If there’s one thing I love in life, I mean really, passionately adore, it’s vegetables. Sure, I love my dog and my parents and all that too. But what stirs in me genuine awe-filled wonder, what I worship with all the zeal of a fanatic, are plants.
Hello you lovely lot.
I’m Kathy. I’m a food writer, cook, veg grower and London ratrace escapee (more on that in a mo’). I’ve written two books - From the Veg Patch (a cookbook) and Rough Patch (a memoir with recipes).
Here’s the plan…
Are you veggie? No. Me neither. But I do LOVE vegetables. And growing them. So if you, like me, want to put veg at the centre of your plate (maybe your life too, as I have), then I have a plan:
…to share simple, seasonal recipes made for people who aren't necessarily vegetarian but want to eat less meat.
Whenever I chat to people at events, they almost always say they aren’t vegetarian, but they want to eat less meat. I couldn’t agree more. Many of us are now mostly veggie. So let’s cook that way. We don’t have to cook meals that are either vegetarian or meaty. We don’t have to pick a side. It’s dinner, not Brexit. In fact, sometimes the odd anchovy can make our hero harvest sing even more sweetly.
And it’s harvests I’m obsessed with – all my recipes are inspired by my back garden veg patch and the Cotswolds (UK) landscape where I live which give me endless ways to cook beautiful, simple, convivial food that get’s you closer to the land that grew it.
On that note, here’s the next part of the plan:
…to reconnect with the land by inviting you into my garden with uplifting stories about growing my own food and the healing powers of nature.
Maybe it’s everyday niggles or maybe you, like me, have cowered under the duvet as you felt the world fall down around your ears – either way, I have found nature, and especially growing food, to be restorative and comforting in a way I never imagined during my days in the London ratrace. So, if you need of a dose of nature for better mental health, then my garden gate is open in the form of tales from the patch and the fields beyond.
What’s included in a subscription?
For a start, my eternal gratitude. Your support as a free or a paid subscriber, means I can focus on creating recipes rather than engaging in the fickle nonsense of TikTok and Instagram to get work seen, let alone paid for.
On a more practical note, these are the actual subscriber benefits:
Free subscribers:
My monthly newsletter
A monthly recipe with PDF recipe card
Paid subscribers (76p a week):
My monthly newsletter
a weekly recipe with PDF recipe card
One of these recipes will be a live cookery class from the greenhouse (like this).
In more detail…
Monthly newsletter with a recipe round up, updates from the veg patch, news on events I’m doing (supper clubs, talks etc). Plus things like books, growing tips, goodies – basically, seasonal loveliness direct to your inbox.
Recipes inspired by the veg patch - mostly-veggie, seasonal, faff free and beautiful. Each with a printable PDF recipe card (have you tried printing from Substack? It’s a disaster. You’ll be needing the PDF).
And you are…?
I’m a cook, author, veg grower and sometimes photographer who worked in advertising agencies in London for more than a decade before burnout and depression took hold and I escaped to the Oxfordshire countryside, finding solace, and a new career, in the veg patch. Full, grizzly details in my latest book, Rough Patch:
And here too:
Once I was well enough to work again, I abandoned adland and got a job at Daylesford Organic Farm before becoming a full-time writer and presenter.
My first cookbook, From the Veg Patch was named one of the Top 25 cookbooks in 2021 by Delicious magazine.
My second book, Rough Patch, came out in 2025.
I write a regular recipe column in Delicious magazine and also write for BBC Gardeners’ World.
I am Fortnum & Mason’s Veg Expert, hosting cookery classes in store.
I’ve won some awards, but failed to win more so forgive me if I brag about the wins briefly:
Guild Food Writers Best Cookbook 2022, finalist
Garden Media Guild Awards Best Audio Broadcast 2022, finalist
Guild Food Writers Best Online Food Writer 2019 and 2021
BOOM Soil Association Awards Best Blog 2019
Young British Foodies Vegetable winner 2019
Ok. It’s all getting a bit LinkedIn, so let’s eat.
