Show Notes
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, Kensington Place was all about being seen eating the coolest food in late century London, fashioned by his time with Roux Brothers in the kitchens of Le Gavroche and le Poulbot, and Joe Allen, Covent Garden’s post theatre supper hang out. Gilly asks how that melting pot created one of the greatest stories of modern British food.
Five out of seven of the shortlist have already been on the show. Click on the links below for the episodes.
Julian Baggini: How the World Eats: Where Our Food Comes From and Why It Matters Alissa Timoshkina: Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe Noor Murad: Lugma: Abundant Dishes And Stories From My Middle East Richard Hart: Richard Hart Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking Bee Wilson: The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects Robin Sherriff: The Science of Fermentation La Mesa Mexicana: Rosa Cienfuegos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith
This week, we’re with Alissa Timoshkina and her third cookbook about Eastern Europe, Lozhka.
This week, we're with the award-winning Australian novelist, Charlotte Wood and her ode to cooking and food, Love and Hunger.
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.
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 meet Nick Saltmarsh and Josiah Meldrum of Hodmedods to talk about the magic of beans in their debut cookbook Whole Food.