'I've really got into mushroom tinctures...'
Cookbook author, food writer and my friend, Rosie Birkett, shares her day well spent
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Hello friends and welcome to the first ever interview on A Day Well Spent. A new regular feature, I’ll be speaking to someone who both inspires me and who, in their own way, embodies the ethos of A Day Well Spent.
We’ll hear their voice and viewpoint on the world through the topics of slow and sustainable living, self-empowerment and personal fulfilment and growth.
Before I introduce this interviewee, I’d like to say a quick thank you to all of you who choose to spend your time reading my words here.
It’s almost been one month since I launched A Day Well Spent with the publishing of my first post How to slow down the passing of time. The engagement, support and meaning this newsletter has cultivated since then has been quite overwhelming and a source of pure joy. And it’s all thanks to you, the readership.
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Rosie and I met about seven years ago and from our first encounter, she struck me as having one of the most open-hearted spirits I’d come across. A bundle of positive energy and goodness, she is supportive, a cheerleader of others and does not have a bad bone in her.
Rosie radiates warmth and realness, is incredibly smart, brimming with empathy and is also really bloody funny.
Did I mention she can cook? Oh boy, can she cook.
A cookbook author, food writer and former Sunday Times recipe columnist, Rosie bid farewell to East London a few years ago to settle down on the Kent coast where she lives with her husband and their darling young daughter.
I’ve had the great pleasure of travelling and eating with Rosie around Normandy, Lyon, Verona, the Scottish island of Islay and her hometown of Deal, all where great memories were made together; it is my honour to call her my friend.
I’m so delighted she’s my first interviewee on A Day Well Spent. Everyone, please meet
below and then check out her excellent and delicious newsletter, just a few months old, .
1. What makes up a day well spent for you?
Wow, there are so many ways this could look, but the most important thing for me is being able to slow down and savour it all.
In my fantasy day well spent, it’s spring or early summer and we wake up to the sound of birdsong outside our bedroom window. The day begins with cups of tea in bed with my husband and our baby daughter, reading some of her favourite picture books together, before getting dressed, grabbing our whippet Cyril and heading out the door for a walk to the nearby beach and a quick sea dip to really wake us up, invigorate us and wash away the cobwebs.
Afterwards, we’d pick up a coffee from our favourite beach hut café and head home for a leisurely breakfast, possibly involving thick Greek yoghurt, local honey and Kent raspberries or rhubarb and cardamom compote, followed by sourdough toast with eggs or lots of very good butter, jams, marmalade.
We’d potter in the garden while the baby napped, reading and tending to our pots, and then tootle into town to grab provisions from our amazing local greengrocer and butcher (you can read all about our lovely seaside town in my Deal Travel Guide) for a simple, seasonal barbecue with friends and family.
It’s warm enough for us to all sit outside, but there’s a breeze that stops things getting stifling, and the wine, conversation and laughter is free flowing. The afternoon gives way to evening, the fire pit is lit, there’s more food, we watch the bats swooping around the garden and then head inside, perhaps for a little nightcap and even some singing and dancing.
The day to day reality is of course a little bit different, but I’m fortunate to do a job I really love, that I can largely do from home.
I’m a food/lifestyle writer and recipe developer, so that means lots of time at my desk/cooking in the kitchen. But I always try to prioritise a little time spent outside in nature, either walking with the dog/cycling down the seafront to the shops to source ingredients, or, if I’m short on time, just getting out in our wild and wonderful garden.
As a cook and food writer, that connection to nature and seasonality is key to what I do and I love to tap into it, particularly as my Substack is so seasonally-shifting and reactive in a way that writing for books, newspapers and magazines isn’t.
2. What compliment have you received that’s stuck in your memory?
That I bring the magic. A dear friend said this to me, and I really love that idea as it’s what I strive to do with my writing and recipes.
In a world so full of chaos and anxiety, I really love the idea that I can contribute some form of escape, comfort and relatability through my ideas, recipes, writing and inspire people with small, empowering techniques and ways to cook and live that might enhance their day to day lives and connect them with gentle pleasures. That’s what my newsletter is all about.
3. What quotes or mantras do you try to live by?
That people won’t always remember exactly what you said, but they will remember the way you made them feel.
And - a bit cheesy - but worth remembering: you only live once - so try and make the most of it and find ways to enjoy your life and make other people feel good.
I also love the title (and music) of Self Esteem’s ground-breaking album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ - I think it would actually be a fabulous cookbook title.
4. What practical skill do you have that you value the most?
Definitely my cooking and styling skills, and the few things I’ve learned/am learning about growing plants and flowers because these seemingly everyday things empower you in your own home to greatly improve your day to day life.
I learned to cook first and foremost at my mum’s apron strings (she is an incredible home cook), but my 15 year career as a food writer, food stylist and then recipe developer has been one long, winding culinary education.
I’ve been so lucky to have been writing about and working with incredible chefs and food creatives in the UK and beyond for many years and have learned so much from them as well as friends and colleagues working in food.
But ultimately, it all started with my mum and dad and the love of good home cooked and homegrown food they instilled in me. My dad was a passionate vegetable grower and loved to show me around his veg patch as a child, as well as taking me out foraging (before it was trendy) for cobnuts, elderflower and mushrooms.
You’ve taught me some fantastic skills about growing in pots, Leyla, from your Pot to Pickle series!
5. What is your most favourite thing to do, more than anything else in the world?
Be together in the moment with my family and friends, laughing, enjoying stimulating conversations, eating good food, drinking good wine and listening to music or the sounds of nature.
I love it when there are lots of little kids buzzing around and running wild, they are such an important reminder that we are all fundamentally playful, joyful beings. I also really love to swim in the sea.
6. What do you know today that you wish you’d known five years ago?
That I would relish the rollercoaster of being a mum and raising a little person - though I will caveat that by saying I have an incredibly supportive partner who is very hands on and we share things pretty equally when it comes to domestic and parenting duties.
And that you can leave London, live somewhere else and still have a fabulous time there. I feel like I value my time in London more now that I don’t live right in it.
7. What character or personality trait about yourself do you value the most?
My optimism and dark sense of humour, these things have got me through some of the toughest challenges in my life, and out of plenty of scrapes.
8. What does eating well mean to you and how do you manage it?
It means - largely - cooking from scratch and eating seasonally and sustainably as much as possible. I’m led by the seasons in terms of what I’m cooking with, but usually with an eye on international flavours and influences because these are often the flavours I crave.
Most importantly, it’s about cooking what I fancy and deem to be delicious, and usually what I can manage in a reasonably short space of time, because: motherhood. It’s as much about pleasure and comfort as it is health and nutrition, but I do think that both of these come naturally as bonus by-products when you cook the way I do.
I love a pickle or ferment and the funk and interesting flavour profiles those ingredients bring, as well as the beneficial bacteria and probiotics that result from fermenting.
I also don’t scrimp on fat - that’s where the flavour is, and I think the fear of fat and calories is at the root of quite a lot of the ills of the modern diet.
I don’t eat huge amounts of meat - it’s very much a treat, but when I do I’m careful about sourcing, and I also like to seek out organic dairy where possible.
9. What is your ultimate dream?
To live well and creatively, and to be a force for good/source of joy in the world through my work, relationships and the family I raise.
10. What does mindfulness mean to you and how do you practice it?
It means slowing down and finding time to live intentionally in amongst the juggle.
I cook for a living, but sometimes cooking purely for pleasure (which feels super indulgent), away from work: to simply to sink my hands into a bowl of dough or rustle up a marinate can feel therapeutic - it’s a way of approaching cooking that I write about extensively in my cookbook The Joyful Home Cook.
I also find gardening seriously mindful and time spent in nature in general. I sometimes do a quick garden meditation which is a practise I got into after reading Lia Leendertz’ brilliant seasonal Almanacs, and I love how it roots me in the seasons.
These things, as well as being aware of how I use and conserve my energy, and finding meaningful connection with other people - is all a part of it. I try to journal but it’s something I have less time for now I’m a mum to a toddler.
11. What’s your most loved skincare / beauty product or secret
I love my Jade roller, and Evolve is a lovely organic skincare brand.
12. Name one of your favourite brands that does good
Justine Tabak - a gorgeous, sustainable British slow fashion designer who creates one off dresses that I wear again and again.
Justine is careful with how she sources her materials and manufactures exclusively in the British Isles, supporting local makers and upholding a strong connection with her supply and production chain.
She works with sustainable and deadstock materials, and I’ve got a really lovely collection of her pieces now that I’m excited about sharing one day with daughter.
13. How do you counter the fast-paced and immediate nature of today’s world?
I love spending time with my mum in her house or garden. My mum struggles with her mobility due to severe osteoporosis, so having a cup of tea in her yard and talking or sharing something good to eat (she’s an amazing cook) is a great start because she moves at a much ‘slower’ pace.
I also love to escape into books, and last thing at night I cherish a bit of time spent reading. Oh and cooking and writing letters to people - aka my Substack.
Genuinely though, starting my Substack and spending much more time writing and connecting directly to my readers has been a tonic to social media burnout/overwhelm.
14. What are your hobbies and interests? What do you like to do in your free time?
Travel, interiors and styling, gardening and music. I love exploring new places and cultures, starting with the cuisine. I also really love reading interiors magazines and plotting house projects.
15. How do you try to reduce the amount of waste that leaves your home?
We recycle all our food waste, compost and are careful about how much plastic we bring into our home, although - having a small child it’s inevitable on some level, we try to avoid single use plastics as much as possible.
I’m also super strict about cooking up leftovers and being mindful of what we have in our fridge/freezer/cupboards before we buy more.
We get a plastic free, fortnightly organic veg box delivery from Riverford, and top up with local produce from our greengrocer, and then we also get our milks delivered from Milk And More which brings organic milk to your door in glass bottles which are reused.
Other things we tend to buy in bulk and use jars and tubs for refilling.
16. What’s the latest thing you have learnt?
I recently had a breathwork session with the amazing
(of and found it really useful for calming my brain and resetting my nervous system.17. Tell us about something you tried or did for the very first time recently
I’ve got really into mushroom tinctures - Lion’s Mane is helpful for focus. I like the Isle of White ones.
18. What book should everyone read and why?
I’m currently obsessed with Yiayia by
which shares the culinary wisdom of Greek grannies.It’s a book that celebrates the culinary legacy of matriarchs all over Greece and the Greek islands, who are preserving and continuing generational recipes, and it’s full of food I just know tastes amazing and that I want to cook. It makes you want to be in that Yiayia’s kitchen with her, listening to her stories and learning her careful, time-honoured methods.
Through my job I’ve eaten in restaurants all over the world, and had privileged access to some of the world’s top chefs, but I always maintain that some of the very best food I’ve ever tasted has been cooked for me by self-taught women - cooks, home cooks and grannies. Anastasia has started a Substack called
which I love.19. What’s your favourite time of the year?
Spring. It’s so full of promise, new growth, everything ahead of us. It doesn’t get any better than that.
20. What are you working on that we should know about?
There will be some exciting announcements and celebratory posts coming with my six month Substackversary.
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