There is something persuasive about Anna Jones's approach to vegetarian cooking. Even her family have followed suit. "My sister, mum and dad stopped eating meat a couple of years ago and my brother is a vegan," she says. "But we've all come to the same point from different angles. We didn't pressure each other in any way." That lack of pressure is crucial, Jones says: "In 20 years time, if I want a steak, I'll have one." In the meantime, her relaxed outlook is reflected in her debut cookbook, A Modern Way to Eat, with recipes that emphasise delicious over self-denial."What I mean by a modern way to eat is that there is a way of getting the best of everything – and not miss out in any way," she says. Jones, 35, points to the current generation of vegetarian blogs such as 101 Cookbooks, Green Kitchen Stories and My New Roots. "Everything looks fresh and clean. A Californian and Scandinavian influence has crept in."

Jones's own California childhood has left a lasting impression. "We left when I was seven, but we'd go back to visit my aunt in San Francisco. There were lots of veggie restaurants and cafes, a reliance on fresh produce." But when her father's job brought them back to the UK, she had a typical meat and two-veg upbringing. "Mum's from the 60s generation of women who didn't cook for pleasure – I think she felt it infringed on her liberty."

After an economics degree and feeling unsettled in her financial PR job, Jones answered an ad for an apprentice with Jamie Oliver's then newly launched Fifteen. She later switched to working on his recipes, becoming part of the team she calls "Jamie's eyes and ears in the food world".

Jones also cites Yotam Ottolenghi as another inspiration: "When Plenty came out, my friends didn't even notice they were buying a vegetarian book. That kind of 'flying under the radar thing' is exactly what I'm hoping to achieve."