Our host Vick Hope is joined by Romy Gill.
Romy is a renowned chef, travel writer and broadcaster. Born in West Bengal, India, she first learned to cook from her mother and moved to the UK in 1993, hosting dinner parties and running cookery classes before opening her own restaurant, Romy’s Kitchen. Since then, she has released her debut cookbook Zaika – Vegan Recipes from India, which was followed by On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh, a collection of personal essays, recipes and travel photography. Her most recent cookbook Romy Gill’s India – Recipes from Home features family recipes that celebrate her Bengali and Punjabi roots. In addition to her writing, Romy is a much-loved presence on radio and TV, regularly appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme, Ready Steady Cook and Celebrity Masterchef.
Listen to the full episode here and read on to discover Romy’s five most influential books by women.
“This book was published the year I got married – I think she’s such a brilliant writer and she put Indian literature on the map. So the book for me, it’s about the twins, about the aunt, the uncle and there’s a lot of tragedy. It’s a story that I think a lot of people will relate to with the deep waters of India’s many different states.”
“I made my daughter read this book because when we’re having a party and we’re speaking different languages, I don’t want her to feel left out. But, at the same time, I don’t want to force her to be in that culture. That’s where Gogol was. He was in two different traditions, American culture and their mum and dad’s tradition, and I think that’s where he lost the plot a little. But at the same time, when he lost his Dad, he wanted to change his name, whereas his sister quietly took everything in her stride and understood where she came from. But eventually he did keep his name.”
“I picked it up and I said to my friend you have to read this because the relationships within this book are electrifying. I did not want to put this book down because it is an easy read, and sometimes you need an easy read, but it’s also very well-written.”
“This book was a game changer. The way she shared stories, the food, it was all about sharing and the stories behind it and how it’s written – it’s beautiful. And it’s really, really important if you want to be a food writer […] it gave me a seed that I wanted to write a book like this one day.”
“I think that everyone should read this book because I think it’s such a witty, funny, beautiful book. She’s lived a wild life and yet it’s not focused on celebrity or being a Hollywood actress. It’s her childhood, relationships, her mother’s struggle for independence and custody of her children when she divorced Minnie’s father.”
