This much I know: Lilly Higgins

MY DAILY routine is that I’m running 10 minutes late for everything!

I always have breakfast though.

I grew up in Cobh in a family of 10. We are very close, depend on each other a lot and value each other’s opinions.

After school I trained in graphic design, but always loved cooking. I did the Ballymaloe Course in 2007 and taught there for a while too.

My sister is the comedienne Maeve Higgins. She is two years older than me and ever since we were small we’ve been ‘working’ together in one way or another. We have a great bond and inspire and motivate each other. I joined her on stage at the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago — she did her stand up and I iced cakes for the audience. Our TV show Fancy Vittles grew out of that.

The best advice I ever got was from my parents, they always encouraged us to be ourselves. It must have been hard for them to see us all growing up and having no definite direction but now we’ve all settled and are doing what we love.

My first job was picking potatoes on my uncle’s farm. I was terrible at it but saved enough all summer to buy a pair of jeans.

I now work in my parent’s construction company by day but started a food blog in January 2010 as a way of carrying on my love of cooking outside of real ‘work’.

When I first started out there was only a handful of Irish food bloggers but last year the IFBA (Irish Food Bloggers Association) started up and it’s fantastic to have a central hub for like-minded people.

After a year of blogging Gill and MacMillan asked if I’d like to do a book. I decided on baking recipes because cakes are so visually gorgeous and have always gotten the best response on the blog. I cooked, styled and photographed everything in my kitchen at home just like I do for the blog. My idea of a dream job is making coffee cake three times in one week so it’s suited me down to the ground.

I’ve always been nosey. One of the first things I remember is climbing up on a chair in the kitchen to see what was going on and pulling a pan of hot marmalade all over myself while my mother was trying to pot it.

I started a supper club last year as a way of meeting blogreaders and cooking for them. We transform a private home into a restaurant for the night and have 30 guests for a five course dinner. It’s always daunting but also brilliantly rewarding when it goes well.

My worst habit is fretting over small things.

I could never live in the city. I live in Cobh with Colm and love walking Bo, our Doberman cross, on the beach and in the fields. It’s so calming and inspiring.

We live in a freezing farmhouse with old red tiles on the kitchen floor. Colm’s father, Michael O’Donovan, is an amazing artist so our house is jam-packed with beautiful paintings and sculptures. I need to be visually stimulated all the time so love having bright abstracts and seascapes lining the walls.

I’m spiritual and love nature but I’m definitely not a church-goer.

It would take a lot for me to lose my temper. But I do get silently furious which is probably worse.

I am health conscious. I eat very well, get acupuncture and used to run a lot, although I’ve recently given it a rest as I’m pregnant. When I was only 5 weeks pregnant I got pleurisy and wouldn’t wish it on anyone! It was the first time I was sick in years.

So far life has taught me to take risks. Do what you love.

* Lilly’s book Eat Bake Love is just out and her blog is lillyhiggins.blogspot.com