Signe is a Norwegian-American cook and the author of How to Hygge and Scandilicious. She joined us to talk about her latest book Solo: The Joy of Cooking for One. Celebrating the joy of self-reliance and self-sufficiency, the book is all about becoming more selfish in the kitchen and is full of recipes for happy solo cooking. From uncomplicated no-cook fast food to one-pot dishes that will transform your daily routine. We talked at length about the perfect fish finger sandwich, how to shop for solo dishes and how much dill is too much dill.

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Self-taught chef Stephen Harris transformed what was once called a “grotty rundown pub by the sea” on the coast in Kent into a Michelin-starred restaurant that has been named Britain’s number one. At The Sportsman, Stephen uses the best ingredients available in the immediate land surrounding the pub – the pork is sourced from the farm next door; they make their own butter and the salt is sourced from the sea. We chatted about the transformation of the pub and of Stephen himself as well as his new book.

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Nick is one of three founders of Hodmedod’s, Britain’s pulse and grain pioneers. They’ve been working with British farmers since 2012 to bring a growing range of forgotten and new crops to British kitchens, from fava beans and carlin peas to quinoa, camelina and naked barley. We use a lot of these products in the restaurants and so we were very excited to have Nick join us to share the Hodmedod’s story.

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After a life-changing meal at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkley in 2010, Samin began cooking there; a job which determined the course of her life. The chefs she cooked with used four key principles to make any food taste great if used in the right way; salt, fat, acid and heat. Samin spent years creating her book in order to teach others how to master the art of good cooking. We spoke to Samin about the serendipity of her journey into food, how we can develop our palettes and which feta reigns supreme.

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We can’t think of anything better than cooking up a feast with Sabrina Ghayour, the queen of simple and flavourful Middle-Eastern cooking! She joined us to talk about her new book, Feasts, which features tailored menus and dozens of recipes for celebrations and occasions with family and friends. We learn all about her debut £2.50 supper club, boil-in-the-bag rice memories and what it's like to be a crisp aficionado...

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Reem Kassis left Jerusalem for the US at the age of 17, gained four graduate degrees and set her sights firmly on a stellar business career. She promised herself she would never end up in the kitchen like previous generations of women in her family, yet Reem found herself appreciating the simple pleasures of cooking for and feeding the people you love. She came to talk to us about her debut cookbook The Palestinian Table, how to define Palestinian food and how to make the best Baba Ghanouj.

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A favourite restaurant of ours, The River Café has championed simple, good quality Italian cooking since 1987. We are so happy to have Joseph come and talk to us about 30 years of the River Cafe, what makes a restaurant ride high in the London food scene for so long, his unique experience working with the Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, and of course a cherished subject of ours – Italian food.

The new cookbook River Cafe 30 marks three decades of memories and good food at the restaurant. The team revisited and updated the best dishes from the first blue cookbook and introduce 30 new favourites from the menus today – panzanella, ravioli with ricotta, raw tomato and basil, risotto with porcini and girolles and the outstanding chocolate nemesis. We can’t wait to cook and share with you some of these recipes.

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Most of us want to forget that back-to-school feeling by kicking off our shoes and hunkering down with a soul-soaring supper – one that can be eaten with friends at the table, with book in hand by the fire, or in front of the TV. In The Sunday Night Book Rosie shares how to make Sunday night the best evening of the week, by perfecting the last, lazy meal of the weekend. All the recipes in the book are simple and make clever use of store cupboard staples and leftovers. Rosie came to talk to us about cooking in small, high-stakes, destination restaurants in the British countryside with the likes of Joyce Molyneux, how she ended up recipe testing for Delia Smith and why it’s ok to drink cocktails on a Sunday night.  

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Roï Hendel is based in Paris but travels the world in search of extraordinary spices… a dream job, in our eyes! Working exclusively with organic small scale farms and wild harvests around the world, Shira Spices aims to introduce the concept of terroir to the spice world. By working directly with farmers and NGOs, the hope is to ensure a fair income to all of their partners. We chatted to Roï about the life of a modern day spice trader and sampled his spices under expert guidance.

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Killian Fox is a food writer who regularly contributes to The Observer Food Monthly and many other publications and he is the co-founder of The Gannet: an online magazine that explores people’s lives through the food they cook and eat. Killian gave us an insight into the world of food writing, tell us about the realities of having such a dream job, and we heard about his new book The Gannet’s Gastronomic Miscellany, which collects together interesting stories and facts about food – covering everything from radioactive bananas to 5,000-year-old bog butter.

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