Celia Plender is a chef, caterer, cookery teacher and food writer.

Since returning from Japan, where she worked as a chef in a Tokyo kaiseki restaurant, she has devoted more and more of her time to Japanese cuisine. As she trained in the West, she is also fully conversant with European cuisine.

She is the proud editor of two cookbooks: Clearspring Kombu and three dried shiitake or maitake mushrooms in about 2 litres of water for at least 15 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and thinly slice the caps. Then return them to the water, bring it to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the kombu and keep it to use for cooking as a condiment or with beans. ">Dashi and Umami, the Heart of Japanese Cuisine (Cross Media 2009) and Umami World Recipes, Filipino (Cross Media 2009).

In her food writing career she has written for various magazines and websites, including www.channel4.com/4Food, where she is currently Deputy Editor, www.goodfoodchannel.co.uk, Time Out Eating and Drinking Guides, www.Eat-Japan.com and www.clearspring.co.uk.She is also a member of the Guild of Food Writers.