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Gilly Smith
Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith is the winner of The Guild of Food Writers' Best Broadcast or Podcast Award 2022, and was shortlisted for Fortnum and Mason Best Podcast 2022 and 2024.It's about all of life from climate change to culture and politics to people through the prism of food. It's for foodie book lovers who want to hear something more profound about the way we live, making the link between delicious food and the impact of food production on the land - through books.Hear how A-lister food writers have changed the conversation about food as Gilly talks through their four chosen food moments from their latest books. As she joins the dots between stories from the old country and food identity, plant-based recipes and climate change, she shows how a deeper connection with food really could save the planet.Listen to all your favourite food writers from Claudia Roden to Yotam Ottolenghi, Sheila Dillon to Anna Jones, Prue Leith to Elisabeth Luard, Gill Meller to Ravinder Bhogal, Dan Barber to Raymond Blanc as Gilly finds what's cooking in the minds of our food writing stars.Do support the podcast by subscribing, and PLEASE leave a review. You can do this by clicking HERE for the link to Apple Podcasts, click on Listen on Apple Podcasts under the show title and then click on Rating and Reviews! Thank you so much.For more information and to join the mailing list, visit Gilly SmithCooking the Books with Gilly Smith is rated in the top 2.5% of global podcasts by ListenNotes and in the top 40 of food podcasts globally by FeedSpotTheme music by Willy ZygierGilly Smith is also the presenter of the delicious. podcast and Leon's How to Eat to Save the Planet which was highly commended in the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2021. She won the Investigative Food Work Award for Right2Food (now known as the Food Foundation Podcast) in the same awards.She also produced The Big Table for Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, and is the multi-award winning author of Taste and the TV Chef: how storytelling can save the planet (Intellect Books 2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Rice: The Midlife Method
This week, Gilly talks to Sam Rice, co-author with Mimi Spencer of The Midlife Kitchen whose new book The Midlife Method offers a more holistic approach to the way we eat as we get older. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
25:0528/01/2021
Sam Gates: The Batch Cook
This week, Gilly is with Sam Gates’ whose Batch Cook Book went straight to number one on Amazon when it came out at the end of last year. It's a sure sign that people are desperate for tips on how to get the most out of their Lockdown cook ups but also, perhaps it's an indicator of an interest in reducing waste. Plus the last of the soundbites from this year’s online version of the Oxford Real Farming Conference which you can now watch for free at orfc.org.uk, Dr Vandana Shiva, a modern day revolutionary who takes on the biggest companies in the world in her fight against Big Tech in the food industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27:2621/01/2021
Razzak Mirjan and Tom Cenci: From Beder's Kitchen
This week, as we head towards Blue Monday, the day when the credit card bills hit the door mat and midwinter can feel very bleak indeed, Gilly meets Razzak Mirjan whose recipe book From Beder’s Kitchen raises awareness around mental health as a tribute to his brother, Beder who took his own life. Razzak and chef,Tom Cenci talk about food and mood, mental health in the professional kitchen and the outpouring of love from the food community for the project.And listen in to Anna Lappe at the top of the show. Anna is one of the most influential and inspiring speakers on climate and food in the world, and previews her talk at this year’s online version of the Oxford Real Farming Conference: Spinning Food: PR Tactics Industry Uses to Shape the Story of Food. You can watch the whole conference after Jan 13th on the ORFC youtube channel or by going to orfc.org. And do find out all abhut Anna and her extraordinary work at annalappe.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21:5914/01/2021
Pinch of Nom: Quick and Easy
This week, Gilly talks to Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone, two former restaurant owners from the Wirral who have made simple, healthy food accessible to millions of people who never learned to cook. What started as a WeightWatcher’s blog has became a triple whammy cookbook sensation, and here they take us through their four food moments from the latest in the series, Pinch of Nom: Quick and Easy. And throughout this season, we'll hear from the Oxford Real Farming Conference where the most inspiring speakers in the world on food and climate like Naomi Klein, Vandana Shiva, Guy Singh-Watson and Anna Lappe join the dots of an increasingly food-shaped world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30:0907/01/2021
Carolyn Steel: Sitopia
This week, Gilly talks with the visionary writer, architect and philosopher, Carolyn Steel whose book Sitopia was one of 2020’s most important reads. Through four food moments tracing right back to the beginning of civilisation, Carolyn redraws the lines around a food-shaped world, joining the dots in the history of how we eat, and pointing out where the breaks began which left us fighting to save the planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35:2031/12/2020
Trine Hahnemann: Scandinavian Green
This Christmas week, Gilly talks with Danish food writer and activist chef, Trine Hahnemann about a gloriously plant-based, uncommercial hygge Christmas in her latest book Scandinavian Green. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33:1424/12/2020
The Rangoon Sisters: Authentic Burmese Home Cooking
This week, Gilly talks to doctors, food writers and supper club hosts Emily and Amy Chung, aka The Rangoon Sisters about the four food moments from their debut cookbook, which is number 8 in the Observer Food Monthly’s top ten food books of 2020. The sisters have been cooking up their Burmese family food since their first visit back to the old country in 2012, and find the food from their diaspora has hit the spot with a much wider community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
22:4317/12/2020
Lara Lee: Coconut and Sambal
This week, Gilly is off to Indonesia with Australian caterer and food writer, Lara Lee to explore food and identity in her debut cook book, Coconut and Sambal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34:3310/12/2020
Christine Smallwood: The World Vegetarian - Italy
This week, Italian food expert, Christine Smallwood takes Gilly Smith through the markets and osterias of Puglia to the cool new restaurants of Milan and childhood memories of Ischia as she discusses the place of the vegetable in Italian cuisine.This season is sponsored by Odysea whose range of Mediterranean foods are just what we need to get through a COVID winter. This week, home mixologist and Bake Off star, Tom Gilliford talks us through why molasses are a delicious alternative to refined sugar in your cocktails this Christmas. Music by Willy Zygier Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32:4703/12/2020
The Pie Room: Calum Franklin
This week, Gilly Smith chats to Pie Man, Calum Franklin about the four food moments in his new book The Pie Room. We learn how he pulled out pies from the depths of British culinary history and turned them into a story that has captivated his 120k followers on Instagram, had super star chef Thomas Keller send his teams over from California to watch and learn and beaten Jamie Oliver to the top spot on Amazon Books.This season is sponsored by Odysea whose range of Mediterranean foods are just what we need to get through a COVID winter. This week, Susana Perez of Susana and Daughters on the Cowdray Estate tells us about the health properties of kefir, and we learn about the goats from the foothills of Menikio mountain in Northern Greece who produce the milk for Odysea's kefir. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38:1926/11/2020
Tom Kerridge: The Hand and Flowers Cookbook
This week, Gilly Smith talks to Tom Kerridge about the four food moments from his brand new book, The Hand and Flowers Cookbook. Expect insider tips on getting a first Michelin star, Instagram’s influence on curious young chefs and for a masterclass in Elizabeth David’s original crème brulee. This season is sponsored by Odysea whose range of Mediterranean foods are just what we need to get through a COVID winter. This week, honey sommelier, Sarah Wyndham Lewis at Bermondsey Street Bees tells us about Odysea's raw honeys, Pine and Fir Tree and Greek Oak Tree raw honeys which have both been certified as high sources of the mineral manganese which boosts the metabolism and keeps your bones in good nick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39:0219/11/2020
Mimi Aye: Mandalay
This week, Gilly is transported to Burma and the deeply exotic hills of the land of rubies through the childhood memories and family stories in MiMi Aye's beautiful book, Mandalay.This season is sponsored by Odysea whose range of Mediterranean foods are just what we need to get through a COVID winter. This week, we learn about Odysea's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, produced from polyphenol rich olives from groves in Messinia in the Kalamata region, where the olives are still harvested by hand. The oil is cold extracted within hours of the olives being picked to ensure the flavour and health benefits remain. Served with food, the pepperiness and the slightest almond skin bitterness is a delicious and vital part of your healthy diet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39:2512/11/2020
Theo Michaels: Rustica
This week, Gilly Smith is back in the Mediterranean – virtually of course - with Theo Michaels whose latest book Rustica explores the recipes of his family's village life in Cyprus.It's all sponsored this month by Montezuma’s, Britain’s greatest little chocolate company who believe that their beautifully produced and packaged chocolate is positively good for the planet. The ethically-sourced ingredients in their bars, buttons, bites and truffles are all free from gluten, GM, colourings and preservatives and every product is also delivered in packaging that’s either recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable, making this a chocolate company with a conscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34:5822/10/2020
James Strawbridge: The Artisan Kitchen
This week, Gilly escapes to the Cornish countryside (virtually, of course) with TV presenter and eco chef, James Strawbridge whose BBC series It’s Not Easy Being Green with dad, Dick Strawbridge of Escape to the Chateau fame, was way ahead of its time. It's all sponsored this month by Montezuma’s, Britain’s greatest little chocolate company who believe that their beautifully produced and packaged chocolate is positively good for the planet. The ethically-sourced ingredients in their bars, buttons, bites and truffles are all free from gluten, GM, colourings and preservatives and every product is also delivered in packaging that’s either recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable, making this a chocolate company with a conscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31:0915/10/2020
Rukmini Iyer: The Roasting Tin Around the World
This week Gilly is with the food writer who has sold more food books than anyone else in the UK after the Pinch of Noms, Jamie Oliver, Mary Berry and Joe Wicks. Rukmini Iyer’s Roasting Tin series does just what it says; it roasts in one tin the kind of inspiring and easy flavours that look and taste so good that the country can’t get enough. She gives Gilly her four favourite food moments from the latest in the series, The Roasting Tin Around the World.CTB is sponsored this month by Montezuma’s, Britain’s greatest little chocolate company who believe that their beautifully produced and packaged chocolate is positively good for the planet. The ethically-sourced Fair Trade ingredients in their bars and buttons are all free from gluten, GM, colourings and preservatives and every product is also delivered in packaging that’s either recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable, making this a chocolate company with a conscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24:4908/10/2020
Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage: Flavour
This week, the king of vegetables, Yotam Ottolenghi and his test kitchen princess, Ixta Belfrage teach us some of the secrets of the alchemy behind the recipes in their latest book, FlavourCTB is sponsored this month by Montezuma’s, Britain’s greatest little chocolate company who believe that their beautifully produced and packaged chocolate is positively good for the planet. The ethically-sourced ingredients in their bars, buttons, bites and truffles are all free from gluten, GM, colourings and preservatives and every product is also delivered in packaging that’s either recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable, making this a chocolate company with a conscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28:4201/10/2020
Isabel Losada: The Joyful Environmentalist
Author Isabel Losada talks through the four food moments in her latest book The Joyful Environmentalist, a romp through how low we can go with our carbon footprint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24:4824/09/2020
Tom Hunt: Eating for Pleasure, People and Planet
Eco chef Tom Hunt’s root to fruit philosophy has made him the king of sustainability in the food world. His restaurant, Poco Tapas in Bristol is a showcase of sustainable cuisine and his new book, Eating for Pleasure, People and Planet is a manifesto for getting our climate balance right. Gilly Smith whose book Taste and the TV Chef: how storytelling can save the planet is out this month, finds out how to make the changes we need to make save the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39:0217/09/2020
Felicity Cloake: One More Croissant for the Road
This week, in the last of our summer holiday listens, Gilly Smith saddles up for Felicity Cloake's four food moments in her book One More Croissant for the Road, and a deep dive into the best of French gastronomy...by bike.This month Cooking the Books is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. With 7 stores across London, they offer a huge range of products that lead the way in quality, specialty and vegan diets. Head over to @wholefoodsuk or check out @alexandradudley for more information on the Mindful Moments campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32:1227/08/2020
Irini Tzortzoglou: Under the Olive Tree
This week, Gilly Smith is, virtually, in Crete with MasterChef 2019 winner, Irini Tzortzoglou whose four food moments take us through her debut cook book Under the Olive Tree. Packed with stories of family and feasting, this is her extraordinary journey from rural Crete to the City of London and back to the food of her home, but this time as a champion. This month Cooking the Books is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. With 7 stores across London, they offer a huge range of products that lead the way in quality, specialty and vegan diets. Head over to @wholefoodsuk or check out @alexandradudley for more information on the Mindful Moments campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30:1320/08/2020
Skye McAlpine: A Table for Friends
This week we’re off to Venice with food writer and columnist and Venetian local, Skye McAlpine to hear her four food moments from her latest book A Table for Friends.This month Cooking the Books is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. With 7 stores across London, they offer a huge range of products that lead the way in quality, specialty and vegan diets. Head over to @wholefoodsuk or check out @alexandradudley for more information on the Mindful Moments campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31:1913/08/2020
The Official Giffords Circus Cookbook: Ols Halas
This week, Gilly runs away with the circus as Ols Halas, chef at Gifford's Circus restaurant Sauce and co-author with Nell Gifford of its official cookbook walks her through the glittering capes and pointy-toed ponies to peak behind life in the big tent.This episode is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. With 7 stores across London, they offer a huge range of products that lead the way in quality, specialty and vegan diets. Head over to @wholefoodsuk or check out @alexandradudley for more information on the Mindful Moments campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
23:4406/08/2020
Ana Ros: Sun and Rain
This week, Gilly Smith takes us - by the magic of remote recording - on a summer holiday to Slovenia, to the magical land of turquoise rivers and Dalmatian montains to visit top chef Ana Ros at her gourmet restaurant, Hisa Franko. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39:4430/07/2020
Gill Meller: Root,Stem, Leaf, Flower
This week, Gilly talks to food writer and River Cottage chef Gill Meller about the four food moments from his new book Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower that ponder on his relationship with food and the land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27:4223/07/2020
William Sitwell: The Restaurant
This week William Sitwell, restaurant critic at the Telegraph, host of the podcast Biting Talk and author of The Restaurant takes us through the history not just of eating out but the story of human life through the prism of how we’ve learned to eat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30:5916/07/2020
Ravinder Bhogal: Jikoni
Award-winning food writer, journalist and chef Ravinder Bhogal gives us her four favourite food moments from her new book Jikoni: proudly inauthentic recipes from an immigrant kitchen. Expect clucking aunties in dusty sandals and ancient pickle-makers with guard geese, wronged widows and the glee of ghee. Glorious stuff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
40:0509/07/2020
Olia Hercules: Summer Kitchens
Olia Hercules, author of the award-winning Mamushka and Kaukasis takes us through four food moments from her latest book Summer Kitchens and paints an evocative picture of her Ukrainian childhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38:2202/07/2020
Priya Basil: Be My Guest
This week, Gilly Smith talks food philosophy with novelist and essayist, Priya Basil whose book, Be My Guest was shortlisted for this year’s Fortnum and Mason best debut food book award and is an evocative exploration of food, race and memory. Sponsored by http://www.city-books.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32:2228/05/2020
Jeff Gordinier: Hungry
This week, Gilly is (virtually) in Manhattan in the home of Jeff Gordinier, former New York Times journalist and author of Hungry, to retrace the footsteps of what must be one of the best food journalist gigs ever, a rock ‘n’ roll road trip with Rene Redzepi, the greatest chef in the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
50:0521/05/2020
Joanne Harris: The Strawberry Thief
This week, Gilly Smith talks to author Joanne Harris twenty years after she first fell in love with Vianne, Anouk and Roux in Chocolat and then couldn’t wait to find them again in The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur le Cure and now The Strawberry Thief, the latest in the Chocolat series. Sponsored by http://www.city-books.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39:2114/05/2020
Jo Thomas: Escape to the French Farmhouse
This week, Gilly talks to award-winning author Jo Thomas whose Escape to the French Farmhouse is the perfect Lockdown read to transport you to Provence this summer as our heroine Della reminds us of the lost art of cooking with lavender. Sponsored by http://www.city-books.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33:5507/05/2020
Sara Paretsky: Dead Land
Guest presenter, Elizabeth Perry, aka E.C Reads on Instagram talks to Sara Paretsky about the food moments in Dead Land, the latest in the series to feature her private detective V.I. Warshawski. When Indemnity Only, the first, was published in 1982, Paretsky revolutionised the genre with this tough-talking female private eye, and in 2002 won the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Elizabeth has been reading her since she was 14 and admits that she is massive nerd-level fan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28:0230/04/2020
Benjamin Myers: The Offing
This week Gilly Smith chats (remotely) with award-winining author, Benjamin Myers whose success with his previous novels, particularly The Gallows Pole has given him the accolade of the most powerful new voices in literature. In this, his eighth novel, The Offing, he tells a Homeric tale of Robert, a 16 year old boy who sets out across 1950’s Yorkshire to Robin Hood’s Bay and finds a gloriously long summer of food, poetry and an unlikely freidnship with an eccentric and artistic older woman called Dulcie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34:2323/04/2020
Kate Young: The Little Library Cookbook
Australian food writer, cook and bookworm Kate Young talks to Gilly Smith about the four food moments in the most important books of her life. From The Chamomile Lawn to The Secret Garden, Kate remembers the food on the plates of the characters in her inner world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24:2916/04/2020
Henrietta Lovell: Infused
Henrietta Lovell takes us through the four food moments that add extra flavour to her book Infused, a story of rare tea, adventure, resilience, courage and deep, deep pleasure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33:1609/04/2020
Ingrid Persaud: Love after Love
Short story queen Ingrid Persaud takes us through the four food moments in her debut novel, Love After Love, the much anticipated Faber super-lead written in Trinidadian prose which tackles the questions of who and how we can love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28:4702/04/2020
Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley: Falastin
Gilly Smith has lunch with Ottolenghi's Executive Chef Sami Tamimi and his co-author of Falastin, Tara Wigley to find the four food moments that tell their story of their new book about Sami's homeland of Palestine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33:0026/03/2020
Miranda Gore Brown: Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can
Series 1 finalist of The Great British Bake Off, Miranda Gore-Brown chooses four recipes to talk through her adventures in baking. A bittersweet story about so much more than cake. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27:0919/03/2020
Ryan Riley: Life Kitchen
Food entrepreneur and author of Life Kitchen Ryan Riley talks through the four food moments which brought taste, flavour and the joy of eating back to thousands of people living with cancer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33:0312/03/2020
Romy Gill: Zaika
Chef, author and new presenter of BBC's Ready Steady Cook, Romy Gill chooses four food moments that take her back to the childhood in West Bengal which inspired her debut cookbook, Zaika, and led her to become one of BBC TV's latest TV chefs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35:1105/03/2020
Melissa Hemsley: Eat Green
Green queen Melissa Hemsley gives us the four food moments from Eat Green that net zeroed her life, and shows us how clearing out the back of the fridge can be a delicious way to save the planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
37:3727/02/2020
Kiran Millwood Hargrave: The Mercies
Award winning children’s writer Kiran Millwood Hargrave tells us about the food that puts the flesh on the bones of the women in her first adult novel The Mercies, a story of love, evil, and obsession based on the 1621 witch trials Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35:2320/02/2020
Olivia Potts: A Half Baked Idea
Olivia Potts talks through the food of grief in her tender, funny and moreish memoir, A Half-Baked Idea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35:0712/02/2020