Foodie thoughts

CHATS WITH CHEFS AND WARM SLICE OF GILLY

Food journalist Gilly Smith was an early adopter in British food podcasting, and was nominated for a Fortnum & Mason award in 2016 for the Delicious podcast.

She is the producer and presenter of, among others, Leon’s How to Eat to Save the Planet, the Borough Market podcast and her own Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith. Initially a radio and TV producer, she has written 17 books, mainly about the influence of food culture in its various forms, as well as articles for the national press and academic journals.

From 2021, Gilly will be running Cooking the Books retreats where some of her favourite food writers will talk in depth about their books with a small group of food fans. She’s got a warm, easy manner which brings the best out in her interviewees, and because food is such a common denominator they can’t help revealing more about themselves than they might do in a regular interview.

James Strawbridge, son of Dick (of

Escape to the Chateau fame), is an ecochef (and co-presents It’s Not Easy Being Green with his dad) and talks about his slightly chaotic childhood. “Dad was in the Army so we moved around a lot, but wherever he was posted we’d dig up the pristine lawn and plant vegetables, and we had goats and chickens which used to annoy some of the neighbours.

“Being self-taught is a lot different than being classically trained – for me it’s all about the ingredients and producers and learning everything from scratch. Dad taught me that it doesn’t need to be complicated.”

It’s free to subscribe to Cooking the Books; some of my favourite chats are with Yotam Ottolenghi, Tom Kerridge and writers Joanne Harris (inset) and Ben Myers, who talks about the fabulous food that has a star role in his novel The Offing which is set in Robin Hood’s Bay.

■ https://shows.acast.com/cookingthe-books

9) Which of these is neither a wine nor a wine producer? a) Colombo _______________________ b) Endeavour ______________________ c) Morse___________________________ d) Poirot ___________________________ e) Quincy __________________________

Q10

28) How would you get from Le Vieux Pin to Le Pin? a) Walk next door _________________ b) Head due south for 50 miles _____ c) Head west for 300 miles _________ d) Head east for around 5000 miles

29) Which grape is used to make Australia’s premium ‘sticky’ Rutherglen Muscat? a) Muscat Bleu ____________________ b) Moscato Giallo __________________ c) Muscat Fleur d’Oranger _________ d) Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains _____

30) Name and describe your favourite wine in no more than 40 words.

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