Deborah Duval is Managing Editor at Kidney Care UK and Kidney Kitchen Lead. She started up the Kidney Kitchen in 2019 following the challenges she experienced in translating the scientific information about food and diet she received from kidney dietitians into her domestic environment.
Deborah is a kidney patient with many years’ experience of both haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, as well as type 1 diabetes. Over the past 30 years she has received a simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplant, a second kidney transplant and a second pancreas transplant, so she knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of diet and lifestyle advice.
Developing kidney-friendly recipes in the Kidney Kitchen
It felt like a natural step for the Kidney Kitchen when, having used Emma’s beautiful kitchen for our photo shoots, she joined the team to organise the shoots, the crew and the recipes and ensure our growing list of guest chefs could travel to cook with us. Emma supports the smooth running of the whole Kidney Kitchen operation, including external event planning where the Kidney Kitchen has been asked to attend (like UK Kidney Week and the Young Adult Kidney Group residential weekend), scheduling and making sure the whole team know who needs to turn up, where and when – and what is being cooked!
Angeline and Amita are kidney dietitians and members of the Kidney Dietitian Specialist Group (KDSG). The Kidney Kitchen benefits from their many years of experience advising kidney patients on how to eat healthily to protect kidney function and prevent, where possible, the onset of heart disease and diabetes. Their knowledge and understanding of the important role food and drink plays in the life of a kidney patient provides invaluable support to our chefs.
It is Beth’s task to ensure our delicious meals, cakes and puddings look as great as they taste. Not only is Beth a self-confessed ‘foodie’ herself, but she has helped many professional and celebrity chefs produce their own recipe books. Beth is also a fashion photographer and brings this flair for making everything look wonderful into the kitchen, so that we get the best photographs on our website and in all of our Kidney Kitchen magazines.
