Olivia Potts is a former criminal barrister who retrained as a pastry chef. She co-hosts The Spectator’s Table Talk podcast and writes Spectator Life's The Vintage Chef column. A chef and food writer, she was winner of the Fortnum and Mason's debut food book award in 2020 for her memoir A Half Baked Idea.
I unironically love Easter eggs. I love the posh, fancy ones, the high street ones, the budget ones. From the sublime to the ridiculous, I have time and space in my heart for all of them. My husband is sick of hearing my grand theory that Easter egg chocolate is, in fact, the best of
When it comes to cooking, I make no secret of the fact that I’m something of a traditionalist: I like old-fashioned steamed puddings, I like the classic and the heritage. I like blancmange and rice pudding and suet. I am unashamedly unfashionable. I’m not sure whether I chose the Vintage Chef recipe writing life, or
We are lucky to live in an age of domestic culinary convenience: whatever your heart desires, there’s an appliance, gizmo or specific spoon for it. Want to make cakes in the shape of a shoe? Not a problem. Need twenty different ways to crush garlic? Your needs can be met. Looking for a boiled egg,
19 min listen
Geordie Willis is the creative director and brand experiences director of Berry Brothers and Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine merchants. He is the eighth generation of his family to work in the business, which was founded in 1698. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about his grandmother’s homemade mayonnaise, being kicked out of the
I don’t often find myself longing for the industrial rigours of a factory when I’m baking in my kitchen at home. But as I patted the squiggle of fig paste with wet hands, corralling it into a rough sausage shape I thought ruefully of Charles Roser of Philadelphia and his patent for a fig roll
I am an unapologetic pudding pusher. Now, by pudding, I don’t simply mean that more people should eat dessert – although I do think we might feel a little more sweetly-disposed towards others if that were the case – but the peculiarly British tradition of steamed sponge puddings. Once terribly popular, now they are criminally
36 min listen
Max Halley is one of Britain’s pre-eminent sandwich aficionados. He is the founder of Max’s Sandwich Shop, and the author of Max’s Picnic Book. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about being exposed to obscure ingredients, working in a pudding factory, and the six essential components in every great sandwich. This episode is
St David’s Day approaches. I’ve been marking just about every high day and holiday that I possibly can recently, in a bid to differentiate my lockdown days. But with a Welsh husband and Welsh in-laws, I don’t need any extra encouragement to celebrate St David’s Day. Joining the obligatory Welsh cakes, and possibly some bara
Now that there’s a chill in the air and it’s getting dark at 4pm, it’s time to turn to those comforting winter staples that get us through the bleaker months of the year. And with lockdown 2.0 in full swing, we have never needed these satisfying dishes more: Braised lamb shanks Lamb shanks are one
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it a little hard to get out of my own head, these days. I’m trying not to think about how long life has felt stalled, how many days we have spent inside the same four walls, save for a daily constitutional, how many more we have to
18 min listen
Eliot Higgins is an investigative journalist. He is the founder of Bellingcat, a platform specialising in open source intelligence. Bellingcat is known for its work on the Syrian civil war, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and the Salisbury poisonings. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of custard,
In Britain, we mark the beginning of Lent with pancakes. Although nowadays relatively few of us strictly observe the Lenten dietary traditions which prohibit the eating of dairy and meat in the lead up to Easter, we happily leap on the annual opportunity to eat breakfast for dinner: sales of lemons and caster sugar soar,
This week I decided to bring all the fun of the fair into my kitchen and make churros. Churros are a dough enriched with butter and eggs, that are piped into lengths and fried in very hot oil until crisps and light. There’s nothing quite like the smell of sweet, hot dough, frying. In the
21 min listen
Bip Ling is a model, musician, food writer, visual artist and DJ. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about being inspired by her grandmother’s Indian cooking, eating as a model, and why macaroni cheese should be made with almond milk rather than full-fat. This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd.
‘Many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese–toasted, mostly’: such is the power, the appeal of cheese on toast that when Ben Gunn is found, having been marooned on the eponymous island for three years, his longing for cheese on toast is one of his first statements. When I find myself considering the possibility of
I often find myself turning to lemon-filled recipes in January. I think it’s something my baking subconscious realises before I do – that cold, dark days require the antithesis, something bright and bold, something cheering. You know what they say: when life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie. Unlike its austere, pared back French
23 min listen
Alison Roman is an American food writer, cook, and author of New York Times bestseller Nothing Fancy. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about the recipes she learnt from her mum, how she plans a dinner party, and craving pizza in lockdown. This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd.
Beef Stroganoff has had its heyday: terribly popular with both restaurant chefs and dinner party hostesses of the 1950’s to 70’s, I can’t remember the last time I saw it on a menu or dinner table. It’s been relegated to buffet dishes and ready meals, beige and bland, insipid and gloopy. It sits in canteen
29 min listen
Leroy Logan is a former superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, former chair of the Black Police Association, and author of Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of apple crumble, his wife’s lunchboxes, and why police officers should always stay dry.
Christmas is probably the only time I bother with appetisers or canapés proper; usually I am quite content to stick a bowl of fancy crisps on the dining table, and let my husband make sure everyone’s drinks are topped up. But Christmas is different. Christmas demands canapés. And, given the Vintage Chef moniker, I tend
