The experience of the hotel in Ross-on-Wye, the food austerity which was the hallmark of British cooking, her fond memories of the warmth of the Mediterranean, the extensive choice of fruits, vegetables, meats and delicious dishes that she had found in the Mediterranean and Middle East and that she now missed so much crystallised her thoughts. She began to make notes with the recipes she had collected on her travels and she became determined to write about better foods, ingredients and recipes. So it was that Elizabeth’s first article on Mediterranean food appeared in ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ in March 1949.