With two cookbooks and a TV series on Channel 4, siblings Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley are the glamour girls of healthy eating. Miranda Jessop picks up some sugar-free foodie tips
I am on my way to the Good Life Eatery in Chelsea and hoping to catch sight of Eva Herzigova or Hugh Grant who are regulars at this trendy, new health food restaurant. There is no sign of either and the two turning heads are the glamorous food gurus, Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley, who I have arranged to meet.
When I arrive, the sisters are enjoying a lively and wholesome lunch with the like-minded owners of this buzzing cafe. Melissa is dressed up in a 1950s style orange and black animal print patterned dress and black ankle boots while her older sister Jasmine is dressed down in a sweater and jeans and red plimsolls. Both look equally beautiful and are a shining example of the healthy eating that they advocate. As I watch them feasting on detox bone broths and crunchy superfood salads, washed down with green coloured juices, I decide not to mention the pre-packed, no doubt additive-laden sandwich that I have just consumed.
Jasmine and Melissa were born in Surbiton to a Filipino mother and British father. Their father was in the army and so the girls spent part of their childhood in Germany before returning to Surbiton where they completed their education at Tiffin Girls’ School.
“We grew up in a very loving but very strict household; Dad was army strict and, although she hates us saying it, Mum was Asian strict. Our mum was also working full time so there were always lots of extra-curricular activities – lessons in violin, guitar, piano and dancing. We loved living in Surbiton and have so many happy memories of days spent in Richmond Park and at the Bentall Centre,” says Melissa.
It was during one of those shopping trips in Kingston that Jasmine was scouted by a modelling agency.
“I went on to do a bit of modelling as a teenager but I didn’t really enjoy it as I was quite shy,” says Jasmine, adding, “I adored art so, when I left school, I took a foundation course at Kingston College before going to Leeds to study furniture and product design.”
After graduation, her job as a scenic artist led her back into the modelling world and, this time round, she really started to enjoy it. Meanwhile, Melissa had dreams of becoming a doctor.
“I am not sure if you should print this, but I changed my mind on my first day of work experience when I had to observe a circumcision,” she giggles.
Thanks to her big sis, Melissa’s life ended up taking a completely different path when Jasmine introduced her to some friends who were launching a shoe brand. After leaving school, Melissa jumped straight into the business, travelling the world as a footwear brand manager and later working in marketing and promotions for a group of gastro pubs.
Growing up with an exotic mother and a frugal father, the sisters learned to cook adventurously without any waste.
“When our mother was home, she was always in the kitchen, everything was cooked from scratch and we never ever used to eat out,” says Melissa.
As a model, Jasmine recognised the benefits of eating unprocessed nourishing food so she would cook a meal the night before a shoot and take it to work next day. Word spread about her delicious wholesome style of cooking and soon she was making up food boxes for other models and friends.
“Then, out of the blue, I had a call from an actor who wanted me to prepare meals for him,” she says, taking up the story, “I took him on as my first client and before I knew it I had a waiting list.”
It was then that Jasmine approached Melissa to join her and, before long, the girls were taking private clients back to basics and re-educating them about their pre-conceived and often misinformed ideas about food.
“We firmly believe that a healthy gut and good digestion lead to a healthy body and mind; that changing the way you eat doesn’t have to involve deprivation but can be enjoyed every day,” says Jasmine.
Naturally, the girls are reluctant to reveal the names of their high profile clients.
“All we can say is that many of the people we work with are in the music, film and theatre industries,” says Melissa carefully.
In 2010 the sisters established themselves as a catering business called Hemsley & Hemsley and set about launching themselves on social media.
“Our clients and friends were telling us that we should share our recipes with the world and everyone was talking about blogging. We thought it would be really complicated to set up but we discovered over one weekend that it really wasn’t,” laughs Melissa.
Within two weeks of launching their blog they were asked to contribute regular recipes to Vogue, raising their profile still further.
The next step was for the sisters to write their own cookbook. In The Art of Eating Well, published last year, the sisters teach their principles with exciting, inventive, nutrient-rich recipes, created to reset the body and banish cravings. With dishes such as sausage and cider stew, caramelised garlic tart with almond crust and roast duck with cranberry and orange jam, it’s easy to forget the purpose is wellness and nourishment.
Their second book, Good + Simple, was published earlier this year. Shunning the dogma of fat-fearing and calorie-counting, Jasmine and Melissa encourage saturated fats such as butter and coconut oil, as well as cooking with cheaper meats, such as bone marrow and chicken livers. The girls also share their quintessential recipe for making bone broth.
“Nutrient rich bone broth is at the heart of all our cooking. It’s the first thing we teach new clients and we’d feel lost without it,” explains Jasmine.
Their healthy eating bibles are packed with recipes, all of which are free from grain, gluten, refined sugar, high starch and are alkaline friendly. The dishes are beautifully photographed by Nick Hopper, Jasmine’s boyfriend and the Creative Director of Hemsley & Hemsley. As well as being a professional photographer, Nick has also worked as a model and is known for being Audrey Hepburn’s love interest in the Galaxy commercial.
Thinking about how I can apply the Hemsley & Hemsley principles to my own family’s eating habits, I ask the sisters if there is any one food that I should try to avoid giving to my children at all costs.
“Sugar,” answers Jasmine without hesitation, looking deep into my eyes, and I worry that she can sense my guilt. “And a brilliant way of getting the whole family to eat more vegetables is to invest in a spiralizer – it will change your life,” Melissa assures me.
So convinced are the girls of the virtues of this kitchen gadget which effectively turns vegetables into spirals in seconds, they have launched their very own model.
As I also have a sister who is six years older than me, I am interested in the dynamics of their relationship and the role that each takes.
“Our mum would say we are both very bossy, which is funny as she is so so bossy, as is our dad; we are such a bossy family,” chuckles Melissa.
When pressed on their roles, Jasmine explains that Melissa is good at organising, strategy and thinking ahead whereas she is more creative and visual.
Bossy or not, the relationship obviously works brilliantly and, although they spend all their time together working, the girls have not actually lived together since Jasmine left home to go to university. Jasmine now lives with Nick in Elephant and Castle and Melissa splits her time between her boyfriend’s place and the family home in Surbiton. When they are not cooking, they enjoy yoga, running and dance and, unlike their parents, they love to eat out and try new restaurants.
“My absolutely favourite restaurant at the moment is The Dairy in Clapham,” says Melissa.
It is time for Jasmine and Melissa to leave but before they go, the girls give me a Hemsley & Hemsley bag with the message ‘Boil Your Bones’ in large letters emblazoned across the front as well as a copy of their first book.
That’s it, I’m converted and you can guess which culinary gadget has shot straight to the top of my birthday wish list.
For more information about the Hemsley sisters and to see some of their healthy recipes you can visit their site hemsleyandhemsley.com
You can also buy the sisters' cookbook Good + Simple by clicking here
Why not check out another one of our awesome food and drink pieces? Like our recent interview with Gordan Ramsay's London House head Chef George Lyon
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