Combining the Magic of Food and Literature: Meet Kate Young

Gosh, that’s such a tricky question. There are lots I return to over and over – the Midnight Ramen in my first book, the bread and butter from I Capture the Castle, the chicken and tarragon from Anna Karenina. In my next book, I am so happy with the coffee butter and biscuits, and the char siu bao, and the beetroot and gin cured gravadlax.

The clear soup from the Women’s Meal in my first book – I had to a master a consommé, which took a while to perfect and then explain well enough that someone else could make it first time around.

I have been saying I Capture the Castle for years, and I still think it’s true. But it’s so hard to pick just one – I sometimes think it might be Rebecca instead. And then I read The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets over Christmas, and utterly adored that too. I can’t wait to read it again. In terms of authors, I love books by Sarah Waters, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Agatha Christie, Min Jin Lee, Kate Atkinson, and Barbara Pym.

Absolutely! All the books I include are ones I think someone might enjoy (they’re not all beloved favourites, but there is something I liked about all of them), so I do absolutely read them all before including them.

I have set the blog aside for a bit, to focus on writing books. But I have a never ending list on my laptop – I make a note every time I come across something I could imagine making. I also fold down the corner of a page whenever I come across something I want to make – all my books are full of notes and ideas.

I would – there’s something very visceral about food in children’s books. I can imagine I am right there eating it. I imagine that’s why it’s there; it is such an avenue in for children, a truly effective way of creating a world.

I think there’s really great food in books from most eras – there is great stuff in books published during rationing in the UK (even if the food wasn’t available in the real world at that point). Victorian literature is full of incredible sounding food – I want to eat almost everything in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, for example.

I have! There’s one on the blog – the mushroom and bacon dish that the hobbits eat early on. But apart from the boring sounding Elvish bread they all munch on while on the journey, food described in Lord of the Rings is pretty scarce. I have also done a seed cake from The Hobbit too – I love the Unexpected Party at Bilbo’s house when the dwarves arrive.

• Date: Friday 8th March, 2019
• Time: 2pm - 3pm
• Location: Al Baraha 3, InterContinental, DFC
• Price: AED 75 / AED 68 for Foundation Friends
• Buy your tickets

Growing up, Kate Young’s memories of books and of food are intertwined - dreaming of rich treacle tart by the Gryffindor fire, drinking gallons of ginger beer and lemonade on Kirrin Island with the Famous Five, and sharing a pot of creamy honey with Winnie the Pooh. The Little Library Cookbook captures the magic and wonder of the meals enjoyed by some of our best-loved fictional characters.

Join Kate, winner of the Guild of Food Writers Blogger of the Year Award, as she serves her favourite recipes from The Little Library Cookbook.

We're giving FIVE lucky winners the chance to WIN a pair of tickets to her session "Kate Young: The Little Library Cookbook" at the 2019 edition of EAFOL.

Click here to enter the competition!