Hi, I'm Meg 👋

I'm a recipe developer, food photographer and the plant-based food lover behind Basil & Bay.

If you've ever wondered who's behind the recipes, camera and slightly obsessive herb collection, welcome. I'm so glad you're here.

Basil & Bay is where I share fuss-free vegan recipes for busy people. No complicated techniques, no hard-to-find ingredients, just flavour-packed food that fits around real life.

The bit most people don't know?

Every recipe, photograph and blog post is created around a full-time & full on office job. Basil & Bay has grown in the mornings before work, the evenings after work and at weekends. It's taken me longer than if I'd gone all in from day one, but I'm incredibly proud to be building something slowly, sustainably and in a way that feels true to me.

How Basil & Bay began...

I stumbled into food photography completely by accident back in 2018.

While working at a sustainable restaurant, a food photographer came in to shoot the menu. We got chatting, and that conversation completely changed the direction of my life. Until then, I hadn't realised food photography was even a career.

Not long afterwards, I discovered food blogging and quickly became hooked.

I went vegan in 2019, and more than seven years later I'm still just as passionate about showing people that plant-based food can be colourful, comforting and full of flavour, without making everyday cooking feel overwhelming.

Basil & Bay grew from that passion.

My goal has always been simple: to create recipes that people genuinely cook, not just save.

Alongside over seven years of living and cooking a plant-based lifestyle, I'm also studying towards a Vegan Nutritionist qualification with Ecodemy. It's helping me create recipes that strike the balance between flavour and nourishment, while still keeping things realistic for busy lives.

🌿Why Basil & Bay?

People often ask where the name came from.

It's named after two of my favourite herbs, with a special nod to the bay tree I've looked after for over seven years. Somehow it keeps outgrowing every pot I put it in.

In many ways, this blog has done exactly the same.

What started as a creative outlet has slowly grown into something I'm incredibly proud of.

A few things you should know about me...

🍩 Birthday cake has never really been my thing. Since I was about ten years old, I've celebrated nearly every birthday with doughnuts instead. These days, that usually means an annual trip to London for a box of Crosstown doughnuts that I reluctantly agree to share.

☕ I managed a coffee shop for years before I became a proper coffee drinker. Even now, I'd still choose a matcha most days.

🌿 Coriander tastes like soap to me. If you notice parsley appearing in recipes where most people would use coriander... now you know why! I'll always suggest where you can swap it if you're a coriander fan.

📚 I buy Kindle books much faster than I actually read them.

📷 I can spend twenty minutes moving one basil leaf or a small pile of crumbs for the perfect photo and think absolutely nothing of it.

🪴 Garden centres are dangerous places. I never leave empty-handed.

🐶🐶 Roscoe & Breezy are my official crumb clean up crew. If I'm in the kitchen, one of them is usually nearby.

🇪🇸 I spent six years living in Spain, and one day I'd love to move back. My dream is to renovate a country house in southern Spain with a greenhouse full of tomatoes and a photography studio.

🎵 Country music and Spanish pop are usually playing while I'm cooking or editing photos.

🥔 Potatoes are my love language. Roast them, mash them, turn them into chips... I honestly don't think there's a bad way to eat a potato.

Readjusting lemon zest… because apparently one strand was bothering me. 😂

What you'll find here

Everything you'll find on Basil & Bay has one thing in common.

It's designed to make eating more plants feel easier, more enjoyable and completely achievable.

Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, simply trying to eat more plant-based meals, or you're just looking for something delicious to cook for dinner, you're in the right place.

No complicated techniques.

No obscure ingredients.

Just recipes you'll genuinely want to make again and again.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

I hope you find something you love.

Meg ❤️

"I don't believe cooking has to be complicated to be memorable. Some of the best meals are the ones that fit around real life."