Latest episode
29. Madeeha Qureshi : The Red Sea
23:04||Season 25, Ep. 29This week we’re exploring the cuisine of Saudi Arabia in Madeeha Qureshi's debut cookbook, The Red Sea.Madeeha who spent her first 18 years in Saudi, came to our attention on Masterchef when she reached the finals in 2021, impressing judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her fusion of Saudi Arabian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and modern flavours. Now, many of us will think of Saudi as a place which is repressive for women and the LGBTQ community, but this is not Madeeha’s story. If Cooking the Books is a place to explore the secret kitchens from different culinary cultures, it’s also about the lived experiences of the authors who tell that story – many of them women. Gilly asks Madeeha to show us around her Saudi Arabia through her food moments. Pop over to Substack for Extra Bites of Madeeha including a recipe from her book, and for Gilly's post about the complexity of telling stories about place and politics.
More episodes
View all episodes
28. Cooking the Books Live: Ali Honour
48:58||Season 25, Ep. 28This week we’re in Brighton for Cooking the Books live with bean queen, Ali Honour. The author of Beans describes herself as a chef and food systems agitator, which brings together the best things about beans – how delicious they can be while saving the planet and the health of the nation. In front a live audience of keen beans and bean deniers – let’s call them beanos - we find out why. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Ali and a recipe from Beans by clicking here. And do follow Bang in Some Beans on the Food Foundation podcast, produced by Gilly and presented by Melissa Hemsley. Here's episode 4.27. The Jane Grigson Trust Sous Chef Awards Shortlist
27:18||Season 25, Ep. 27This week we’re discussing the shortlist for the Jane Grigson Trust–Sous Chef Award 2026 with two of the judges, Nicola Lando and Jeremy Lee.This year, it celebrates its 10th anniversary with a stunning shortlist of books about secret kitchens and migrant stories which will all be featured here on CTB when they’re out in the bookshops. Ahead of next week’s awards, Gilly asks Nicola, founder of Sous Chef and a graduate of her How to Cook a Book food writing retreat, and Jeremy Lee, award-winning author of Cooking and chef proprietor at Awards HQ, Quo Vadis, what they look for in a winner.26. Ilhan Abdi: The Ramadan Kitchen
21:22||Season 25, Ep. 26This week as millions of people all over the world are celebrating Ramadan, we’re with London-based Somali-Egyptian food writer, Ilhan Abdi to talk about her book, The Ramadan Kitchen.A former Amazon corporate employee, she left to focus on cooking content, gaining 265k Instagram followers (@Ilhanm.a) through live Ramadan cooking sessions inspired by her mum’s dishes during lockdown, and has since become a mother herself. She tells us about her recipes inspired by Ramadan traditions, including suhoor and iftar dishes like Somali rice, samosas, and syrup-soaked doughballs.Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Ilhan including a recipe from her book, and a beautiful prayer that means so much to her.25. Pary Baban: Nandên
31:32||Season 25, Ep. 25This week we’re exploring the food and culture of Kurdistan with author of Nandên: Recipes from My Kurdish Kitchen, Pary BabanBorn in Southern Kurdistan, in Qaladze, a place known for its resistance and community, Pary fled Kurdistan with her family to escape what became known as the Anfal Genocide, and this is a hard listen. But it’s her passion for using the food of her land in her restaurant Nandine in South London and now the book, Nandên meaning kitchen to keep her Kurdish culture alive after generations of hardship and displacement, that makes this an essential listen. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Pary, including a recipe for Yapraxi bahara, the stuffed vine leaves in her food moments.You can buy the book from the CTB Bookshop at Bookshop.org by clicking here.24. BOSH! More Plants
30:23||Season 25, Ep. 24This week, we’re back with BOSH!, the recipe developing duo who have changed the conversation about plant-based diets. Gilly has followed their journey over the last 10 years and watched them become the biggest influencers in the plant-based space. Now, as she explores their latest book, More Plants, she finds out how they got their ready meals to the supermarket ready meal shelves - and why that matters. Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of BOSH! including a recipe from More Plants. You can buy it from the CTB shop at Bookshop.org which supports this ad-free listen.23. Tamar Adler: Feast on Your Life
52:54||Season 25, Ep. 23This week we are LIVE in Brighton with James Beard award-winning New York food writer, Tamar Adler to learn how to Feast On Your Life.Her latest book is the result of a deep depression that overwhelmed her after the publication of An Everlasting Meal, which is now widely seen as a modern classic. Feast on Your Life is a record of daily food delights that she wrote to find her way back to the light, and the result is an extraordinary, gentle reminder to look at the small things, to focus on life through the prism of food and find joy even in the darkness.Pop over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Tamar and Cooking the Books Live including a recipe for the green risotto from Tamar’s food moments cooked up by Ingrid Wakeling and her team from Sussex Surplus. You can buy the book from the CTB shop at Bookshop.org by clicking here, and you can book tickets for the next CTB Live on March 10th here.