I have home swapped on holidays for years, one year we stayed in a beautiful house in Slovenia, the family had told us to make use of the spices in their cupboards. When my daughter saw the variety of exciting spices available she exclaimed "wouldn't it be nice to sit down and eat with this family" we looked on the internet for a site that would connect travellers with local people willing to cook for them in their homes world wide. Unfortunately, we couldn't find one, so we decided there and then to make it ourselves. Little did we know that down the line 3 years later my daughter and I would be standing in front of five very rich entrepreneurs pleading our case for investment with our site www.eatwithalocal.com!

It was the bravest thing I have ever done making a pitch to Dragons' Den. I think that I broke a record as I was the only entrepreneur ever to have a little sleep in the green room before my big moment. I really thought that the Dragons' would tear me to pieces and kick me out of the Den. I was so nervous that I could hardly say my name at the beginning of my pitch. I was determined to inform them about how well the site was performing without any form of publicity and stress that it is a great way of getting to know the culture of a country eating and meeting with the local people.

I cooked Lava bread and bacon for them. Debra Meaden had never tasted it before and declared it very tasty indeed. As the questions and answers came to an end and the Dragons were declaring themselves out one by one. My heart sank into my boots. Hilary Devey teetered on the edge of investing, Georgia and I really thought that she was going to take the plunge but at the last moment she declared those famous words "I'm out"

Two of the Dragons promised that they would join the site and come and eat with me in my kitchen in Wales and I am certain that they will as they are very genuine people. Since the publicity on Dragons' Den we have had hundreds and hundreds of new members and offers of investment. People love food and our site is a way of them combining their love of food and travelling.

When I travelled to Goa, I had a meal on the beach in Colva with eat with a local member Meghana Megahan chose titbits off the menu for me to taste whilst we sipped cocktails watching the sun set. It was a memorable evening. Meghana and I are in the photograph above.