In her most personal book yet, Olia Hercules distills a lifetime of kitchen curiosity into her 100 most loved recipes. She draws on her broad influences: her childhood in Eastern Europe; her years in Cyprus and Italy; her simple, plant-centric family meals at home in London; and the special festive recipes she has gleaned along the way.

All these seemingly diverse recipes are centred on comfort and connection. These are recipes that have been handwritten, handed down, and shared among friends: “They are nostalgic like the potatoes of my childhood, they share trade secrets like Bisque-style red mullet pasta, they interweave every day like Joe’s beet, feta, and potatoes, and they make everything ok like Life-giving rhubarb cake.

The foods we choose to cook time and again are part of what makes us, and when we share those recipes, we give a little of ourselves.” In this book, Olia gives us her food story through her very favourite recipes. (more…)