What first inspired you to start writing cookbooks, and how has your approach to cooking and recipe writing evolved over time?
I never really set out to write cookbooks. My sister Harry and I wanted to make something together that we could hold onto, and it grew from there. After each cookbook I’ve had another child, and Harry now has two, so the books have ended up documenting these different stages of our lives as much as they document the food I like to cook. I think my cooking has probably become simpler since having kids. I’m less interested in making something complicated and more interested in food that tastes really good and that people actually want to make.
Before the day begins, what does an ideal morning look and feel like for you?
Our days start early with three kids. My ideal morning would be one where we go down to the beach early before the sun gets too hot and pick up pastries on the way.
Does your morning begin in the kitchen? If so, what are you making for yourself these days?
Yes! My kitchen is a few steps from my bed. I always like to wipe the stove top down. Have a hot drink with Jack. I have been having porridge a lot lately, with lots of cream and brown sugar.
You recently released a new cookbook. What was this chapter of your creative journey like, and what did you hope to share with readers through these recipes, stories, and moments around the table?
This is our third cookbook and like the others, it feels like a document of this particular part of our lives. There are a lot more little ones around now. For us making the books has never just been about collecting recipes. It’s a project my sister and I get to work on together and something tangible that we can keep forever and eventually pass on to our families. I hope people actually cook from it, get it dirty, write in it and have it sitting in their kitchen rather than treating it as something too precious.
Food and beauty both invite us to slow down and pay attention. Do you see a relationship between the way you nourish your body and the way you move through the world, cultivating beauty in your everyday life?
I don’t know if I consciously think about either of those things that way. For me nourishment is probably being around the people I love. Having friends over, sunshine, swimming, travelling, cooking and having time where there isn’t too much planned. I love the Moomin books by Tove Jansson and there’s a line I love: “I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream!” That sounds pretty good to me.
Your recipes feel both approachable and deeply personal. How do you create that sense of warmth and invitation for the home cook?
I don’t think I consciously try to. I just write recipes for food that I actually cook and want to eat. I love simple food and I don’t think great food needs to be complicated. I first went to Greece when I was 19 and was blown away by how simple the food could be and how delicious it tasted. That has really stayed with me. If you start with good ingredients, you often don’t need to do very much to them.
Beyond cooking, what are some of the simple rituals that help you reconnect with yourself when life feels especially full?
Swimming. Being outside. Pilates. Cooking something. Seeing friends. Travelling whenever we can. I don’t know if I would call them rituals though they’re just the things that make me happy and make life feel good.
What role do the senses—taste, smell, texture, sound, even the rhythm of cooking—play in your creative process?
I’m always tasting things as I cook and I love texture. I also love how a kitchen feels when something has been cooking for hours or when everyone is sitting around while you’re finishing dinner. I don't really separate those things from cooking, they're all part of it.
How has your definition of beauty changed over the years? What feels beautiful to you today that perhaps didn't years ago?
I think I appreciate things that are imperfect much more than I used to. Our house is full of things Jack has built, things we’ve collected, things people have given us. I like when a home feels like somebody actually lives there.
Having children probably changed that too. Nothing stays perfect for very long, so you learn to find beauty in things being used and loved rather than kept pristine. Digby grated the edge of our Alvar Aalto not long ago, but it will always remind me of him being 3.
If you could invite someone to your table for a slow morning breakfast, who would it be, and what would you make?
Probably my family and friends. I live away from my family, so having everyone I love around the same table would be the best.
Omelettes! We have lots of chooks and lots of eggs and they’re quick to make and we love them.
What are 3 pantry staples you never want to be without?
Good olive oil, sea salt and lemon.
When people close one of your cookbooks, what feeling—or way of living—do you hope they carry into the rest of their day?
I hope they put it down on the kitchen bench and cook something from it!
I’d love for the books to make people feel that cooking doesn’t need to be complicated. Make something with love, invite some people over and don’t worry too much about everything being perfect.
As you look toward what’s next, what ideas, dreams, or projects are quietly beginning to take shape that you’re excited to bring to life?
At the moment we’re about to move into a house that we’ve been helping renovate for a while, so I’m really excited about making that feel like home. We’re also moving an old very old onto the property we live in and renovating it, so there are lots of things we are thinking about. Creatively, I never really know what’s next until I start doing it. I’ve never been good at having plans or goals.
CARTER'S EDIT
I loveeee the smell of this! It’s my favourite face mist and use it multiple times throughout the day.
I’m not drinking coffee at home at the moment, so I’ve been loving hojicha as well as matcha. It’s earthy and comforting and I love it, and matcha too.
This is the biggest treat for me. It’s sweet and I love the flavours! I wish it came in a bigger bag.
Such a handy way to have good matcha when I’m away. I travel quite so I love being able to take these with me and still have matcha wherever I am.