Raising spirits on the road

Meet the driver who cooks Good Food recipes in his truck

Food can bring us together in even the most unusual circumstances, and after a shoutout on our Good Food Together Facebook group, we wanted to highlight someone who’s bringing joy to the community by documenting his meals on-the-go.

Member Kirsty wrote to us about truck driver Robert Booth from Dover, who has been reading Good Food magazine for 15 years. ‘He posts about his adventures and shares the culinary delights he conjures up in his cab. He keeps us all laughing,’ she told us. Although

Robert spends five days a week away from home, working long hours and often sleeping in his truck, he’s become something of a celebrity on the page by posting daily pictures of what he’s cooking alongside uplifting stories about his life on the road. ‘In the truck, I don’t have access to an oven

– I use a small gas stove, so most of my meals have to be cooked in saucepans’, he explains. ‘I’ve managed to make pasta dishes, a Goan fish curry and the chicken arrabbiata stew from the January issue. Making a scone in the truck using a saucepan and some foil was a challenge – it took me days to get rid of all the flour!’

Robert says he’s ‘not socialmedia-savvy’, but first posted on the group to raise awareness of the border closures in Dover last year. ‘I wanted to highlight the efforts to feed the stranded drivers – they’re my colleagues. Many of us don’t speak the same language, but food unites everyone.’ He adds, ‘Other drivers often ask me where I’m parking up for the night so they can join me. I’m stunned at the response I’ve had. As long as people enjoy my writing, I’ll carry on.’ You can join the Good Food community at facebook.com/bbcgoodfoodtogether.