Niamh Shields,writer and blogger

I have 60,000 readers a month. . .from the UK, Ireland, the US and Canada mainly, but also Europe, Australia, New Zealand. I have got to know many readers, and some have become firm friends.

I am from Dungarvan and I live in London, but I love to travel . . .in the past year I have been to so many places – highlights were Nova Scotia (where I spied a poster for the Waterford Ladies' football team in a pub toilet), Toronto, Paris, Istria, Barcelona (twice), Argentina, Hong Kong, Beijing and Florida. Travel really inspires my cooking and food writing.

Before you travel . . .get tips from locals on the internet, through their blogs or on Twitter. Don't be shy, try and learn a few words of the local language, people will really appreciate it, even if it is only "hello". Follow where the locals go when you get there, and avoid the tourist traps.

When travelling I always avoid . . .public toilets and tourist menus.

It's hard to choose a favourite country to visit . .. Argentina was wonderful, lots of steak and wine, and they love us Irish. Japan was magical, wonderful food, and serene and crazy at the same time. China was like an out-of-body experience, but in a very good way.

I always pick up recipes when I am travelling . . .This year, homemade Beijing noodles with a pork and black bean sauce, served with lots of garnishes, was a revelation. Also, proper empanadas from Mendoza.

If I wasn't a food writer and blogger, I'd be . . .writing about music. It's my other passion. I almost started a music blog instead of a food blog.

Working in London is . . .exciting and vibrant. Tough at times. The Tube can grate, but there is so much going on, and I do love stomping around Soho. London can be a small city sometimes. I am always bumping into people.

My dream dinner party guests would be . .. deceased members of my family with the existing members of my family who are in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Grim, perhaps, but they are the people that I miss the most.

And I'd cook them . . .overnight roast pork shoulder with blaas. Some prawn curry for the adventurous.

My cooking style is . . .rustic, full flavoured and hearty with international twists.

The chefs/cooks I most admire are . . .Paul Flynn from The Tannery, Denis Cotter from Café Paradiso, Darina Allen from Ballymaloe.

My ideal Sunday is spent . . .being incredibly lazy, with coffee, brunch and the papers.

I'm passionate about . . .good food, good produce and good people.

I'm really good at . . .knitting. I am, really.

I wish I was better at . . .being organised. I am a terribly disorganised person and it creates problems for me.

Not many people know this about me, but . . .I used to be a scientist, and can be terribly obsessive about things.

My guilty pleasure is . . .A Tayto cheese and onion sandwich in a blaa.

Niamh Shields was named “Best Blogger 2011” in the Observer Food Monthly awards. Her first book, Comfort Spice, is published by Quadrille

In conversation with Marie-Claire Digby