The American Diner Secret

At the age of nineteen, KENNY McGOVERN was diagnosed with what is known as ‘social anxiety disorder’ and eventually became too ill to carry on working. As the years passed, he became almost housebound as a result of his illness and as such lost touch with many parts of life which although enjoyable are often taken for granted. Simple pleasures such as buying a nice sandwich from a local cafe or going out for a meal became impossible for him to do.

As a result of this, and because of his love of food and cooking, he eventually took to trying to recreate many of his favourite shop-bought foods at home. ‘If I can’t go to McDonalds, I’ll make my own,’ was his philosophy. Over a period of five years or more, he tested and tweaked many, many recipes, his new hobby quickly building into an obsession.

In 2010, Kenny decided to publish some selected recipes in his first book The Takeaway Secret - it became an instant bestseller, following word-of-mouth recommendations on the internet.

With huge support and encouragement from readers, his confidence has grown, along with his food obsession. As a result Kenny once more ventured out into the world, researching and learning about the historic links between street food and local people and the recent upsurge in the modern, exciting and vibrant street food culture. His next book, The Street Food Secret, followed in 2017.