If you imagine the life of a celebrated food writer as one of endless elegant dinner parties and picture-perfect meals, Tara Wigley’s kitchen will swiftly set you straight. For Wigley, collaborator on bestselling cookbooks and now author of her own playful, rhyme-filled volumes, food is as much about chaos, curiosity and comfort as it is about culinary perfection.
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A family table where rules are meant to be bent
Wigley’s home life reads like a love letter to resourcefulness. “Sunday is poached chicken day,” she laughs, describing a family ritual that’s more about adaptability than strict tradition. “We call it ramen, but it’s really just poached chicken in broth, and then everyone adds their own bits and bobs – it’s a bit of a fridge raid.” With vegetarians, gluten-free eaters and spice lovers all gathered round, the spread is designed for everyone to help themselves.
Batch cooking is her not-so-secret weapon. “I can’t look at a recipe without quadrupling it, even if it’s just for me,” she admits. “Half goes in the fridge, half in the freezer. So many recipes are literally no more work to double, and so many things can be frozen.” Her approach means the fridge is always full – “it looks like I’m a short-order chef” – but the payoff is family meals where everyone eats together, even if they’re not eating the same thing.
Explore our batch cooking recipes and family meal recipes for fresh inspiration to kick-start your meal prep routine.
From cookbooks to rhymes and why food writing needs both
After over a decade co-writing with Yotam Ottolenghi, Wigley has become known for her lyrical, storytelling touch. Her latest books, including How to Butter Toast and How the Cookie Crumbles, trade recipes for rhymes – but don’t mistake that for frivolity. “Each rhyme is packed with information,” she says, “because there’s so much out there that’s confusing and contradictory.”
The move to rhyming books was a rebellion of sorts. “Cookbooks can be so serious – words matter so much, recipes are more than just recipes, it’s all tied up with identity and history. But sometimes you just need to turn on the oven and get a good chicken in. It’s both things at once – we take it so seriously, but at the same time, sometimes it’s just nonsense.”
Her rhymes tackle the questions that baffle even seasoned cooks. “What’s the difference between baking powder and baking soda? Cookie and biscuit? Or why is Marmite called Marmite?” She laughs about the rabbit holes she’s fallen into, only to discover entire books written about the likes of Marmite and Napoleon’s culinary legacy.
Comfort food, competitive eating and culinary confessions
Wigley’s relationship with food is rooted in comfort and nostalgia. Her current favourite dish is a roasted vegetable soup inspired by the classic Heinz tomato soup of childhood sick days. “It’s thick enough to use as a sauce with leftover chicken, and it’s all about that hug-in-a-bowl feeling,” she says. For her, comfort food is “the food we eat when no one’s watching” – sometimes as simple as a midnight bowl of cereal.
There’s no pretence about perfection in her kitchen. She recounts disasters, from accidentally pouring tea instead of gravy over a customer’s roast dinner in her waitressing days, to caramelising oranges with salt rather than sugar. “You should always taste your ingredients,” she confesses, “but sometimes you just don’t feel confident enough to ask the silly question.”
Her guilty pleasures are wonderfully honest. “Every time I dip my spoon in a tub of tahini and eat it straight, I wonder if I should be doing that so much. But what I feel most guilty about is how much I enjoy eating alone. There’s this myth that we all need to be having wonderful, relaxed conversation, but actually, eating alone is pure bliss.”
The magic of sharing and tweaking recipes
Despite being surrounded by family, Wigley finds joy in the solitary side of food. Yet, she’s quick to celebrate the communal magic of recipes passed from hand to hand. “There’s a beauty in how recipes travel. You’ll have a cake called Verena’s marble cake, and someone in a different country who’s never met Verena will make it, tweak it, and it becomes theirs.”
Her own signature is the charred aubergine – a daily ritual that fills her home with smoky aroma. “If my kids smell that in 50 years’ time, it’ll bring them straight back,” she smiles. Whether it’s blitzed into baba ganoush or stirred into a punchy yoghurt and mustard dip, the aubergine is her muse.
Food without facades
For Wigley, good food isn’t about showmanship or chasing trends. “It’s always delicious and nurturing, and about the right food for the right time and place. Throughout the year or even the week, it can be something totally different – but it just gives you what you need in that moment.”
Her advice for home cooks is simple: let go of the dream of everyone eating the same thing, embrace batch cooking, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. And if you’re ever in doubt, remember her best kitchen tip: “Everything’s better with butter.”
In a world of glossy food photos and intimidating recipes, Tara Wigley’s kitchen is a refreshing reminder that food and cooking can be joyful – preferably with a charred aubergine or two on the go – and we can all learn from our cooking mistakes.
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