I’ve been looking forward to reading Lucy Boyd’s book, Kitchen Memories, for ages. The daughter
of Rose Gray, the inspirational co-founder of the River Café, Lucy is now head gardener at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, Surrey and an accomplished chef herself.
I met Lucy at HarperCollins last autumn when I was invited
to the publisher’s Fulham HQ to give a talk about blogging.
Kitchen
Memories is a captivating mix of recipes, memories and stunning
photography. In a moving interview with The
Times yesterday Lucy spoke about her mother’s massive – and ongoing -
influence on her. Rose Gray died in 2010 but even now, when Lucy’s cooking she
can hear her mother’s voice in her ear.
“I bought some asparagus out of season the other day and I’m
still covered with shame,” Lucy told interviewer Andrew Billen. “It’s like
‘God, what would Rose say?’ She’d say 'Traitor.'”
Lucy’s words resonated so strongly with me. My mother died
more than eight years ago but every time I do something she’d disapprove of
(not often, I admit) I feel desperately guilty. We were incredibly close, spoke on the phone every day and agreed
on most things – apart from poached
eggs, brackets, flat shoes and telling people your age.
She loved poached eggs, I hate them. She loathed brackets, I
love them (as you can tell). She loved sky-high shoes and well, so do I (but
I’m quite keen on my Converse too). And last of all she thought you should
never ever let on how old you are. Actually, come to think of it, I’m coming round
to that one…
Kitchen Memories
by Lucy Boyd (HarperCollins, £20)
