Kitchen Table Talk

About Kitchen Table Talk

Kitchen Table Talk is a Taisty Bytes interview podcast, recorded live on Substack. Mark Thomas talks cookbooks, craft, and creative work with people from across the food world, from authors and recipe developers to designers, photographers and food content creators. Everyone is welcome at The Kitchen Table. thecookbookkitchen.substack.com (https://thecookbookkitchen.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

A Taisty Bytes podcast, hosted by Mark Thomas

Category

arts · arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Mar 2026

Latest episode

15 May 2026

Latest episodes

5 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 May 2026

   Kitchen Table Talk: A Conversation with Claire Ruston

   Well, a great big hello to you all! This week on Kitchen Table Talk, I sat down with the brilliant Claire Ruston (https://substack.com/profile/218555943-claire-ruston) for a good natter about food writing, slow living and what it really looks like to build a creative life on your own terms. Claire is an award-winning food writer (The Guild of Food Writers (https://substack.com/profile/105986749-the-guild-of-food-writers) Newcomer Award Winner 2023), a long-time blogger turned Substacker and a freelance writer who also works writing for herself, for a plethora of publications and as a ghostwriter. She’s also involved with the Guild behind the scenes, including helping out on their Substack. What we chatted about * Life in rural Bulgaria: where actually is Bulgaria?? Plus a bit of context on living and working rurally when the internet is… temperamental. * Vegetables, growing, and seasonal living: how gardening and ingredients shape what Claire cooks and writes about, with a very honest take on why ‘Christmas recipes in August’ is not the dream. * Winning the Newcomer Award: what it felt like finding out on the night, what actually changes afterwards, and how the mentorship helped her focus on the kind of work she wanted to do. * Pitching to publications: her honest take on how often pitches turn into a yes, why relationships matter, and the one thing you should do before pitching any magazine. Spoiler: really, really know it. * Substack vs magazines: the joy of being published, what each gives her and why Substack still feels like the most energising place to write and connect. * Ghostwriting: what it involves, how you find someone’s voice and why the groundwork matters more than people realise. Claire also shared some fantastic advice for anyone thinking about pitching, applying for awards, or simply putting themselves out there a bit more. Thank you to everyone who joined us live and for the great questions in the chat. If you’re watching on the replay and you’ve still got questions for Claire, pop them in the comments and I’ll pass them on. And finally, a HUGE thank you to Claire for joining me at the table! I really appreciate the time, the honesty and for being great company. If you’ve enjoyed today’s chat and would like to see more, subscribe! Get full access to Taisty Bytes at taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe (https://taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   14 Apr 2026

   Kitchen Table Talk: A conversation with Andrew Dargue of Vanilla Black

   In today’s Kitchen Table Talk, the brilliant Andrew Dargue (founder of Vanilla Black (https://substack.com/profile/102252592-vanilla-black)) joins me for a Q&A. Over the past couple of weeks, I asked you for your questions for Andrew - and you sent in some excellent ones! Our chat ended up as a great mix of practical cooking tips, thoughtful career advice and a sort of behind-the-scenes look at restaurant life that was very interesting. If you don’t know Andrew’s story, he and his partner Donna founded Vanilla Black back in 2004 - first in York, before moving to London. Their approach was a simple concept, really… that vegetarian cooking should be every bit as exciting, confident and considered as any other serious kitchen. A few things we covered: * Shell Plant (https://substack.com/profile/76429952-shell-plant)’s question about young people going into cheffing, and Andrew’s honest take on the realities of kitchen life, plus the importance of having a plan and learning somewhere you can really build skills. * Heat control, and the small habits that make a big difference, including being more active with the pan and the heat rather than letting it run away from you. * A really useful restaurant habit: par-cooking and why it helps, plus a surprisingly good tip on microwaving potatoes for mash. * Andrew’s pick for an underused ingredient: soy sauce, used as seasoning to add depth, not just as a dip. * Andy Lynes (https://substack.com/profile/5713053-andy-lynes)’ question about the unique challenges of vegetarian cooking, and Andrew’s take on why making veg feel truly exciting takes more thought, more technique and more imagination than people often realise. We also touched on whether Vanilla Black might return in some form - and Andrew’s answer is refreshingly realistic about the current restaurant climate. Thank you to everyone who joined us live and for your questions throughout the show. If you’re watching on the replay or listening on the podcast and you’ve still got questions for Andrew, pop them in the comments! I’ll pass them on. And finally, a HUGE thank you once again to Andrew for joining me at the table. I really appreciate the time, the honesty and for being brilliant company. If you’ve enjoyed today’s chat and would like to see more, subscribe! Get full access to Taisty Bytes at taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe (https://taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   7 Apr 2026

   Cook the Books Live: A conversation with Felicity Spector

   Today I sat down with the brilliant Felicity Spector (https://substack.com/profile/302191-felicity-spector) for this edition of Cook the Books Live - and what a powerful conversation it was. You might know Felicity as a journalist, a fantastic food writer, a Great Taste Awards judge, or from her extraordinary book Bread and War - which follows the people and places feeding Ukraine through the ongoing invasion. One thing I loved hearing Felicity talk about was Ukraine’s food culture itself. It’s such a fertile country, with incredible wheat, sunflower oil, buckwheat and rye. She describes how the produce in the markets are genuinely next level - and how even the supermarkets, in places that are hit again and again, can still be astonishingly well stocked. We talked about the things that don’t always make the headlines, but are everything when you’re living through it. We discuss the jars of pickles and preserves that keep people going when the shops shut for weeks, restaurants cooking whatever they’ve got for the people defending their cities and the sheer determination to keep traditions alive, even when life is anything but normal. Felicity also shared more about Bake for Ukraine’s mobile bakery, an old but incredibly effective setup that’s built for tough conditions (wood-fired oven, generator, water tank), that can turn out a couple of hundred loaves when it’s needed most. Thank you so much to everyone who joined us live, commented and asked such thoughtful questions. If you’re watching this back on replay, we hope you enjoy. Links mentioned: * Felicity’s JustGiving Page (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/felicity-spector-3?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=LFCCFUK_Day3_SDPageComp&mi_u=1382084&mi_ecmp=LFCCFUK_Day3_SDPageComp) * Bake for Ukraine (site + packs) (https://bakeforukraine.org) * Cuisines of Odessa, by Maria Kolenska (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16920/9798886743722) If you’ve enjoyed today’s chat, subscribe! Get full access to Taisty Bytes at taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe (https://taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

4. 

   26 Mar 2026

   Kitchen Table Talk: A Conversation with Hope Batchelor

   Get full access to Taisty Bytes at taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe (https://taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

5. 

   20 Mar 2026

   Cook the Books: Kitchen Table

   Simple Things Made Well When I first picked up Kitchen Table, I thought I knew what to expect. A nice bakery cookbook with tasty bread recipes, some pastries, delicious looking cakes… maybe a sourdough chapter. What I wasn’t expecting was to find myself captivated by how they obtain their olive oil from a single producer in Greece called Honest Toil (https://honest-toil.co.uk) - which is bought by the pallet load at the start of each harvest. Or how their flour producers Wildfarmed (https://wildfarmed.com)works with a network of farms promoting soil-focused regenerative farming. Kitchen Table: Simple Things Made Well is the debut cookbook from Emily Cuddeford (https://substack.com/profile/19392792-emily-cuddeford) and Rachel Morgan, the phenomenal pair behind Twelve Triangles, Edinburgh’s award winning and highly acclaimed bakery. Each chapter in Kitchen Table is built around an ingredient and the person, or people, behind it. Emily and Rachel have spent over a decade building these relationships, some from the very earliest days of Twelve Triangles, and you can truly feel that on every page. The recipes aren’t just delicious (they are, but we’ll get to that!) - it’s their way of giving back to the community. Their community. I think that if at the core of your book, your message is ‘this is who grew it, this is who made it and this is what we love to do with it…’ well, I can’t think of anything better than that! I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Emily for our very first Cook the Books Live conversation, where we talked about how the book came together, the philosophy behind the recipes and what ‘simple things made well’ actually looks like in practice. From the early days of Twelve Triangles, when Emily was baking four loaves a day that didn’t sell out, to how she trained over sixteen bakers to make the same recipe and why that process is exactly what makes these recipes so thorough. We talked about the producers, the photography and what ended up on the cutting room floor (an entire feasting chapter, no less!). You can watch the full conversation above. As this was our very first Cook the Books Live, I'd love to know what you thought! Did you enjoy the format? Would you like to see more? Drop me a comment below and let me know! About the Authors So, who is it that has invited us to their Kitchen Table? Although both had above for food from an early age, neither Emily nor Rachel actually came from traditional baking backgrounds. Rachel started out in costume design, working in theatre, before realising the cafe jobs and farmers’ market stalls she was doing on the side were actually what she loved. After retraining, she found her passion in baking and co-founded her first bakery Lovecrumbs in Edinburgh in 2011. Emily grew up in the countryside where quality and provenance of ingredients were always central to family meals. She studied fine art in Brighton and began baking on the side to pay her way through university. When Lovecrumbs advertised for a baker’s position, Emily applied and then moved back to Edinburgh. And so the story began… Together they founded Twelve Triangles, a bakery specialising in sourdough and slow-ferment pastries, with one simple goal: providing the best daily bread they could. Cook the Books is a personal tour through the cookbooks that deserve a place on your shelf. In each edition I’ll cook and bake a selection of recipes, photograph the process and reflect on what I’ve made and learned. As always, I’ve got some of the full recipes from the book for you to download and save below. Right then, let’s get into it, shall we! House Loaf | p.30 It felt only right to start with the very first recipe in the book, the House Loaf. Because where else would you begin with a bakery cookbook? Bread! This was quite a high hydration dough - and I won’t lie, I was pretty convinced this was going to be a dud bake. When it came to pre-shaping the loaf, it just… well, wouldn’t. The dough was still incredibly wet and refused to tighten up. So I did what I could, popped it in the tin and then left it overnight hoping for the best. In hindsight, I think swapping linseeds for chia seeds probably didn’t help. Chia seeds form a gel when they absorb liquid, which seems to have interfered with the gluten development and made the dough much softer and harder to shape. Or so Google tells me! Lesson noted… By morning the dough still felt quite dense, so I popped it in my top oven with just the light on for an hour or so until it felt softer to the touch. Then in to the oven it went, with some ice cubes thrown in to help with the rise. And you know what? It didn’t turn out half bad at all! A little rustic, sure, but nicely baked with a soft crumb and great flavour. Even better slathered with butter and sprinkled with flaked sea salt. Because it would be rude not to. I’ll definitely be making this one again, just perhaps with the right seeds next time. Coffee & Cardamom Loaf Cake | p.158 For our second bake, I’m making what is arguably one of the most popular cakes here in the UK… coffee cake. This one however, takes it to another level entirely. The intense coffee flavour in this recipe is added at every stage of the bake. It starts with infusing melted butter with smashed coffee beans and a few cardamom pods, which is pure genius and made the house smell phenomenal. I’d buy that scent as a candle any day. Once baked, the cake is soaked in a sweetened latte mix and topped with an espresso icing glaze. This could quite possibly be the moistest, most tastiest coffee cake you’ll ever try!(Also, add cardamom to any cake and I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it.) A few slices were delivered to the neighbours - one of whom, a self-declared coffee cake connoisseur, enthusiastically trotted across the road to tell me that it the best one she’d ever tried! Honey Tart with Apricot Jam | p.44 I’ve never browned butter before. I know, I know - two years of baking and I’d somehow never done it. For those of you that might be in the same boat, it’s simpler than it sounds… you melt the butter in a pan and keep it on the heat, swirling occasionally, until it turns a deep golden colour and starts to smell nutty and toasty. You’re essentially cooking the milk solids until they caramelise. You will see the butter starts to turn almost translucent and flecks begin to appear - that’s a good sign, along with the smell and colour, that you’re pretty much there. It adds this incredible depth, almost… toffee-like! Emily writes that ‘a reliable sweet pastry recipe is something every cook needs,’ and I couldn’t agree more. This one is exactly that. Very forgiving, easy to work with and bakes up a treat. Luckily, Ben had just bought a fresh sourdough, so I was able to pinch a few slices to dry out in the oven before whizzing into crumbs - which is one of the main ingredients, along side the honey and the jam. The tart itself is a thing of beauty. Rich, buttery, with the apricot jam cutting through the sweetness of the honey perfectly. One of those bakes that looks and tastes far more impressive than the effort involved - it was so easy to pull together! Though, I did somehow manage to use nearly every bloody bowl in the kitchen?? Go figure. Scrambled Eggs | p.76 I hadn’t planned on making scrambled eggs. But I landed on the page as I was planning out ingredients for the next few recipes and decided to give them a go. You see to some, scrambled eggs are just scrambled eggs. I must confess, I fall under this camp too. I don’t make them that often, but when I do… let’s just say the microwave has been involved (I think I literally just heard you gasp) To Emily, though, they’re so much more. Not to get too poetic about them, but they’re likened as little acts of service, or memories of people you love. And making them is a deeply personal ritual - one of patience, care… and lots and lots of butter! I’ll admit I still had slight (and excuse the term) snotty egg anxiety, so I probably pushed them a bit too far. But even slightly overdone, they were bloody good. After making real scrambled eggs like this, there’s no going back for me. Treacle Soda Bread | p.41 If there’s a soda bread recipe in a cookbook, you can pretty much count on me making it. It’s almost as much of a given as banana bread at this point! Maybe it’s growing up on a farm, but bread like this just feels like home. You just can’t beat a sweet, malty, beautifully rustic loaf with a dense crumb. Sliced or torn, smothered in melting butter and topped with a generous dusting of sea salt flakes. This recipe actually comes from chef Roberta Hall-McCarron, who owns the Little Chartroom in Edinburgh. Emily writes that before opening her first restaurant, Roberta came to work at Twelve Triangles because she wanted to learn how to make sourdough. After working with them for a while, she quickly realised that was perhaps an ambitious hope, given the time and space it takes. But working together was a joy and Emily says Roberta described the bakery as being ‘like a spa break’ compared to the restaurant kitchens she was used to. This treacle soda bread is what Roberta now serves in-house at her restaurant. I love that story, as it’s exactly what I was talking about when I said it’s what this book does so well - that every recipe comes with a person, a connection and a reason it’s there. Olive Oil Chocolate Cookies | p.256 I fancied a quick and easy bake, so these olive oil chocolate cookies it was. Made with a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil rather than butter, three types of sugar and a whole lot of dark chocolate, you’ve got yourself a cookie that’s chewy and indulgent in the centre, with a snap and crunch around the edges. Finished with a sprinkle of flaked sea salt and a lie about how you’ll only have ‘just the one.’ Yeah right. The great thing about using olive oil rather than butter is that it keeps the cookie dense and moist - and even better… there’s no need to chill the dough before baking! 30 to 40 minutes from start to finish. That’s it. Emily writes that the olive oil you use really does matter here (hello Honest Toil from seas yonder!), as that’s where the depth of flavour comes from. Since making the original batch, I’ve made five more. I think that tells you everything you need to know! Download the full recipe below: So there we have it friends, that was Kitchen Table: Simple Things Made Well. A book that has made me question whether I’ve ever really paid attention to where my ingredients come from (the answer was no!) - and has totally made me rethink how I can become a part of the local community of producers and makers. In this book, Emily and Rachel haven’t just shared their recipes - they’ve shared with us their people, their producers, their passion and their community. And through these pages, that table gets a little bigger.. because now you’re sat at it, too. To give you a taste of what’s inside, here are three recipes from the book, yours to download and keep. If you would like to pick up a copy of Kitchen Table, you can do so via my Bookshop.org link below: Or, you can enter this month’s giveaway! See below for details: Before we get to this month’s giveaway, a huge congratulations to Kirstie Young (https://substack.com/profile/16604734-kirstie-young), who has won last month’s giveaway - a copy of Beyond Baking! I’ll be in touch this weekend to arrange shipping and get it on its way to you. To celebrate this month’s edition of Cook the Books, I’m giving away a copy of Kitchen Table by Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan. How to enter: Entry is free! All you need to do is be a subscriber to this Substack. That’s it! Open internationally: Each month, a winner will be drawn at random from my current subscriber list, no matter where you are in the world. In some cases, it might be easier to order the book from a local retailer or site in your country, but I’ll make sure it finds its way to your kitchen, one way or another. Entries close for this month’s giveaway on April 22nd 2026 and I’ll announce the winner in the next edition of Cook the Books on April 24th 2026. Good luck! And thank you, as always, for being here. Mark + Hiro 🐾 Get full access to Taisty Bytes at taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe (https://taistybytes.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

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