‘Cooking is when I truly relax’
Television presenter Ruth Langsford lives in Surrey with her broadcaster husband Eamonn Holmes and their son Jack, 18
‘Ihave lots of things in my kitchen that remind me of my family. My mum moved into a smaller home near us in 2019 and has passed on cookware that once belonged to her mum. It’s all so reassuringly familiar: I love the big fish kettle, some old jelly moulds, and a white enamel dish with a blue rim that was used to make apple pie. I also have Grandma’s copy of Mrs Beeton’s Cookery Book with her handwritten notes in the margins, which is so special. But my most treasured possession is an unopened jar of my late dad’s honey – he was a beekeeper – and it still has the label with his name on it. It must be 15 years old, but I bet the honey is still delicious!
MAKING MEMORIES
We were an army family, so we were often moving around when my sister and I were growing up, but the kitchen was the hub of every home we lived in and cooking was an important part of that. One of my earliest memories is in Berlin when I was about six, standing at the stove making chicken noodle soup from a Knorr packet; there’s a photo of me from that time smiling at the camera, wooden spoon in hand. My mum was a great cook and I learned from her by osmosis. I’ve always sort of known what looks, tastes and smells right.
I was never one for microwave meals, even when I was single. When I got my first job 40 years ago, as a transmissions assistant on Television South West, I had a flat in Plymouth and my tiny kitchen was a hive of activity. I made lots of soup using my grandma’s old pressure cooker and I loved having dinner parties. I’d make something like boeuf bourguignon, and for pudding I’d soak gingernut biscuits in sherry, then stick them together and cover them with cream and chocolate shavings – very posh!
Needless to say, I still enjoy entertaining friends in our kitchen, which is a big, open-plan space. My style is very casual and relaxed these days; as you get older, you stop worrying about trying to impress. That’s not to say
I don’t bother. I always cook at least one of the courses, though I might do a cheese board after the main course, and I love making the table look nice. But what really matters is having a good time together, isn’t it?
During lockdown, I missed having pals over, but worse than that was not being able to see my mum. She usually comes to us for Sunday lunch and that’s always so lovely. We have coffee and do the crossword together, then she’ll help me prep all the veg and get things ready. That was the toughest part of it all.
At the beginning of lockdown, I went into practical mode. I used up what we had in the freezer, and got very inventive with storecupboard ingredients, making everything from tomato and olive pasta sauce to ratatouille. I became very resourceful, too: I’d make breadcrumbs from stale slices of bread, and grate and freeze bits of leftover cheese.
I’m at my happiest in the kitchen when I have a bit of time to myself, and Eamonn and Jack are off doing something, or watching the football together. I turn up the music and totally lose myself in a proper batch-cooking session. I love browsing through all my cookbooks for inspiration, too, although I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I’m quite an instinctive cook and never too precise. That’s probably why I’m no good at baking – I get a bit bored measuring all the ingredients out!
Sunday lunch, when we all sit down together as a family, is very important to us: along with his mum’s Irish stew, Eamonn’s favourite meal is undoubtedly my roast. I love cooking a chicken with all the trimmings, including Yorkshire puddings, and if I say it myself, I make a very good gravy, just like my grandmother did. Then we might have an apple pie with custard or cream. For me, cooking is a way of showing love. And making something nice that’s appreciated is always lovely.’
I think you can always tell a kitchen that’s really lived in and enjoyed