Hey, I'm Azlin Bloor!

Welcome to LinsFood!

You’ll find the most comprehensive recipes written anywhere, right here! Get insider knowledge on recipes, food culture, food history, ingredients, drinks and so much more. Exotic and otherwise!

I’m a culinary instructor and food writer.
Born and bred Singaporean, adopted Brit.

I’ve been blogging here on LinsFood for over a decade. But as this site grew and grew, I realised I needed a new home for many of my precious childhood recipes.

So in January 2021, I started Singaporean and Malaysian Recipes, what I call my nostalgic culinary affair. Be sure to check it out!

I’ve been a Udemy instructor for about 10 years, click here for my classes on Udemy.
On top of that, I also give live cooking classes and demonstrations through Zoom, and these days, very occasionally, onsite.

image of Azlin Bloor sitting by a fireplace

A Little About Me

I was born and raised in Singapore, for the most part, with a handful of those years being in Malaysia, as my dad was Malaysian. My family is extremely multicultural, as every single person since my parents’ generation (and all my grandmother’s brothers!) has married outside the original ethnic group.

So we’ve got Pakistanis, Chinese, Malays, Indians, Arabs, Eurasians, Europeans and a few other bits and bobs in the clan. Naturally, we are all multilingual, as we grew up speaking a minimum of three languages. When we get together, a sentence is usually a hodgepodge of various dialects.

If you’re wondering (or not!), I speak 4 languages, plus a few stuttering ones that’ll ensure I never go hungry nor get lost when on holiday. I read and write Arabic, but can’t speak it to save my life! Okay, maybe a teeny weeny bit!

Here’s an interesting titbit: at one point in the 19th century, the Arabs owned more than half the island of Singapore, so really, we are no strangers to Middle Eastern food.

I also spent a number of years in the 90s working and travelling in the region, so Middle Eastern recipes have always had a special place in my heart and my soul, hence the large collection of Middle Eastern recipes here on LinsFood. 

Having grown up in such a family, and multicultural Singapore, there are many cuisines that I call “my own”. As a Singaporean, home food can be Malay, Chinese, Eurasian, South Asian, Middle Eastern or Nyonya. Did I say lucky?

You can read more about this ethnic mix in the two countries on my other blog: Singaporean and Malaysian Recipes.

I teach and cook many cuisines, but am especially fond of South East Asian, Middle Eastern and British cuisines. Yes, British food is highly underrated, you just need to know where to look. Or eat.

A Tiny Snapshot of my Large Family

What Else would you like to know?

I moved to London in the early 90s and have been living in the UK since then.
Home is on the south coast of England, in a seaside town called Bournemouth, with my 4 kids (I’m a widow).

I started homeschooling my kids over 10 years ago. Now, the oldest, Trafford, is doing his Masters in Law, while #2, Sapphire, is doing Biological Sciences in her second year at Uni. #3, Sahara, is studying early childcare. That leaves me with homeschooling the last one, (not so) Little Lincoln, with GCSEs in his immediate future.

I’m also an avid sports fan, and all my kids have names related to my favourite football club. The real football, the one with the round ball.😉 Take a guess from my son’s name above. So third names for the rest may be Nistelrooy, Rooney and Ronaldo – even the girls! Come on, no one uses their third name!

What do I do in my free time? I read a lot, about 2 books a week, thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited! I also enjoy working out and can’t survive without my nightly yoga.

I love my Sunday night movies with the kids, and having grown up on a diet of American tv, am still a huge fan of the usual suspects – SVU, NCIS, Grey’s, SWAT, etc.

Oh, and thanks to the kids, I love Clash of Clans!😄 

WHAT OTHERS SAY

"Thank you for the care you put into the recipe and answering the questions!"

"I just wanted to say thanks for this recipe and all those ideas for using it. I’ve made every single recipe you’ve suggested more than once. They were all big hits."

"I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a recipe so much. An absolute delight, from start to finish."
"I’m in the Gers (SW France) and just wanted to stop by to give you a big five star rating, this is exactly how confit should be made, well done for sharing the secret of the Gers with the world"

"Wow, I’ve honestly never been so impressed by a blog post recipe in my life, and I haven’t even started making this yet. From the bottom of my glass, thank you!".
"Wow! Three and a half years later, this post is still getting a lot of traffic! Thank you for such a detailed post and for responding to messages!"

"This is by far the best Limoncello that I have made."

"I looked at so many recipes than settled for yours as it had the best explanations. Thanks it was one of the best rice dishes I’ve ever had. And being Indian, I’ve had a few!"

Beautiful Food Pictures

And I take Beautiful Food Pictures too! Here are just some of my favourite food and drink shots

COOKBOOKS & CLASSES

With three successful cookbooks to my name, including an Amazon number one bestseller, I also run a number of online cooking classes, both live and on Udemy.

Be Sure to bookmark this site.

Get in touch with me at: [email protected]

Or head over to the media page for more information.

Lin xx

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