Leila Lindholm

After starting out in restaurant kitchens, it became clear that a career in food was what Leila desired and she began a three year course at St Görans Restaurant School in Stockholm. Work in Stockholm’s kitchens followed, before at 21, her ambition and sense of adventure got the better of her and she left the Swedish capital for New York, where she worked in the kitchen at Aquavit for two years. On her return, her state side experience led her to positions in Stockholm industry institutions Operakällaren, Fredsgatan 12 and Restaurangen. In 1999, The LRF (Federation of Swedish Farmers) proclaimed her Female Chef of the Year.

Her first TV series 'Leila’s Food’ aired in 2005, with a follow up series in 2006. Since then seven further programmes have been made. Her shows combined with the release of several books have made Leila a household name in Sweden. To date, she has published five cookery titles and one interior title: Leila’s middagstips, Leila’s guldkant på vardagen, A Piece of Cake, One More Slice, Hello Cupcake and Welcome Home. She has been published in the UK, in numerous European countries, in the US and in Austrailia.

Leila’s role as a mother lead her to think much more carefully about what she was eating and how she was feeding her two young children, particularly as both suffer from food allergies. Her most recent cookbook, The Fresh Foodie, was released in Sweden in April 2015 and focuses on 'clean eating'.