Durrant serves up "The Lucky Kitchen'

WHEN laundry folded, coffee percolated, and years later, it cooked up a book of decadent recipes called The Lucky Kitchen.

- WENDY JASSON DA COSTA

About 15 years ago, content creator and photographer Angie Batis Durrant, her husband Shane, and a friend were shooting the breeze at their flat in Ilovo, lamenting the lack of a great coffee hangout.

Across the road, they noticed a laundromat had closed, and after a casual "why not," Angie and Shane decided to espresso their desire by opening a coffee shop.

That caffeine shot led to a few more eateries, all with quirky names. "We had four altogether at one point. It was Wolves, The Good Luck Club, Father Coffee and Mr. Big Stuff," said Angie.

After years of early mornings in the kitchen, flour-dusted and bopping to music from Shane's band, Desmond and the Tutus, they are no longer in the food business.

Instead, there's now a book with all their favourite recipes.

Angie says she wanted the book to pay homage to her Greek heritage and give her two children something to cherish. It was also a tribute to her yiayia (grandmother), who spent all her waking hours cooking.

"I have such fond memories of her cooking and baking. I just wanted to pay tribute to her and to my heritage.

"My kids don't speak Greek, and I don't really have a lot of Greek friends. I thought it was a nice nod to my Greek heritage to have those sorts of recipes in the book, seeing as I don't have it in my own personal life."