In Conversation With: Blanche Vaughan
Blanche Vaughan became food editor of House & Garden in 2016, where she writes recipes, commissions other chefs and contributes a monthly column. She has written five cookbooks and before House & Garden her recipes appeared in the likes of The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times. Blanche started her career as a chef at the Michelin starred River Café where she developed a passion for using simple and fresh ingredients. Her fuss-free approach to cooking allows quality ingredients to shine, and her new recipes and reviews are always received with delight by House & Garden readers.
This September we are delighted to welcome Blanche to Thyme, where she will be joined by House & Garden Editor, Hatta Byng, where they will discuss House & Garden’s first recipe book, ‘A Year in the Kitchen-Seasonal recipes for everyday pleasure’, written and curated by Blanche Vaughan. Together they will recount the story on how this book came together, plus share tips and recipes inspired by the seasons and some of the chefs featured over the years.
We wanted to learn a little more about the creative mastermind behind the book, with a few quick fire foodie questions! We are so looking forward to this talk and hope to see you there!
What inspired your journey in becoming a chef and your subsequent career in food writing?
Eating well at home growing up, wanting to continue to always have good food in my life.
What has been the most enjoyable and also most challenging parts of writing this book?
Working with so many inspiring and talented people, the challenge has been choosing what to leave out!
Do you have a secret ingredient(s) that jazzes up any dish?
Recently - Dukkah on eggs for a quick lunch or Amy Poon’s WO sauce.
Where is your favourite place to go out to eat?
River Café.
What is the most unusual thing you have eaten?
Lamb’s testicles.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Jaffa cakes.
What is the most underrated ingredient people don’t use enough?
Salt.
What is the most memorable meal from your childhood?
Stuffed pigs trotters cooked by Pierre Koffman.
What would your last meal be and who would you eat it with?
Something picked from the garden with my friends and family and simply prepared, so I suppose it would depend on the time of year.
Top 5 cookbooks everybody must own? and what’s your most used?
Hmm, tricky, I chop and change but I love all Jane Grigson for English, the Blue River Café book for Italian, Richard Olney for French, Japanese cooking, A simple art, Moro Easy and Claudia Roden for Middle Eastern/Spanish. I have to admit I use all these regularly so couldn't choose just one!
