Cooking for recovery

We are worth more than toast for tea.

I thought a lot about the title for this. I don’t want to trivialise the word recovery, it can mean lots of things to lots of different people but, last year, I burned out faster than a falling star and so I guess that gives me the chops to speak about my own version of recovery at least. And I *do* want to talk about it as I know so many people suffer quietly and think no one else sees. For anyone feeling that way, I am here and I see you.

But listening to me chatting to myself about it would be about as much fun as sucking a cardboard box. So, instead, I’ve lined up someone VERY interesting to chat to. He’s one of the most authentic and interesting memoir writers on the platform: the delightful Wil Reidie of Wil Reidie’s Winter Book.

If you’re new to Wil, I could tell you a lot of things I love about how memory infuses his food storytelling (I use this word advisedly) but his cultural writing is something else. How to Fail at Being Finnish – a serialised chronicle of adjusting to life as a British chef in Finland – is hilarious and a joy. We’ve been cooking together long distance for a little while now and I can’t think of a better person to enjoy an hour’s chat with.

So, we’re going to go live on Substack together on Wednesday 11 March at 11am GMT (1pm Eastern European Time) and chat about the calm that can *sometimes* come from the kitchen, how surprising yourself with what’s in your store cupboard can fire up your creativity and how shitchatting while your hands are busy can be just as therapeutic as an hour on the analyst’s couch.

Come along if you can or watch the recording afterwards, but there are any questions you’d like to share in advance that you’d like either Wil or me to answer, then leave a comment below, or feel free to DM me.