we have the same values: food, family, positivity

After meeting on BBC Two series See Hear, Yvonne Cobb – dubbed the ‘deaf Nigella’ – and Camilla Arnold embarked on a series of food adventures

- FIONA FORMAN

When Yvonne Cobb first met Camilla Arnold three years ago, they instantly bonded over their shared love of cooking. Yvonne, 48, who is profoundly deaf, is used to making connections with people in the deaf community through her cooking lessons and workshops but had a special connection with Camilla, 34, who is also deaf. The pair were introduced while filming for BBC Two's See Hear, a programme exploring various issues affecting the deaf community. Camilla is a producer for the show and Yvonne works as a co-presenter and cookery presenter. Camilla says, 'We instinctively clicked when we met as we both share a deep-rooted love for cooking. For the first episode we worked on, I asked her to make a cake to bid farewell to an interpreter on the show. She came up trumps with an amazing delicate apricot cake. She liked Yvonne's food so much that she created a dedicated cookery segment for Yvonne to present using sign language.

Yvonne adds, 'Camilla and I share a similar outlook on life and have the same values, food, family values, positivity - and hair! The pair discovered a shared love of eating out, and particularly enjoy tapas and Middle Eastern food. When Camilla got married, Yvonne treated her to a talk by Yotam Ottolenghi in Bristol.

Yvonne hadn't always worked in food. Previously a British Sign Language teacher for 20 years, she decided to change careers. She felt her three children (who can all hear) were old enough that she could devote more time to her passion for food and cooking, which she inherited from her mum. Yvonne says, 'When I was growing up, I spent a great deal of time watching Mum, who's also deaf, cooking. She was a natural. She turns 90 this year but, in those days, she often had friends over and would serve all sorts of culinary delights. As I got older, I loved having friends over and cooking for them, too. In fact, it was friends who suggested I set up my own business.