About Monya Kilian Palmer

 
Monya Kilian Palmer UK Keto ChefThank you so much for visiting this page! It means a lot to me that you are reading more about the person behind all the messy development, photo shoots and writing here on Fats of Life®!
 
My name is Monya Kilian Palmer (my friends call me Monnie). I am a trained chef and, professionally, run a fabulous little business called Soigné Consulting which focuses on recipe development, writing, testing, and private cheffing for clients all over the world. You can read more here if it interests you.
 

Why I started blogging…

This blog started when my husband, Mark – referred to as Funnyman on this site – and I switched to the keto lifestyle in early 2018. We both experienced incredible results on keto – we lost 25kg (55lb / 4 stone) between the two of us in the first 6 months. It is now 2024 and we have maintained our weight and remain satisfied with our BMIs. We choose to passionately stick to the keto lifestyle for all its other health benefits.
 
I started writing and photographing our meals because I could not bear to see Instagram posts of eggs, bacon, or sad tuna salads on keto! There was something that I felt I had to offer. I used my skills and imagination in the kitchen (along with my solid knowledge after having graduated from Prof. Tim Noakes’ Nutrition Network Advisor Course) to create exciting meals while staying below 20g net carbs per day!
 

My Cookbooks…

It wasn’t too long before I landed a series of cookbook deals with a global publishing house. I am now (beyond humbled) to say that I am the author of the best-selling Keto Kitchen Series of cookbooks. There are four in total and I poured my heart and soul into each one. Not only are the recipes triple-tested, but they are beautifully photographed and include the macros per serving. The recipes were also created with a global audience in mind, so weights and temperatures are shown for both UK and USA.
 

Disclosure: Like many blogs, Fats of Life® is part of the Affiliates Program on Amazon. The links to the products on this page are affiliate links, meaning – at no additional cost to you – the author may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.


 

More about Monya Kilian Palmer…

Monya Kilian PalmerFor as long as I can remember, I have had a love affair with food. Prepping, poaching, peppering, cooking, chopping, snipping, salting. It has always been about food: my very first love. As a teenager, I watched my friends spend their pocket money on clothes and CD’s. I bought food magazines and saved up for recipe books. When we all started working and earning money, they bought beautiful shoes, while I spent my hard-earned moolah hosting dinner parties.
 
After many years in graphic design, I completely switched careers and enrolled in culinary school. It was never the intention to work in a restaurant (I cry if people shout at me!), it was simply to get better. I soon landed a great role as a development chef in the test kitchen of a fantastic restaurant group in Cape Town. This was a short stint, because a little while later our lives changed completely… Funnyman, the dogs and I left South Africa and moved to the UK…
 

Relocating…

I worked at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen in Bray for many years. It was a very special time working with a very talented team. My role in the early days involved dish development. I fondly recall a project where I had to make bubblegum from scratch. It had to look like spaghetti and taste like apples! I was also involved in recipe testing & styling. Over the years, it evolved into a recipe editing and media project management role. After my time with Heston (who still remains a client), I enjoyed working as a culinary editor at Le Cordon Bleu International (currently also now a client of mine).
 
I run a company called Soigne Consulting. I am very busy working with clients from all over the world generating content, developing recipes, or testing and editing their own recipes. Managing clients’ recipe databases (as in the case of my fabulous client: The Tom Kerridge Group), ghost-writing cookbooks, food styling and private cheffing are among my skills and services. You can read more on www.MonyaKilianPalmer.com.
 
Funnyman (yes, he really is a travelling, professional stand-up comedian!) Mark is my husband. We live in Berkshire, England. When I am not pottering around in the kitchen or hard at work being his comedy muse, I can be found in front of my easel. This is where I satisfy my other passionate hobby – but that’s a whole other website
 

One last thing…

I want to apologise if there are ads on your browser that may irritate you. I care deeply about user-experience, and I put off implementing ads for a long time. However, after a few years, I simply had to implement something that would monetise this site to at least cover its running costs. Thank you for understanding! xxx