A Table For Two: Our Q&A With Bre Graham

Bre Graham is a food writer and editor. Her debut cookbook, Table for Two: Recipes for the Ones You Love, is out now. Read her Q&A where she tells us more about the inspiration for her new cookbook. She also shares her delicious recipe for a Thousand-Layer Heart with Rhubarb and Cardamom Custard.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and where your love for cooking came from.

I’m a food writer and editor originally from Sydney but I grew up in Singapore and have lived in London for the last eleven years. I think so much of my love for cooking comes from always missing one place or another and wanting to cook to remind me of home.

How do you think your upbringing in both Sydney and Singapore has influenced the recipes you create?

Both Sydney and Singapore have such incredible food cultures that really focus on seasonal produce and quality ingredients at the heart of things. I think that’s something I really wanted to focus on in my book and in the way I cook. By using ingredients that are in season, you’ll get the best out of them.

Congratulations on your debut cookbook release! Can you tell us a little bit about where the inspiration for ‘Table for Two’ came from?

I started writing Table For Two as a reflection on how cooking for my boyfriend and me in our tiny kitchen made the really stressful times of the pandemic feel brighter. The book really built out from both that and my newsletter, Dishes To Delight, in which I send out an essay and recipe each Sunday night.

As well as 80 recipes the book includes illustrated essays on various themes related to love. What was the process of curating this like for you?

I knew I really wanted this book to tell a narrative through recipes and essays. The essays are like a moment of pause through the book so you can cook and read at different times. I loved writing and curating this book, it really is the cookbook that I cook the most from at home now that it’s on my bookshelf.

Love and food have always been incredibly interlinked. What does the connection between the two of them mean to you, personally?

Cooking food for those I love has always been how I’ve expressed love, and that also extends to myself. To be able to care for and nourish yourself or the people that you love through food is so intimate.

What’s next for you in 2023?

I’ve started working on another big writing project - and hopefully lots more sunshine, pasta and wine!

Where are your favourite spots to eat in London at the moment?

Sitting by the fire at Luca in Clerkenwell and eating their incredible hand-made pasta and tiramisu really can’t be beaten.

What do you love about Wolf & Badger?

I’m so obsessed with Wolf & Badger for finding new designers. I love how you source your brands and the London store in Coal Drops Yard is the dream store to spend an afternoon shopping in.