Skye McAlpine's Venice

My family moved there when I was six. The plan was to just stay for a year, but we fell in love and we’ve never really left… 

It's a city quite like no other: I love the sense of peace. There are no cars so everything feels restful – the sound of the water, people walking through the streets, the church bells ringing on the hour... 

It's not a practical city at all. The streets flood in winter and you can't online shop like you can in a normal metropolis. You have to go to the market to do your shopping and carry everything home over the bridges (I have a little and very unglamorous shopping trolley for this) but that's perhaps one of the things I love most about it. 

It's a time capsule, frozen in a different era and shielded from the mad bustle of the modern world. Plus, it's just so breathtakingly beautiful, I can't help but feel like the luckiest person in the world every time I look out of my window.

I've been thinking a lot about why I cook and why I enjoy it so much and I realised that I love to cook because I love the people I cook for. I wanted to write a book that shifts the emphasis away from this sense that cooking is something we 'have' to do – another chore on our endless daily to-do list – and instead is a source of joy and lightness in our lives. 

It brings the people we love together, makes them feel cared for and loved, and being able to do that, just by mixing up an omelette or whipping up a tray of chocolate brownies, is a very special thing – it's an incredible feeling. 

The recipes are all super simple and intuitive because I think cooking should be about fun and should never feel like work (I'm a huge fan of instant gratification) but the real heart of the book is about celebrating – in small but meaningful ways – the people in our lives we care most about.   

For the most delicious dinner.

Campiello de la Pescaria, 3968, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy

For unpretentious, old-school Venetian food.

Calle della Madonna, 594, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy

For breakfast pastries at the bar and the lightest, fluffiest warm doughnuts first thing in the morning.

Calle San Pantalon, 3764, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy

For the best cheeses, fresh pasta and cured meats.

Campo Cesare Battisti/Bella Viena, San Polo 214, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy

I always love browsing the iconic Rialto Market.

Calle Prima de la Donzella, 306, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy

An absolute must-visit: spellbindingly beautiful and opulent.

San Polo, 3054, a, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy