Darina Allen: Diana Kennedy always said that she didn't want to live to be over 100

The famously feisty cook was described as ‘the Indiana Jones of Mexican Food’

Diana Kennedy is an author and authority on Mexican cooking. A native of the United Kingdom, she started travelling in Mexico in 1957 with her husband, Paul Kennedy, who was a correspondent for the New York Times. Picture: Paul Harris/Getty Images)

Diana Kennedy, the famously feisty British-born cook and food writer who dedicated the great part of her career to seeking out and documenting the richness and diversity of Mexican cuisine has died at the age of 99.

Diana always said that she didn’t want to live to be over 100. I visited her in her beloved Michoacan in Western Mexico in 2013. When she moved to Mexico City from New York in her 30’s, she met and fell in love with Paul Kennedy, the great love of her life who was the New York Times correspondent for Mexico. She became intrigued by the diversity of Mexican food and when he died in 1967, she continued to travel and drove thousands of miles across the country in her ancient pick-up truck to research regional cuisine. She’d talk to street vendors, and stallholders in the markets and ask how do you do this or cook that.