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Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith

by Gilly Smith
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About the show

Cooking the Books is about all of life through the prism of food, from climate change to culture and politics to people. It's for foodie book lovers who want to hear something more profound about the way we live, making the link between delicious food and the impact of food production on the land, all through four food moments from the books of our favourite food writers. Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith is the winner of The Guild of Food Writers' Best Broadcast or Podcast Award 2022, and was shortlisted for Fortnum and Mason Best Podcast 2022 and 2024. Hear how A-lister food writers have changed the conversation about food as Gilly talks through their four chosen food moments from their latest books. As she joins the dots between stories from the old country and food identity, plant-based recipes and climate change, she shows how a deeper connection with food really could save the planet. Listen to all your favourite food writers from Claudia Roden to Yotam Ottolenghi, Sheila Dillon to Anna Jones, Prue Leith to Elisabeth Luard, Gill Meller to Ravinder Bhogal, Dan Barber to Raymond Blanc as Gilly finds what's cooking in the minds of our food writing stars. Do support the podcast by subscribing, and PLEASE leave a review. You can do this by clicking HERE for the link to Apple Podcasts, click on Listen on Apple Podcasts under the show title and then click on Rating and Reviews! Thank you so much. For more information and to join the mailing list, visit Gilly Smith Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith is rated in the top 2.5% of global podcasts by ListenNotes and in the top 40 of food podcasts globally by FeedSpot Theme music by Willy Zygier Gilly Smith is also the presenter of the delicious. podcast and Leon's How to Eat to Save the Planet which was highly commended in the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2021. She won the Investigative Food Work Award for Right2Food (now known as the Food Foundation Podcast) in the same awards. She also produced The Big Table for Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, and is the multi-award winning author of Taste and the TV Chef: how storytelling can save the planet (Intellect Books 2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

  • Vicky Bennison: Eat Everything

    October 8, 2026 · 27 min

    In the last of our mini series of speakers from BrightonFoodStory, the food festival Gilly produced this year in her home town which is aimed at changing the conversation about the way we eat, we’re with Vicky Bennison, the James Beard…

  • Karen Newby: The Post Menopause Method

    October 1, 2026 · 31 min

    Ahead of BrightonFoodStory, the food festival on October 3rd that Gilly is producing in her home town aimed at changing the conversation about the way we eat, we’re meeting some of the speakers on the various panel discussions. This week…

  • Hodmedod's: Whole Food

    September 24, 2026 · 30 min

    This week, we meet Nick Saltmarsh and Josiah Meldrum of Hodmedods to talk about the magic of beans in their debut cookbook Whole Food. Now, Hodmedods has long since become the byword for beans in Britain, and can claim a major role in…

  • Andrew Turvil: Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears

    September 17, 2026 · 28 min

    This week we’re with former editor of the Good Food Guide, Andrew Turvil and his book,  Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears: The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution. Like Andrew, Gilly was right in the centre of the birth of what another…

  • Jeremy Lee: Kitchening

    September 10, 2026 · 26 min

    This week, in an extended episode, we’re with one of the most important voices in British food writing, Jeremy Lee with Kitchening, his follow up cookbook to the 2022 multi award winning Cooking. Jeremy has taken his time to become one of…

  • Claire Thomson: Dear Grace

    September 3, 2026 · 28 min

    This week, we’re celebrating Back To School and Uni season with Claire Thompson and her latest book, Dear Grace. This is a book unlike any Claire has written before. She wrote it while her heart was breaking as her eldest daughter, Grace…

  • Anissa Helou: Lebanon

    July 30, 2026 · 30 min

    This week, we're with an absolute legend in food writing, Anissa Helou and her culinary celebration of Lebanon. Listed by Arabian Business magazine as one of the "500 Most Influential Arabs" and "100 Most Powerful Arab Women, she’s among…

  • Cooking the Books LIVE: Honey and Co.

    July 23, 2026 · 39 min

    This week, we are live in Brighton on the hottest day of the year so far with Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, aka Honey and Co. to talk about their new book, Honey and Co.Daily. Against the sound of a massive fan at Patio Wine Bar, we…