indian cuisine in all its incredible variety has always been at the heart of what I cook. Growing up in a Gujarati and East African Indian household means those two traditions are where my real depth and specialism lies — but India's food culture is so vast and diverse, and that's reflected across the blog too.
Beyond Indian food, I believe in cooking a wholesome, delicious variety of food from across the globe. Some recipes are quick and everyday. Others need a little more love and attention. Some are deeply traditional. Others are fusion because a solid British upbringing was always going to leave its mark!
Everything on JCO is vegetarian and eggless. Always has been, always will be.
Beyond the Kitchen
When I'm not cooking or writing recipes, I'm a practising doctor, so yes, weekends are precious, and I make the most of them!
One of my favourite things is visiting fine dining restaurants in London. There's something genuinely inspiring about seeing what the experts do with flavour, technique, and presentation. I always come home with ideas!
I also love winding down with supermarket food magazines and food documentaries. The UK produces such brilliant ones - always exploring food culture from somewhere new in the world. It's shaped my appreciation for seasonal cooking in a way I didn't expect, and that curiosity feeds directly into the recipes here.
I hope you enjoy exploring JCO as much as I enjoy creating it — and if a recipe makes it onto your table, I'd absolutely love to know! You can contact me here.
Hayley x
"The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it."
— Julia Child