“My recipes work for everyone”
Local food blogger and author Mandy Miller Simmonds tells Eileen Leahy all about her first book Simply Dinners, which publishes in May, and reflects her culinary ethos of fast, delicious and crowd-pleasing cooking…
When the likes of legendary chefs Matt Tebbutt, James Tanner and Jonathan Phang endorse your soon-to-be-published first book you know you’re off to a good start.
And happily, Tunbridge Wells resident and well-known food blogger Mandy Miller Simmonds finds herself in that fortunate position.
The self-taught cook, who has amassed over 170k loyal followers on her extremely popular Simply Food By Mandy Instagram account, is just about to have her first book Simply Dinners published by Meze in May.
When we meet for coffee at St Kilda on Camden Road she is positively beaming at the prospect of having her popular, crowd-pleasing recipes wrapped up in a gorgeous new book.
“It’s all very exciting,” she says. “I have always wanted to write a recipe book and here I am on the cusp of it being published.”
Anyone who is already familiar with Mandy’s cooking style knows that her culinary hallmarks are delicious dishes that can be whipped up in no time, don’t require lots of pots and pans or fussy ingredients and work for pretty much everyone.
“I have always wanted to share recipes that not only taste good but will also suit single people or larger families. Portion sizes can easily be adapted and I never use unusual ingredients that will only be called for once.”
All Mandy’s recipes – whether it’s a crab linguine, a traditional roast, banana bread or a Korean stir fry – are easy to follow, achievable and usually boast most household’s store cupboard basics.
“The key to this book is that the recipes work for everyone. They are fast, achievable and easy to do – and they are an exact reflection of how I have cooked right from the beginning of having my own family.”
The mother of two boys tells me that she has always had a passion for cooking.
“Both my mum and my dad are great cooks so I grew up around good food. I also loved looking through Delia Smith’s books and taught myself a lot courtesy of her. Jamie Oliver and Nigella were two other huge influences in my cooking education and I’m currently into a lot of the millennial cooks coming up like the guys from Bosh.”
Mandy adds that she has been very lucky to meet a few famous chefs courtesy of being invited to lots of events – hence getting the likes of Saturday Kitchen’s host Matt Tebbutt to write a ringing endorsement for her new book. She tells me that being a regular at The Kentish Hare has meant she has developed a good friendship with its chef custodian James Tanner who runs the restaurant with his brother Chris. She is also a big fan of Robin Read’s The Counter and acknowledges what a fabulous foodie scene we have going on here in Tunbridge Wells.
Simply Dinners is packed with 80 recipes and cleverly divided into a number of chapters which include Family Faves, Speedy Dinners, One pots, Trays and Sweet Treats. The portrait pictures of Mandy in the book have been taken by local photographer Mollie Manning while the food images are by Paul Gregory.
“I’m thrilled with the photography. It was very special having Mollie on board as she knows me so well and is so lovely to work with.”
Simply Dinners is currently available to pre-order online at sites including Amazon, Meze Publishing and Waterstones, ahead of its release in May, and will make a perfect gift for anyone embarking on their culinary journey – but it will also be an ideal kitchen companion for seasoned cooks who are looking to switch up their recipe repertoire.
So how does Mandy come up with her recipes? “I just don’t think too hard about it,” she smiles.
“I think, what do people want to eat? What do they want to buy? It has to be approachable and achievable. The ingredients I use you can buy in any supermarket. So the most important thing is to listen to your audience and stick with it – don’t go off piste.”
And lastly what does she want the book to bring her as an individual?
“Ultimately I want it to be useful to people so they can use it time and time again.”
Instagram @simplyfoodbymandy
