Friends with Recipes

Today’s episode brought us to Letchworth Garden City which is the home of today’s guest, The Big Fat Greek Mother. AKA Olga. Olga is a hilarous, eacher and mum of two whose ridiculous characters and skits will make you laugh out loud, even on the greyest of days. Yet, underneath all the jokes, Olga is a very warm, kind, thoughtful friend and she makes a mean Fasolakia Lathera! Find the recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode brought us back to the English coast to the location of episode one of this podcast in fact, but this time we are interviewing the man of the house instead of the woman! Today’s guest is Simon Hooperwho is known to many of you as father of daughters. Simon is a hilariously candid father of four daughters who entertains his nearly one million followers on instagram with funny videos and tales of parenthood. He and I got to talking when I was recording his wife Clemmie and soon made arrangements for me to return so he could make me his famous carrot cake! Get his recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode brought us north east of London near the port town of Ipswich which the home of today’s guest: Sally Emslie. Originally from South Africa, Sally has just recently moved out of Hackney to start a new life for her family in the countryside. Not only did we get a glimpse of Sally’s incredible stockroom for her secondhand designer clothing business Manifesto Women, we also took a brisk country walk to a gorgeous, abandoned church where I might have done a bit of singing . . . Find Sally's chicken soup recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Whitehouse (AKA: Mother Pukka) is an amazing woman for many reasons, but she is probably best known for her flex appeal campaign which champions flexible working. She is also an author, mother of two, and all around hilarious woman. Anna cooked us up her favourite meal made entirely of ingredients from her friend Rash’s corner shop. In typical Anna style, the recipe and story behind it was absolutely charming, the chat hilarious, and the food comically good given that it literally took her five minutes to make! Get her recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have long been an admirer of Jacqui Ma’s business Goodordering, but only met her for the first time when I showed up at her house! Jacqui was just as cool and interesting as I hoped she would be and her chat about the food that she and her partner Mia make in their Chinese/Sweedish/British/Australian household was absolutely fascinating! Also, how cute is it that Jacqui’s business Goodordering is named after something she and her brothers would say to her mum if they liked what she ordered at a restaraunt: “good ordering, mum”! I love that!Get Jacqui's recipe for Asian Noodle Crab Salad at www.friendswithrecipes.org! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fritha Quin is a life-long vegetarian and now primarily plant-based eater based in Bristol. Though she claims to be completely useless in the kitchen, she still managed to whip us up her husband's easy and delicious recipe for vegan mac & cheese. (It was so good I went for thirds!!) Get her recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode brought us to the charming, family friendly neighbourhood of East Dulwich in South London. I know this neighbourhood quite well as I live here too! That’s how I got to meet today’s guest, Vivi Allende (@byvivi.co). Vivi is a stylist, interior designer and mother of two. She is also an all around fascinating and absolutely adorable woman as you will see.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clemmie is a creative consultant and busy mother of three. She is also known for her funny and candid instagram account (@clemmie_telford) and her fascinating blog: Mother of all Lists. I visited Clemmie, her husband Ben, and her youngest child, Greta just up the road from my house in Peckham. Clemmie whipped me up her most favourite recipe for an Asian inspired salmon bowl and we discussed everything from my dodgy tastes in popcorn, to the food Clemmie claims is "the single best thing that has happened to me". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Cox is an illusionist, mindreader, comedian, and all around entertainer whom I met at a cooking event in London a few years ago. Chris may look unassuming, but he is absolutely fascinating. I didn't realise quite how fascinating he was untilI got to his house and found out that he not only worked on creating magic tricks for the Harry Potter show on the West End, but he also worked with Heston Blumenthal creating magic tricks for his restaurants! This man has many tricks up his sleeve, in more ways than one . . . He also makes a DARN good cookie!! You absolutely must try this recipe. It is the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hollie de Cruz (aka: @theyesmummum) is best known for her work in hypnobirthing (aka: calm birthing) but we know of Hollie around our house for her absolutely brilliant affirmation cards which have phrases such as, "I ammy best and that is enough" and "I matter and I have a lot to offer the world". We have them up around the house and they inspire me every time I see them.I arrived to Hollie’s house on a lovely October morning where Hollie greeted us with a beautiful full-term belly! (Her son, Cosmo, is now a few months old, but he was happily stewing for our visit.) Hollie’s home, like her personality, is colourful and fun and I was thrilled to learn that Hollie is just as obsessed with food as I am. It made for some delicious food chat! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Natalie Lee (aka: @stylemesunday) is a champion for body positivity. Her instagram is filled to the brim with unedited pictures of her looking both incredibly stylish in bright, fun, sparkly outfits as well as unedited pictures of her looking incredibly naked. Her honesty and confidence is incredibly inspirational to me.I arrived to Nat’s house on a lovely November morning where our chat ranged from botox to misophonia to sex workers. Nat’s open mindedness and thoughtfulness on the range of subjects was as fascinating as always. You can find Nat's recipe for Steak, Chips and Coleslaw and see pictures from our afternoon together at www.friendswithrecipes.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cat Sims is the hilariously honest woman behind the blogand insta account, Not So Smug Now. The moment I met Cat I knew that I would love her for life; not only is she always the funniest person in the room, but her genuine love and care of her fellow humans is real (check out her #giftmatch campaign here). I truly love this woman. And yes, for the record, we got drunk in this episode and both had hangovers by 5pm. You can find Cat's "Better than McDonalds" Cottage Pie recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org. (FYI, Cat recommends making loads and then freezing it!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clemmie Hooper is a midwife and mother of four daughters who is best known for her instagram account @mother_of_daughters. Clemmie’s account is not just pretty, but challenging and thought-provoking as well (not unlike Clemmie herself!).I visited Clemmie’s stunning home on a chilly November day and was thrilled when she told me she was making me a warming chicken and chorizo stew. You can find her (OMG so delicious) recipe at www.friendswithrecipes.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.