Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

337 Episodes

Reverse

Noor Murad At Cooking the Books Live: Lugma

2025-05-2237:02

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 with her own half Britishness and a brash of new York where she worked before landing in the bosom of the Ottolenghi family.Click here for tickets to the next Cooking the Books Live with Gurd Loyal, and then pop over to Gilly's Substack for the fascinating Q&A with the audience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bee Wilson: The Heart-Shaped Tin

2025-05-2927:50

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 inevitable life changes that happen as children grow up, she gathers stories and explores the psychology about our relationship with things – the junk and the treasure – in her most moving book so far. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Bee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julie Lin: Sama Sama

2025-05-1532:39

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 Substack for Extra Bites of Julie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leyla Kazim: Pathways

2025-05-0631:30

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 by The Pound Project, it goes on sale for three weeks only, from 7pm on May 6th - 27th May. She’s in good company - Jess Phillips MP, Dolly Alderton, Pandora Sykes, Emma Gannon, Sebastian Faulks, Charlie Mackesy, Rita Ora, Richard and Scarlett Curtis are just some of her fellow authors. She tells us about disruption in life, the food system and publishing!You can purchase the book from the following link, which goes live at 19:00 on May 6th: https://www.poundproject.co.uk/shop/pathways Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Turvil: Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears

2026-09-1727:56

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 Taste and the TV Chef. As Andrew curated the story in the Good Food Guide from a consumer guide’s point of view, they discuss where the narratives coincide. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Andrew, and if you'd like to support CTB which is advertising and sponsorship free, contribute whatever you like via this link, or become a paid subscriber on Substack which gives you access to Second Helpings, monthly Zooms with a CTB guest, and a massive archive of Gilly's articles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#box-pro-ellipsis-178978381281460{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith