Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

Alissa Timoshkina: Lozhka Oct 22, 2026 39:12 This week, we’re with Alissa Timoshkina and her third cookbook about Eastern Europe, Lozhka.Loshka, meaning spoon, is about the symbolism of connection through nourishment. It is, she says, 'the simple kitchen object which time and again has the power to soothe and lift'. After her first book, Salt and Time in 2019 and Kapusta in 2025, Lozhka feels like she’s found a new confidence not jus

Charlotte Wood: Love and Hunger Oct 15, 2026 30:20 This week, we're with the award-winning Australian novelist, Charlotte Wood and her ode to cooking and food, Love and Hunger.To Charlotte, cooking is 'creativity in its purest form', but it’s taken nearly 15 years to capture the attention of British readers with this book. Thanks to Nigella Lawson writing the foreword for this UK edition, and raving about it on her socials, comparing i

Vicky Bennison: Eat Everything Oct 8, 2026 27:11 In the last of our mini series of speakers from BrightonFoodStory, the food festival Gilly produced this year in her home town which is aimed at changing the conversation about the way we eat, we’re with Vicky Bennison, the James Beard award-winning author of Pasta Grannies: Eat Everything.Vicky was at BrightonFoodStory last weekend to talk about nonnamaxxing, the Instagram trend of yearning for t

Karen Newby: The Post Menopause Method Oct 1, 2026 30:37 Ahead of BrightonFoodStory, the food festival on October 3rd that Gilly is producing in her home town aimed at changing the conversation about the way we eat, we’re meeting some of the speakers on the various panel discussions.This week, we’re with Karen Newby, author of the Natural Menopause Method and its cookbook partner, and now The Post Menopause Method.Karen will be on the Nonnamaxxing panel

Hodmedod's: Whole Food Sep 24, 2026 30:08 This week, we meet Nick Saltmarsh and Josiah Meldrum of Hodmedods to talk about the magic of beans in their debut cookbook Whole Food.Now, Hodmedods has long since become the byword for beans in Britain, and can claim a major role in elevating the plucky pulse to enjoy its moment in the sun. Gilly's just finished another series of Bang in Some Beans for The Food Foundation Podcast – watch out

Andrew Turvil: Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears Sep 17, 2026 27:56 This week we’re with former editor of the Good Food Guide, Andrew Turvil and his book,  Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears: The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution.Like Andrew, Gilly was right in the centre of the birth of what another editor of the Good Food Guide, Drew Smith called Modern British Cooking, and has written her take on this story in a biography of Jamie Oliver, and

Jeremy Lee: Kitchening Sep 10, 2026 26:24 This week, in an extended episode, we’re with one of the most important voices in British food writing, Jeremy Lee with Kitchening, his follow up cookbook to the 2022 multi award winning Cooking.Jeremy has taken his time to become one of the central storytellers of modern British cuisine – with his cookbooks at least, despite being right there at the birth of modern British cooking. Do listen

Claire Thomson: Dear Grace Sep 3, 2026 27:39 This week, we’re celebrating Back To School and Uni season with Claire Thompson and her latest book, Dear Grace.This is a book unlike any Claire has written before. She wrote it while her heart was breaking as her eldest daughter, Grace, set off for university, and the letters from mother to daughter – and daughter to mother - about how to survive  are a universal weep as fledglings all

Anissa Helou: Lebanon Jul 30, 2026 30:00 This week, we're with an absolute legend in food writing, Anissa Helou and her culinary celebration of Lebanon.Listed by Arabian Business magazine as one of the "500 Most Influential Arabs" and "100 Most Powerful Arab Women, she’s among the greats of modern food writing with the likes of Claudia Roden and Elisabeth Luard. Now, after 32 years of writing about the everyday food of the Midd

Cooking the Books LIVE: Honey and Co. Jul 23, 2026 39:17 This week, we are live in Brighton on the hottest day of the year so far with Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, aka Honey and Co. to talk about their new book, Honey and Co.Daily.Against the sound of a massive fan at Patio Wine Bar, we talked about the huge dollop of love that the Honeys have made their brand, and how a warm hug of hospitality has not only saved their business but reminded u

Rebecca Seal: Irritated Jul 16, 2026 32:43 This week we're with author, journalist and broadcaster, Rebecca Seal and her deep dive into the world of allergies in IrritatedShe's spent 20 years writing about food, not least as the deputy editor of Observer Food Monthly, and her life was all about the deliciousness of food. But it was her younger daughter’s allergy to soy which prompted her to explore the rise in the allergy epidemic, and to

Trine Hanhnemann: Midnight Sun Jul 9, 2026 29:00 This week we're with Danish food writer, restaurateur and campaigner, Trine Hahnemann and her latest cookbook, Midnight Sun.This is a book about long lazy summer days - cycling to the beach, stopping off to buy strawberries from a local stall, peeling shrimps to eat with homemade mayo and bread.. But under the haze of a Scandanavian sun, food for Trine is about much more than a picnic. It’s a

Ozlem Warren: Istanbul Jul 2, 2026 30:35 This week, we’re with the WORD on Turkish food and heritage, Ozlem Warren to dig into her latest book, Istanbul.We’ve followed Ozlem on Cooking the Books through her writing career, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table which inspired a fund raising supper club for the earthquake in 2023 at Gilly’s house, through vegetarian Turkish in Sebze, and now to Istanbul, her most confidant work yet, and her warmest w

Rachel Khoo: The Smallest Restaurant in Paris Jun 25, 2026 29:30  This week, Gilly is with the author of The Smallest Restaurant in Paris, Rachel KhooNow, you may know her as the author of The Little Paris Kitchen and the star of the BBC’s cooler original version of Emily in Paris - without the haute couture or the PR job, a young Brit abroad, feeling her way through being in Paris and cooking in her tiny kitchen.Now she’s written a memoir a

Sudi Pigott: Consider the Anchovy Jun 18, 2026 27:50 This week, we're with travel and food writer, Sudi Pigott to Consider the Anchovy.Part memoir, largely a travelogue, this is a deep dive into the story of a big hitting little fish. Stuffed with maverick, rakish characters, it's a passionate manifesto making the case for the anchovy as a leading mover and shaker in world culinary history.  Rachel Roddy described it as "an anchovy odyssey

Ella Risbridger: The Kitchen Book Jun 11, 2026 33:29 This week, we're with Ella Risbridger and The Kitchen BookNow, we know Ella intimately through her memoirs, Midnight Chicken and The Year of Miracles, both of which blended grief, joy, love and loss with food, gathering serious accolades and scooping up the awards. Here, she’s happy. Her life is good. Her writing is full of joy and the reception over on Instagram in particular has been e

The World Food Photography Awards Jun 4, 2026 24:17 This week, we're with three of the judges from this year’s World Food Photography Awards which took place earlier this week at The Mall Galleries in London.The competition, first known as the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year, has pretty much put food photography on the map since 2011. With more than 120,000 entries from nearly 100 countries over that time, this year the judging panel led by

Chetna Makan: 5 Ingredient Indian May 28, 2026 28:26 This week, we’re off to lunch with Chetna Makan, the Bake Off semi finalist who has become one of our national treasures with her massive YouTube channel, Food with Chetna. Her latest book 5 Ingredient Indian is yet another way of making Indian food simple enough to cook for quick weekday suppers while keeping all the flavour.Pop over to Substack for Extra Bites of  Chetna, and a re

Felicity Cloake at Cooking the Books Live May 21, 2026 39:36 This week, we're back at Cooking the Books live in Brighton with Felicity Cloake (and Wilf the Wonderdog) to talk about her debut novel, The Underdog.We know Felicity from her Bridget Jones-on-a-bike style adventures across France in One More Croissant for the Road, the UK in Red Sauce, Brown Sauce and America in Peach Street to Lobster Lane. But she's also the Queen of Culinary Perfection in her

Jago Rackham: To Entertain May 14, 2026 34:42 This week, we meet Jago Rackham to talk about his first book, To Entertain: Instructions for a Dinner Party.But the book is not quite what it seems. The millennial Substacker who hosts supper clubs and pop-ups fashioned as dinner parties,  has, with his long term partner, the artist Lowena Hearn, earned the social media title of East London’s power couple. But Gilly finds a rather o

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: High Fibre Heroes May 7, 2026 33:26 This week we’re with the prince of plants, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his High Fibre Heroes.Hugh and Gilly have been talking about the national diet for years on this show and before it was even born. They both campaign with the Food Foundation for policy change to make healthier food more accessible for every child in the UK, and Hugh's last book How to Eat 30 Plants a Week was all about add

Tim Anderson: JapanEasy Kitchen Apr 30, 2026 50:11 This week, we’re back at Patio in Brighton for Cooking the Books Live with Tim Anderson and his latest book, JapanEasy KitchenIn front of a live audience, we find out about the nine magical Japanese pantry staples which Tim says can transform anything we want to cook, how this white man from Wisconsin has claimed the space in British food media as Mr Japanesasy and his insider tips for t

Judging The Fortnum and Mason Awards Apr 28, 2026 29:40 This week, we’re looking in depth at the shortlists in the food categories at the Fortnum and Mason Awards with Marie Mitchell, one of the judges and last year’s award winner for her debut cookery book, Kin.                                &

Jad Youssef: Lebnani Apr 23, 2026 30:05 This week, we’re off to Lebanon via Reigate with the man behind Comptoir Libanais and Yalla Yalla, Jad Youssef.Lebnani is Jad’s debut cookbook that's all about the Lebanon of his childhood, the rituals and traditions of the food from his homeland that he's brought to the menus of restaurants all over the world.His fear is that Lebanese food is losing its identity, not just through war, displacemen

Ranie Saidi: The Malay Cook Apr 16, 2026 29:03 This week, we’re off to Malaysia with The Malay Cook, Ranie Saidi.The Malay Cook is the debut cookbook from this lawyer turned supper club host at Soho House and Curry Club London and now author.It's an homage to the memory of his grandmother, a wedding caterer who brought him up while his parents were studying. But the book is not just about  her recipes as he remembers them, but a

Abby Allen: The Farm Kitchen Apr 9, 2026 37:40 This week, we’re back with farming champion, Abby Allen and her latest book, The Farm Kitchen.Abby was, until recently, the face of Piper’s Farm, the online farm shop which brought together the best farmers and producers in the South West. Her passion in creating a resilient food and farming system to food lovers across the Uk now comes from a new company, Pipers and co,  run by Abb

Shivi Ramoutar: Recipes from the Rum Islands Apr 2, 2026 23:59 This week, we’re with the queen of modern Caribbean cooking, Shivi Ramoutar.It’s 10 years since her debut cookbook, Caribbean Modern: Recipes from the Rum Islands launched this Trinidadian lawyer and supper club host from Leicester to become the Caribbean queen of daytime TV.The 10th anniversary edition – simply called Recipes from The Rum Islands is just as much about identity

Madeeha Qureshi : The Red Sea Mar 26, 2026 23:04  This week we’re exploring the cuisine of Saudi Arabia in Madeeha Qureshi's debut cookbook, The Red Sea.Madeeha who spent her first 18 years in Saudi, came to our attention on Masterchef when she reached the finals in 2021, impressing judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her fusion of Saudi Arabian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and modern flavours.Now, many of us will think of Saudi as a

Cooking the Books Live: Ali Honour Mar 19, 2026 48:58 This week we’re in Brighton for Cooking the Books live with bean queen, Ali Honour. The author of Beans describes herself as a chef and food systems agitator, which brings together the best things about beans – how delicious they can be while saving the planet and the health of the nation. In front a live audience of keen beans and bean deniers – let’s call them beanos - we find out why.&nbsp

The Jane Grigson Trust Sous Chef Awards Shortlist Mar 12, 2026 27:18 This week we’re discussing the shortlist for the Jane Grigson Trust–Sous Chef Award 2026 with two of the judges, Nicola Lando and Jeremy Lee.This year, it celebrates its 10th anniversary with a stunning shortlist of books about secret kitchens and migrant stories which will all be featured here on CTB when they’re out in the bookshops. Ahead of next week’s awards, Gilly asks Nicola

Ilhan Abdi: The Ramadan Kitchen Mar 5, 2026 21:22 This week as millions of people all over the world are celebrating Ramadan, we’re with London-based Somali-Egyptian food writer, Ilhan Abdi to talk about her book, The Ramadan Kitchen.A former Amazon corporate employee, she left to focus on cooking content, gaining 265k Instagram followers (@Ilhanm.a) through live Ramadan cooking sessions inspired by her mum’s dishes during lockdown, and has

Pary Baban: Nandên Feb 26, 2026 31:32 This week we’re exploring the food and culture of Kurdistan with author of Nandên: Recipes from My Kurdish Kitchen, Pary BabanBorn in Southern Kurdistan, in Qaladze, a place known for its resistance and community, Pary fled Kurdistan with her family to escape what became known as the Anfal Genocide, and this is a hard listen. But it’s her passion for using the food of her land in her restaurant Na

BOSH! More Plants Feb 19, 2026 30:23 This week, we’re back with BOSH!, the recipe developing duo who have changed the conversation about plant-based diets. Gilly has followed their journey over the last 10 years and watched them become the biggest influencers in the plant-based space. Now, as she explores their latest book, More Plants, she finds out how they got their ready meals to the supermarket ready meal shelves - and why

Tamar Adler: Feast on Your Life Feb 12, 2026 52:54 This week we are LIVE in Brighton with James Beard award-winning New York food writer, Tamar Adler to learn how to Feast On Your Life.Her latest book is the result of a deep depression that overwhelmed her after the publication of An Everlasting Meal, which is now widely seen as a modern classic. Feast on Your Life is a record of daily food delights that she wrote to find her way back to the

Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees: You&Me&You&Me&You&Me Feb 5, 2026 29:29 This week, we’re with husband and wife novelists, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees  to celebrate Publication Day of their new time travelling rom com, You and Me and You and Me and You and Me Their use of food as device in this story of Jules and Adam’s long-term marriage hitting a midlife wobble and getting a second chance is a glorious way of getting under the skin of the writ

Rowley Leigh: The Andre Simons Awards Jan 29, 2026 17:21 This week, we’re with Rowley Leigh, chef, food writer and the food books assessor for the 2025 André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards to discuss the shortlist.Rowley is an award‑winning food writer himself, but it’s his mastery of storytelling through the theatre of food that Gilly wanted to know about before we got on to the shortlist. His Notting Hill gastrodome,

Clare Coghill: Cafe Cuil Jan 22, 2026 31:47 This week, we’re on The Isle of Skye with the author of Café Cuil, Clare Coghill.This is so much more than a recipe book celebrating the best of Highland produce, and the CUIL, the Gaelic for cosy nook - is much more than a play on words. This is a story of brilliant enterprise in the face of adversity drawn from a sense of identity and belonging – Gilly's favourite ingredients in any cuisine.&nbs

Ozoz Sokoh: Chop Chop Jan 15, 2026 24:43 This week,  we’re diving into Nigerian food culture with culinary anthropologist, food historian and now author of Chop Chop, Cooking the Food of Nigeria, Ozoz Sokoh.Her Kitchen Butterfly blog has been documenting the back story to this West African cuisine since 2009, but Chop Chop, her debut cookbook, has been a long time coming. It’s already been nominated for an Andre Simon

Jeffrey Boadi: Plant Fuel Jan 8, 2026 27:58 To kick off a brand new year, we’re diving straight into the power of protein with Jeffrey Boadi, author of Plant Fuel. As a former semi-professional footballer and tennis player, Jeffrey has been a top level athlete for most of his adult life. But it was his decision to go vegan overnight that has given him a place on the podium in the plant protein world. Gilly finds out how it ha

Alison Roman: Something from Nothing Dec 31, 2025 32:01 This week, we’re creating Something from Nothing with Alison Roman.The former chef, food columnist for the New York Times, senior food editor at Bon Appetit, author of Dining In, Nothing Fancy and Sweet Enough, and now owner of her own store in upstate NY is all about about doing the bare minimum beautifully.But as one of the early queens of social media, she’s been through the highs and the lows

Emiko Davies: The Japanese Pantry Dec 25, 2025 30:49 On Christmas Day, we’re combining all the things that Cooking the Books is about – identity, belonging, food cultures and vicarious travel thorugh food with Emiko Davies in one of Gilly's favourite books of 2025, The Japanese Pantry.As Emiko puts the pieces of her Italian living Australian-Japanese ancestry and influence together through all her books, The Japanese Pantry reads like she’s landing

Skye McAlpine: The Christmas Companion Dec 18, 2025 27:44 This week, we’re with the Spirit of Christmas herself, Skye McAlpine and The Christmas CompanionAmong all the talk of the pressures, the aspirational values and the industry of Christmas, Gilly finds herself feeling like the Grinch in the presence of the Christmas Fairy as she asks Skye about about the nostalgia, the beauty and the magic of giving.Click here for Extra Bites of Skye on Gilly's Subs

Cherie Denham: The Irish Kitchen Dec 11, 2025 29:00 This week, we’re with Northern Irish food writer Cherie Denham and photographer Andrew Montgomery in The Irish Kitchen If you’ve listened to Gilly's chat with Andrew on her Substack  a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know that this is no ordinary book. It follows their first book, The Irish Bakery, published by Montgomery Press, Andrew’s own company designed to do exactly what he w

Nat Thaipun: Thai: Anywhere and Everywhere Dec 4, 2025 32:01 This week, we're with Masterchef winner and the hottest name in Thai food, Nat Thaipun.Her book THAI: Anywhere and Everywhere is packed with glorious flavours of Thailand via Melbourne where she grew up. But it was when Jamie Oliver as one of the judges on Masterchef spotted her talent that she really saw what a book could look like. We find out about the role of MasterChef as the global phen

Evie Harbury: My Bohemian Kitchen Nov 27, 2025 24:38 This week, we’re off to the Bohemian Kitchen of Brit-Czech writer, Evie HarburyMy Bohemian Kitchen is a nostalgic trip through the memories of a place Evie only knows through summers with her Czech granny and her dad’s childhood memories as she investigates the traditional cooking techniques of this largely untapped culinary region. The result is an adventure in refusing to follow the rules

Cooking the Books LIVE: Mark Diacono Nov 20, 2025 46:32 This week, we’re with one of our favourite CTB pals, Mark Diacono in front of a live audience at Patio, the buzziest yet somehow most intimate bar in Brighton to talk about his latest book, Abundance.Abundance is Mark's pioneering way of writing a food book, a Substack post every week over a whole year, supported by a global readership of paying subscribers. Of course the publishers piled in to sc

Amber Guinness: Winter in Tuscany Nov 13, 2025 29:00 This week, we're with Amber Guinness whose latest book, Winter in Tuscany takes us into her own home to rifle through her pantry and cook what she cooks. But, as Gilly finds out, it’s also a stroll through a time and place still rooted in tradition, where cooking with the seasons and the frugal legacy of cucina povera is a reminder of the simple, good things in life.  Pop over to Gilly's

Stephen Harris: The Sportsman at Home Nov 6, 2025 37:10 This week, we’re celebrating 25 years of great British cooking with chef patron of The Sportsman and former punk, Stephen Harris.  He’s the chef who put “cuisine de terroir” on the map, hyperlocally sourcing the foods from the land that have been the inspiration behind his award winning cooking. The Sportsman has held a Michelin star since 2008, but in The Sportsman at Home, he takes us

Cooking the Books LIVE: Anna Ansari Oct 30, 2025 55:17 This week, we’re with Anna Ansari, the American-Iranian author of Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing.We meet at Helm Gallery in Brighton’s North Laine, in front of a live audience which includes members of the Network of international Women whose debate about the culinary variations of Kuku from Iran and Iraq to Syria, Jordan and Yemen becomes particularly heated i

Sarah Bentley: We Cook Plants Oct 23, 2025 34:52 This week, we’re with Sarah Bentley, the brains behind Made in Hackney, and its brand new cookbook We Cook Plants.Made in Hackney is a charity founded 13 years ago by Sarah which teaches thousands the skills to cook with plants for survival, joy, and empowerment. It’s a glorious invitation to put more plants on your plate and be part of real food system change. Pop over to Gilly's Substack to see

Karen Newby: The Natural Menopause Method Cookbook Oct 16, 2025 29:34 This week, we’re revisiting The Natural Menopause Method with nutritionist, Karen NewbyWe first met Karen last year when she explained how to arm women with the information we need to dodge the drug industry, understand how food heals and to live in harmony with one of the natural events in our lives.  Have a listen to that episode of CTB here.This time, it's all about the cookbook as th

Amelia Christie-Miller: Full of Beans Oct 9, 2025 29:58 This week, we are all about the bean - again. It’s Publication Day for Full of Beans, the second cookbook from Amelia Christie-Miller, founder of Bold Bean co., and lead singer in the campaign to bring beans back onto the British plate. We first met Amelia at Cooking the Books Live at Groundswell this summer to talk about her first book, Bold Beans: recipes to get your pulse racing Now, with

Tamara Schiopu: My Vegan Farm Food Oct 2, 2025 32:01 This week, we’re off to a farm just outside London but which feels like it’s on a different planet, with Tamara Schiopu in My Vegan Farm Food.  Tolhurst Organic, a 20-acre farm on the Hardwick Estate, is a dream of how farming could be – and is about so much more than growing. This is about community, where the growers work the land and live on the river under the famous willows of

Ixta Belfrage: Fusao Sep 25, 2025 35:53 This week, we’re off to Brazil with food writer and former Ottolenghi chef, Ixta BelfrageHer latest book, Fusao meaning fusion, is about more than the melting pot of Brazil’s huge diasporic food cultures; it’s about who she is after a deep dive into her own ancestry, the histories of Brazil and her own connection with food as medicine. Gilly finds out if this weighty book, packed with stories and

Tim Siadatan: Padella Sep 18, 2025 34:36 This week, we’re with Tim Siadatan, the man behind one of the most iconic restaurants in London, Padella to chat about his eponymous debut cookbook.Tim started his journey in food on an apprentice scheme at Fifteen, with the most iconic of chefs, Jamie Oliver. From there, he rocketed through the food firmament from St John with Fergus Henderson to Moro with Sam and Sam Clarke, before setting up hi

Tara Wigley: How The Cookie Crumbles Sep 11, 2025 27:28 This week, we’re back with Cooking the Books favourite, Tara Wigley and the second in her brilliant series of culinary confusions, How the Cookie Crumbles.After co-writing the Ottolenghi big hitters with Yotam and other members of the Test Kitchen, she’s found her own niche in rhyme.  After How to Butter Toast charmed a whole new readership, she’s back with all we  wa

Chris Newens: Cooking the Books Live from Paris Sep 8, 2025 1:05:09 This week in a special extra episode, we’re live in Paris at the legendary Belleville bistrot Le Mistral with Chris Newens, the winner of the 2024 Jane Grigson Trust Award for best debut food writer for his gastronomic journey through the arrondissements of Paris, Moveable Feasts.The name of the book is a nod to Chris’ idol, Ernest Hemingway and his memoir of a struggling expat writer making

Mandy Yin: Simply Malaysian Sep 4, 2025 28:37 This week, we’re with yet another lawyer turned chef, Malaysian restaurateur and award-winning author of Sambal Shiok and now Simply Malaysian, Mandy Yin.She’s the super-driven restaurateur who started selling satay burgers at a street stall after getting burnt out in corporate law, and who went on to be lauded by all the food critics for her London laksa bar, Sambal Shiok.As a mum of a three year

Ghillie Basan: Food Whisky Life Aug 28, 2025 40:57 This week, we’re off to the Cairngorms of Scotland with anthropologist, food journalist and woman of the wilds, Ghillie Basan.After bringing the food of Turkey, Morocco, Lebanon, The Middle East, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Kenya to an international readership hungry for different flavours and food cultures, Ghillie's latest book, Food Whisky Life focuses more on her own life. It’s

Felicity Spector: Bread and War Aug 21, 2025 27:47 This week, we're with Channel 4 news writer, social media food influencer and nominee for the Jane Grigson Trust Sous Chef Award for debut food writing, Felicty Spector.Bread and War: A Ukrainian Story of Food, Bravery and Hope  is an exploration of the profound role of food in wartime Ukraine.  Felicity’s trips through devastated villages, bombed cities, family kitchens, and p

Carolina Doriti: The Greek Islands Cookbook Aug 14, 2025 27:41 This week, we’re off to the Greek Islands with chef and food historian, Carolina Doriti for a deeper dive into the stories of Greece through its food. Taking the tourist to see the traditions, the artisans and the produce of our favourite holiday islands, says Carolina, helps to connect them more with the food and the people, an essential element of sustainable travel. As she takes us th

Sami Tamimi: Boustany Aug 7, 2025 27:41 This week, we’re celebrating the food culture of Palestine with one of its most vocal champions, Sami TamimiSami’s first solo cookbook, Boustany, meaning 'my garden', is about the abundance of vegetarian recipes that make up the heart of Palestinian cooking. He and Yotam Ottolenghi, largely through their first book, Jerusalem have done more to bring the food of the Middle East to the world than an

Emily Scott: Home Shores Jul 31, 2025 29:02 This week, we’re off to Bordeaux with chef, author and friend of the podcast, Emily Scott to talk about fish in her latest book, Home Shores.After the kids have left home and as she faces a big birthday, Emily’s tells us how she's changing up her life. She may have left Cornwall where she was the first woman commissioned by the UK Cabinet Office to cook for royalty and world leaders at the G7

Elisabeth Luard: Classic Spanish Recipes Jul 24, 2025 29:08 This week, we’re back at Gilly's How to Cook Book food writing retreat at her house just outside Lewes in East Sussex with muse-in-residence, the grande dame of British food writing, Elisabeth Luard.After bringing the flavours of Spain to a British readership from the 1980s on, her Classic Spanish Recipes: 75 signature dishes is part of the Hamlyn Classic Recipes series celebrating 75 years o

Keshia Sakarah: Caribe Jul 17, 2025 26:56 This week, we’re with British-Caribbean writer, Keshia Sakarah whose debut cookbook, Caribe was shortlisted with Irina Janakievska and Dina for the Jane Grigson Trust Award in 2023. It's a history of Caribbean cooking with 125 recipes from 23 nations - from Montserrat to Haiti, Antigua to Guadaloupe, capturing the cultures through food in what this Leicester born young writer calls 'resi

Yasmin Khan: Sabzi Jul 10, 2025 28:59 This week, Gilly is with the British Iranian/Pakistani human rights activist and food and travel writer, Yasmin Khan to talk about her latest book, Sabzi.Sabzi, meaning greens and herbs in Persian, the language of her mother, and vegetables in Urdu, the language of her Pakistani father, is about how to reduce the amount of meat in our diet with delicious recipes from the Middle East, Mediterr

Cooking the Books Live from Groundswell Jul 5, 2025 52:49 In extra episode from Groundswell, the Regenerative Agriculture Festival that Sheila Dillon calls 'the Glastonbury of Food and Farming', Cooking the Books Live discusses the influence of cook books and books about food on changing the way we eat and buy our foodIn front of an audience of farmers and food businesses, pioneers and innovators who are changing the way we eat, Gilly asks a panel of wri

Gurd Loyal: Flavour Heroes Jul 3, 2025 40:46 This week, we’re back at Rockwater in Hove for Cooking the Books Live with Gurd Loyal.Regular listeners will know that Gurd is probably the writer who Gilly think's best uses the lens of food to examine life. His first book, Mother Tongue won the Jane Grigson Trust award for Best Debut, and he has become the word on Third Culture food, prising open the liminal spaces between where we come from and

Felicity Cloake: Peach Street to Lobster Lane Jun 26, 2025 35:21 This week, we’re with Guardian columnist and author Felicity Cloake as she cycles through America in search of its food culture.Peach Street to Lobster Lane is her great American road trip – on a bike. It’s the off-road trip that’s about getting to the heart of American cuisine via a glimpse into everyday life that you just can’t get by car.The story she finds is about immigration, colonisati

Olia Hercules: Strong Roots Jun 19, 2025 37:28 This week, we’re exploring the story of Ukraine with its most famous defender and cultural protector, Olia Hercules in her first memoir, Strong Roots.It’s the story of Ukraine that history can never tell, through the stories of its people - and in particular, Olia’s people, through four generations of her family.  Nigella calls it 'breathtaking', Caroline Eden calls it cinematic, Elisa

Andrea Oskis: The Kitchen Shrink Jun 12, 2025 26:39 This week, we're with award-winning psychologist, and graduate of Gilly's How to Cook a Book food writing retreat, Andrea Oskis.Her first book is a series of tales from her clinic exploring how the food we eat reveals who we are – and how we love. Its title? The Kitchen Shrink. Genius.Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Andrea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio

Tom Kerridge: The BBQ Book Jun 5, 2025 27:49 This week, Gilly is confronting her biggest summertime phobia with Tom Kerridge and his latest book, The Barbecue Book.He’s the man with the Midas touch – he turned the Hand and Flowers from a rundown pub in Buckinghamshire into the first and only 2 star Michelin pub in the world.  He’s the chef who lost a stack of weight and turned his diet story into books and telly which helped m

Bee Wilson: The Heart-Shaped Tin May 29, 2025 27:50 This week, we’re back with one of Gilly's favourite guests on Cooking the Books, Bee Wilson and her latest book, The Heart Shaped Tin.It’s a book about love and loss, and the magical thinking that so many of us transpose onto everyday objects, often found in the kitchen. As she navigates her way from the despair of a broken marriage to a gloriously happy present via the death of her mother and the

Noor Murad At Cooking the Books Live: Lugma May 22, 2025 37:02 This week, we’re basking in the evening sunshine at Cooking the Books Live at Rockwater, Hove with Noor Murad.Her debut cookbook, Lugma is her twist on the familiar, to use an Ottolenghi term, of the food from her homeland, Bahrain.It’s the very first international cookbook of Bahraini recipes, but reflects her own experiences of growing up there, the mix of Persian and Indian flavours infused wi

Julie Lin: Sama Sama May 15, 2025 32:39 This week, we're with Malaysian Scottish chef, restaurateur and now food writer, Julie Lin and her debut cookbook, Sama SamaSama Sama meaning Same Same is all about food and identity. It’s a book that has been simmering for years as Julie explores her same-same notions of home and all the ingredients of belonging that have come together in the hashtag third culture food. Pop over to Gilly's Substa

Rosie Kellett: In For Dinner May 8, 2025 32:30 This week, Gilly is with the queen of communal living an icon of bohemian anti-capitalism, Rosie Kellett.An actress, a baker with Meringue Girls and Claire Ptak’s assistant at Violet Cakes – which included working on Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake, it was moving into a Carpet Warehouse  in London that shot her to fame on Instagram. The idea of sharing the cost of living with h

Leyla Kazim: Pathways May 6, 2025 31:30 This week, in a special extra episode to coincide to the minute with a fascinating new way of publishing, I’m with content creation queen, Masterchef judge and co-presenter of The Food Programme, Leyla KazimLeyla’s debut Pathways is not one but two books about her massive life change to become a farmer in Portugal. It’s a memoir/manifesto/guide to living a purposeful life. Published

Stuart Gillespie: Food Fight May 1, 2025 31:48 This week, we’re talking about the dirty rotten scoundrels who run our global food industry with Dr Stuart GillespieStuart’s book Food Fight: From Plunder and Profit to People and Planet gives us the back story of a food system driven by greed and exploitation. But it suggests how to transform it into a food system fit for the future which prioritises global health and justice. And it starts with

Poppy Okotcha: A Wilder Way Apr 24, 2025 30:08 This week, we’re digging deep – culturally and politically - into our connection with the land in Poppy Okotcha’s A Wilder Way, how gardens grow us.Poppy is this year’s winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Sous Chef Award for New Food Writers for her memoir – and very practical handbook – about putting down roots and growing a garden while reconnecting with Mother Earth’s infinite power to r

Caroline Eden: Green Mountains Apr 17, 2025 31:17  This week, we're walking the Green Mountains of Armenia and Georgia with food and travel writer, Caroline EdenThe last time we met on CTB, it was to talk about Cold Kitchens, her dream of journeys past during Lockdown, as she tried to make sense of a changing world. This time, she’s putting one foot in front of the other to process the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on this still

Episodes

Recommended