Hi there,

Welcome to In My Kitchen

To everyone who has recently discovered In My Kitchen, I’m glad you found us.

Barbara-jo McIntosh very generously shared our recent podcast conversation with her community, and I'm so grateful that it's brought some new listeners to In My Kitchen.

If that’s how you found us, welcome! And if you have not listened to our conversation yet, you can find it here:

In My Kitchen is really about one thing: connection.

We use food as the doorway, but the conversations about culture, family, traditions, identity, travel and the stories that shape who we are, are really where the magic happens.

My conversation with Barbara-jo was a perfect example.

We don’t always need to know where we are going:

I am at an interesting place in life, I have just launched my youngest off to University. I am not tied to any specific schedule and I feel like I have some time to really think about what I want to do. It is an exciting time, although I must admit I found the summer a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. One thing that keeps surfacing is something that Barbara-jo said to me:

“Don’t wait to do something new, do it now. If you want to open up a bookstore or a restaurant do it at 56 not at 66, because you have a lot more energy now than you will in 10 years.”

It is very pragmatic and practical advice!

It did send me into a bit of spiral though. I started thinking about all the things I want to do. How do I know where to start? What exactly is my path? I went down more than a few rabbit holes with my good friend Chat GPT.

I had assumed that someone with Barbara-jo's extraordinary career must have known exactly where she was going. She didn't.

Neither her restaurant nor Books to Cooks was some lifelong master plan. Her restaurant grew from years of collecting recipes. The idea for Books to Cooks was sparked by reading a small magazine article about a cookbook shop in Notting Hill.

What stood out for me in my conversation with Barabara-jo wasn't that Barbara-jo always knew what came next. It was that when something interested her, she was willing to follow it.

I am learning we don't always need to know where an idea will lead before we begin. Perhaps sometimes we just need to pay attention to what interests us and be willing to follow it.

This has led me to start a new project, which I’ll share more about later, but for now it's just an idea and an interest that I'm going to follow for a while and see where it leads.

I found this quote from Barbara-jo in a newspaper article about the closing of Books to Cooks, in 2017 and I think it sums things up nicely:  

“It was my dream and I did it. Now it’s time to coddiwomple,” she says. “You won’t find it (an English slang) in the dictionary, but it means to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.”

I think I found my new favourite word.

I've gathered more of my reflections from our conversation, along with Barbara-jo's recipe, books and a few things to explore further, on the Podcast Companion Page. Enjoy!

And this Sunday, we're connecting around the table

Once a month, we gather online for Culture & Connection Club.

This Sunday, we're making Barbara-jo's courgette flan, the recipe she shares and talks about in the podcast episode.

You can cook along with us, or pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of tea and simply join the conversation.

You don't have to cook to come.

And I received a lovely email from Barbara-jo today: she's going to join us herself for an upcoming Culture & Connection Club in October or November! I'll share more once we have the date confirmed.

I'd love to have you join us this Sunday. Here are the details:

When: Sunday, September 27
Time: 4:00–5:30 p.m. PT
Where: Zoom (link will be sent on Saturday)

What's coming up

There are some wonderful conversations and stories coming to In My Kitchen over the next few months.

I'll be revisiting a few of my favourite conversations from around the world, sharing some new ones, and occasionally stepping behind the microphone on my own to explore some of the ideas these conversations have left me thinking about.

To those of you who've been here for a while, thank you for continuing to be part of this community.

And to everyone who's just arrived,  welcome to In My Kitchen.  

P.S Once you sign up for Sunday's Culture & Connection Club, I'll send you the ingredient list and everything you need to join us.