Wooing each other with food
Duo talk to Lauren Taylor about cooking for a clan of seven
Think Sophie Ellis-Bextor and you probably start humming early-Noughties hit Murder On The Dancefloor, or remember the unadulterated joy she brought during lockdown with her live ‘kitchen discos’ on Instagram – performing tunes in sequinned outfits in her family playroom, often stepping over toys, children and wires.
But you may not know that her talents extend to the kitchen too.
In fact, when she first met her husband Richard Jones (bassist from pop band The Feeling), a mutual love of cooking was one of things they bonded over.
“We wooed each other with food really,” says Ellis-Bextor – her ability to cook a great piece of meat even coaxed Jones off the pescatarian wagon on an early date in 2002 (“I gently persuaded him to start eating meat…”). “She cooked me duck!” Jones interludes.
“Because he already ate fish, I thought maybe we can go to the surface of the water,” says the 43-year-old singer, laughing.
For their first Valentine’s Day together, Jones rustled up a lobster casserole.
“We like cooking for each other but if that’s happening, [Sophie] doesn’t like me touching anything she’s cooking,” says Jones.
“No, that’s annoying,” Ellis-Bextor jibes.
“A bit like if we DJ together and she’s doing a mix and I reach over and tweak it slightly – she’s like, stop it,” Jones continues.
Still, being a good cook isn’t that different to being a good musician, insists Jones.
“Putting in various elements, like the drums, bass, percussion and vocals when you’re building a song, a meal is very much the same kind of thing, you’ re buildingaround the pa late from the bottom end and the bass notes to the top end, where the vocals are in the spice and acids and vinegars and lemon juice.”
“You’re saying my voice is like vinegar?” Ellis Jones, interjects, laughing.
“Like a fine wine,” Jones reasons with a smile.
Naturally, music is always playing in their kitchen. Definitely not their own though: “That would be like having a mirror opposite you as you cook,” says Ellis-Bextor.
But their debut cookbook – Love. Food. Family. – comes complete with playlists they love to cook to.
They got married in Italy in 2005 and became parents shortly after. Now they have five – Sonny, 18, Kit, 13, Ray, 10, Jessie, six, and three-year-old Mickey – so there are many mouths to feed.
“As everything evolved and we had more and more kids, [cooking] sort of became part of our family, like how do we feed this massive family every day?” Jones says, adding that they “both find cooking relaxing and therapeutic”.
Big, generous, easy-to-make family feasts are the running theme the cookbook.
lLove. Food. Family: Recipes From The Kitchen Disco by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Richard Jones is published by Hamlyn, priced £20.