The Katch-Up || Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit || An interview with Kate Young
If you’ve ever read The House at Pooh Corner, then you’ll already know that it contains the very best cure for feeling too busy:
It was going to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he woke up he felt important, as if everything depended on him. It was just the day for Organising Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying to Pooh, and saying, 'Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet.' and then going to Piglet, and saying, 'Pooh thinks - but perhaps I'd better see Owl first.' It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody says 'Yes, Rabbit' and 'No, Rabbit,' and waited until he had told them.
He came out of his house and sniffed the warm spring morning as he wondered what he would do.
Last week my sister sent out a round robin email: you share a poem with somebody, and pass it on, and on it goes. An unequivocally lovely thing to do.
Except... I didn’t. I must have closed the app, or pressed that little arrow that says ‘Back to Inbox’ (Quick! Back through the cave! Tiptoe, tiptoe) to deal with something probably far less deserving of my attention. I look forward to hearing from you, warm regards, warmest regards, regards hotter than the actual sun.
Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet.
A week later, my sister and I met up for lunch. By this time, no, I had still not sent the email, you were right to assume that.
- but perhaps I'd better see Owl first.
‘It’s very interesting’ she mused, ‘how many of the replies I got were from people explaining - often at quite some length - why they didn’t have the time to do it.’
Now, it’s important to say this was the start of a genuine and compassionate pondering on how so many people we know keenly feel themselves to be stretched every which way, and sorely lacking in time and spare attention.
But it was, of course, also a spectacular burn.
My sister has (as sisters do) a way of cutting through my nonsense like a hot knife through butter. And the butter had been sitting out all day, chatting to the jam about what a week it’d been.
So, with renewed resolve - and my tail very much between my legs - sent the email. I found a bit of spare time at the back of the sofa, and put it towards choosing my poem with care. The response I got (almost immediately, as if to compound my shame) was really heartfelt, and it brightened my day to no end.
And although it’s not lost on me that a newsletter is perhaps the ultimate case of Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, I’m writing to you now, in the hope that it might do the same.
The Cameo
My guest this week is Kate Young
Photo credit: Jamie Drew
What’s your job title/profession?
I am a food writer. I write cookbooks - The Little Library Cookbook came out in 2017 and the follow-up, The Little Library Year, will be out this October. I also write recipes for various publications. Very occasionally I’ll write something that has nothing to do with food or books (I even wrote a fashion piece once, much to my own surprise).
I also work as a caterer/cook, mostly with my brilliant pal Liv. We cater weddings! And host supper clubs!
VERY occasionally I will do some work as a freelance admin lackey (I worked as a theatre producer before leaving to go freelance, and sometimes return to work for my ex-colleagues!)
What would you love for people to know about your work?
I think this is really important: I feel so so lucky to do what I do. I mean that in the most literal sense - there are so many people writing about food and about books, and I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time writing the right thing. I cringe at the word success but I am ‘successful’ enough to have turned a free blog into a full-time career. That is down partly to having a good idea, but is mostly about luck.
What might people be surprised to discover about your work?
I spend lots of time thinking about new recipes and playing around with different ideas, but just as much time cooking from other people’s books. I have always loved following recipes, and that hasn’t stopped just because I am also doing my own thing.
Also, there are a lot of tinned soups in my life. And LOTS of butter and marmalade on toast. When I am in the middle of writing (and particularly when I am editing), I find it really hard to get myself into the kitchen for any longer than a couple of minutes.
What made you/helped you to choose what you do?
I started a food blog at the beginning of 2014. I really loved being a producer, but I wanted to do something that was just for me - a little creative project of my own. It took off in a way that I really didn’t expect, and eighteen months later I handed in my notice and ‘went freelance’.
It felt like an enormous risk at the time, but I had realised I didn’t want my boss’ job, and that my favourite bit about working in theatre (spending time in workshops with young people) was the thing you stop doing so much of as you progress up the ladder. I thought I’d take a year off, see how writing and cooking for a living went, and return to theatre when I worked out what bit of it felt like the right move for me. That was more than three years ago now; I don’t think I’ll be going back.
What’s your perfect breakfast/lunch for a workday?
Really soft boiled eggs, soldiers with lots of butter and Marmite, and a pot of coffee.
(What do you actually have for breakfast/lunch?)
I’m pretty lucky - my ideal breakfast is normally an achievable goal. I have a cup of tea when I wake up and then generally eat a ‘work brunch’ around 11 or midday - soft boiled eggs, often with broccoli, or pickles, or sardines/anchovies, or Marmite/Vegemite (I am sort of Australian and sort of English, and so have both in the cupboard). Whatever is around, really. There will almost certainly be toast; I spend far too much money on sourdough, and have vowed to learn to make my own in 2019. At this point of the morning, I also put on a pot of coffee that I drink hot for a bit, and then cold through the day. I HATE cold tea, but like cold black coffee.
What’s your alarm sound?
It is REALLY annoying, and I leave it across the room so I have to physically get out of bed to turn it off. I have, every single morning for the past two years, wondered how to change it to something better, and then forget to do so until the next time it annoys me, 24 hours later. Maybe I will change it tonight (I probably won’t).
Do you have a set morning routine?
I sleep with the curtains open, as I like waking up with sun already in the room. I write until really late at night, so I generally set an alarm for between 8am and 9am. I try to read in bed for half an hour before getting up, but sometimes that becomes ‘scroll through Twitter in open mouthed horror for 15 minutes’. I get up, and go for a run, or do some yoga, or decide that it’s a ‘neither of the above’ day. I make a plan, and do some admin, and then have much brunch-type meal while reading a book. I normally start properly working after that.
Do you have a dedicated/preferred space for writing? If so, what does it look like?
I have two. I write the prose bits of my books at my desk, which has a lovely view of the Stroud valleys (where I live) and a box full of plants, and a noticeboard full of things I love. I write recipes downstairs in the kitchen, at the kitchen table. Occasionally I write sitting in the armchair in my room, but I often end up regretting that, as my feet don’t quite touch the floor and so I slump, and my back hurts.
I would like to say I write in a cafe or a shared workspace, or something that’s not ‘my house’ but I like my pyjamas too much and I also like being near cheap tea and coffee.
Preferred stationary/tools of the trade? Essential work items?
I have a MacBook Air, because I am a horrible millennial cliche. I’m quite unromantic about stationary, and like black BIC biros. I have range of different notebooks that I jot things down in, write in, and make plans in. I wrote my first book almost entirely by hand, but this latest one was done much more consistently on my laptop. I correct my work in red pen, because I was a teacher for a few months about ten years ago, and that part of me is still very present.
What are your work hours like? Do you try to create a routine for yourself or is that impossible given the nature of your work?
If I am in cookbook or food writing mode, I do admin before midday, test recipes in the afternoon, and then eat what I’ve cooked with my flatmate for dinner. After dinner, we might watch a film, or I’ll see some pals. I then often do the bulk of my prose writing at night - from maybe 10pm to 1am/2am. My brain works best at this time, and I also find it’s easier to avoid getting distracted by social media and emails.
If I am catering mode, Liv and I will get up early and have a cup of tea. We’ll then either be cooking in her kitchen in London or onsite somewhere if we’re doing a dinner or a wedding. We’re notoriously dreadful at taking breaks while catering (there’s so much nibbling and taste testing that we’re rarely hungry) but we try to sit down and tackle our business emails at some point during the day. If it’s a ‘service day’ (a wedding or a supper club), we’ll be working on our feet until at least midnight, often later.
Do you work with fixed goals in mind or take it day by day depending on what comes up?
I have weekly goals; a list of recipes I want to test, specific bits of the book I want to write, a piece I have to file, another one I want to pitch. I inevitably spend most of Friday looking at a good handful of the tasks in disdain before moving them to the following week in my diary.
I also have a few ‘long term’ tasks which are listed at the front of my diary and are much more general: new projects, and new ideas.
What inspires you? (Name 1-3 things if that makes this massive question easier!)
In a really basic sense, the recipes I develop are either ‘things I dream of and want to eat’ or ‘things I read about in novels and want to eat’. I am basically just a greedy person with an imagination and an ability to use a whisk.
What’s your favourite thing about your job?
I love that my job encompasses lots of different things (writing recipes, writing prose, cooking at home, cooking in a catering sense, reading books), and is therefore varied and occasionally unpredictable.
I love that I can do quite a bit of it in my pyjamas, and that my day can be entirely flexible - I can go for a run when it’s lovely and bright, rather than having to squeeze it in the dark morning in winter before heading to an office.
Also, I love that I don’t have to commute anymore - I REALLY hated trying to push myself onto the train at Dalston Kingsland every morning.
Least favourite?
I do miss the collegiate nature of working in an office.
I am constantly overwhelmed by the unending pressure of being so directly and tangibly responsible for paying rent at the end of each month, and living without a guaranteed wage. The fact that my ‘success’ in this industry is down to luck - my book getting enough coverage, and being seen by the right people - as much as it is any ‘talent’ I may have, is something I find endlessly anxiety-inducing. A small part of me feels that every invoice I submit might be the last bit of work anyone ever pays me to do. Also, I do worry about the fact that I might never have a proper pension.
Oh, and people not paying freelancers. Chasing invoices is just crap, and I am furious at how much time I spend doing it.
But even looking at that list, I think about how much I love what I do and how lucky I feel, and how it’s absolutely 100% worth all the worst bits.
What do you do to get through days when you just don’t feel like it?
I love what I do, so when I don’t feel like it, it generally means I am having a crap mental health day. From there, it really depends on how rubbish I am feeling. Sometimes a walk will sort me out, or a couple of chapters of a novel I’m reading, or getting up and making a cup of tea. I’m lucky that both cooking and writing are part of the job, so often when I’m not feeling one, I can switch to the other.
On days I am TRULY not feeling it, and am properly morose, I’m getting better at looking after myself. If I can (ie. if an unavoidable deadline is not looming) I take advantage of the fact that I am freelance and work from home, and just shift my working hours. I’ll take a day off, and work a weekend day instead, or will take the afternoon off, and decide to work in the evening. I felt like this today, actually, so went for a long run, made biscuits, watched a film, and then sat down to work at 6pm. It’s midnight now, and I have a couple more hours of work to get through, but they’re more achievable now than they felt this morning.
Sometimes though (like when we’re catering, and work is unavoidable) I just have to give myself a stern talking to, get up, and do what I have to do, step by small step.
Do you have a go-to treat to get you out of a slump?
I love crisps more than life itself. So does my flatmate, so plain salted crisps and a really cold beer is something one of us will often bring the other if we think they’ve been working too hard or too long.
Go-to work sustenance, meal, drink or snack-wise?
Toast. Almost always. And loads of cups of tea. Or the aforementioned crisps.
What’s your favourite part of the day?
In the summer, if my flatmate is home, then it’s the half hour in the evening when we (and my neighbours, some nights) have a chat and a cold drink on the deck, while the sun is setting. I also love the last half hour before bed, when I read and think about breakfast. I love thinking about breakfast perhaps even more than I do eating breakfast.
Least favourite?
First thing in the morning. I wish this weren’t true, but it is. I thought once I was a grown up I would become a morning person, but it turns out if you are determined to go to the bed in the early hours of the morning, 8am is a horrible time of day.
How you define a good/successful day?
If I have ticked at least a fifth of my weekly To Do list off.
What’s been your favourite failure? One that you learnt a lot from, or one that you can look back and say ‘well I got through THAT, I’m unstoppable!’
The first wedding I catered was a genuine behind-the-scenes disaster. I was SO unprepared for how much work it would be, and had planned a truly impossible menu, and I have never been that stressed before or since. It was insane. We pulled it off, in the end, and it did make me feel like we can do anything. But also, we’re MUCH better at it now, so we’ve never had it that hard since.
Honestly, I am going through all the things that went wrong in my head now, and am still so relieved there was food for people to eat at the end of it all.
Any hot tips for the old work-life-balance conundrum?
I am absolutely rubbish at this, but am getting better. The biggest thing I have found to be of use is to be strict about when I ‘finish’ work, and leave my laptop in another room. On weekends, unless I have planned to work, I make specific plans for downtime alone (reading, films, non-work cooking) and plans with friends, so that I don’t just find myself doing work by default.
Do you have any hobbies/passions outside of your work?
My hobbies and passions, before I started writing about food and books were… food and books. I still try and make sure I make time to read for pleasure, and cook for pleasure (though it is tricky, because I am constantly on the look for mentions of food in novels I’m reading).
I also love watching films, hosting dinner parties or drinks parties, going for walks in the countryside, having really impossibly long baths, and inviting people round for any combination of the above (not baths - baths I like to enjoy solo).
What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to do what you do?
Read everything. All the food writing going. Read M. F. K. Fisher, and Diana Henry, and Nigella Lawson. Read Nigel Slater, and Laurie Colwin, and Jane Grigson. Read, read, read.
What’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given you? (Or worst!)
My mum always said to cook pasta, even if you’re only making a portion for one person, in the biggest pot you have, and in well salted water. She is 100% right.
A friend gently encouraged me to see a counsellor recently, and that was GREAT advice. If you feel like it would help you, and you’re in a position to do it, I can’t recommend it enough.
Also, my university lecturer stopped me from leaving my teaching degree halfway through because she said that even if I didn’t want to be a teacher, having the second degree would be useful. That degree kept a roof over my head in London for eighteen months; I was working for free in theatres during the day, and was teaching at night. It got me to where I needed to be, and kept me here. She was so right.
The worst? Someone once told me I’d ‘failed’ in England because I was struggling by on not much money, and that it was probably time I went ‘home’. I am glad I ignored them.
What are you evangelical about recommending to people?
Really good salted butter. It’s one of those things that’s not THAT much more expensive than the cheap stuff. There are so many things where I just can’t afford the really posh stuff (perfume, skincare, sofas, etc). But really REALLY good salted butter costs maybe a couple of quid more than the bog standard stuff, and it is just so delicious.
I am also endlessly recommending Burford Brown eggs (they’re just glorious), the roasted bone marrow with sourdough and parsley salad at St John’s (not for everyone, but my favourite dish in any London restaurant), the Australian film The Castle (the most incredible cinematic joy), a cheese called Bath Soft Cheese that you can get at Borough Market or the farm shop near me in Stroud, and the audiobook of La Belle Sauvage (which Michael Sheen reads so extraordinarily well that I have listened to it multiple times).
Also, I have told SO many people to read Pachinko, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Dud Avocado, and Station Eleven.
What’s your top tip for getting shit done?
I think having a combination of achievable and more challenging goals is key - that way even if you’re just doing the easier thing, you can feel productive. I am most productive when I feel like things are going well, and so break tasks up into achievable sections that I can tick off one by one.
Also, being honest with myself about what is ACTUALLY urgent and what isn’t has really helped me. Historically, I have lost of lot of work hours feeling anxious about deadlines in the distant future, or about things I can’t control. I am trying to do this better so I don’t spend so much of my time panicking about things that shouldn’t be dominating my headspace. This is obviously clearly easier said than done, and I am not yet there either - but I am trying.
Finally, if in doubt, get up, make a cup of tea, and get back to it. When I worked in an office, I would be interrupted by a thousand little things each day, and so didn’t end up getting stuck behind my desk on one task for hours on end. Now I work alone most of the time, and I have to remind myself to get up and take a break. Walking away from a job for a bit, and returning with fresh eyes (and a fresh brew) is invaluable.
Which three songs should I listen to this week?
My pals Liv and Sam played the Hackney Colliery Band cover of Africa as they walked out of the ceremony after their wedding. I listen to it whenever I am feeling down. I adore Nina Simone’s Lilac Wine, and always want to weep (in a good way) when listening to it. She is incredible. Finally, if you love Dancing Queen and The Winner Takes It All, and Super Trouper, but you haven’t listened to ABBA beyond ABBA Gold, then please allow me to introduce you to Eagle. It's a synth-y banger of a track, one I often play really loudly and dance around the house to.
All of this aside, when I write, I most often listen to instrumental film soundtracks - I particularly love the typewriter clacking at the beginning of the one from Atonement, and try to ‘beat it’ in terms of my typing speed. It gets me going.
ALSO, this is not useful for you Katya, but for everyone else, listen to Katya’s playlists on Spotify. I am not very ‘good’ at music, but I have discovered so much that I love by casually playing them non-stop.
Follow Kate on Twitter (@bakingfiction) and Instagram (@bakingfiction)
Buy The Little Library Year! It comes out TODAY!
Quick aside: I was lucky enough to be involved in one of the book’s photo shoots (yes, my involvement was almost exclusively limited to eating the spoils and smiling, but that’s really just a matter for me and my conscience) and I will happily give a prize to anybody who buys the book and finds the picture with my hand in it! Here’s a clue for you: the very lovely photographer had to repeatedly urge me to give my hand a shake in between shots as ‘it’s just… extraordinarily veiny.’ So there you go. A treat in store!
And while you’re at it, buy The Little Library Cookbook! Why not? You deserve nice things! And this is useful, beautiful, comforting, AND nice!
Book Kate and Liv to cater for you! They made my wedding cake, and it looked like this, ffs:
A Poem
To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall
by Kim Addonizio
If you ever woke in your dress at 4am ever
closed your legs to a man you loved opened
them for one you didn’t moved against
a pillow in the dark stood miserably on a beach
seaweed clinging to your ankles paid
good money for a bad haircut backed away
from a mirror that wanted to kill you bled
into the back seat for lack of a tampon
if you swam across a river under rain sang
using a dildo for a microphone stayed up
to watch the moon eat the sun entire
ripped out the stitches in your heart because why not if you think nothing &
no one can / listen I love you
joy is coming.
I came across this poem in Howl Magazine, but I believe it’s from The Night Could Go in Either Direction, a collaborative chapbook with Brittany Perham (Slapering Hol Press, 2016). If you know otherwise, please do correct me.
Some Music
The theme of this week’s playlist is… argh. Songs for when you’re feeling vexed.
You can listen to it on Spotify here.
Also, I’m definitely in the market for vexed songs that aren’t to do with romantic relationships, so if you know of any good ones, I’d love to hear from you!
Links!
Did you know there was a Translators Association? And that they’ve been around for 60 years?? Well, we all know now. And this very cool blog is a celebration of just that! It somewhat puts my Duolingo efforts to shame, but I’ll try not be too discouraged.
VERY encouraging: Ted Danson Explaining How Deeply He Loves Mary Steenburgen.
Andie MacDowell Answers Every Question We Have About Michael. Finally!!!
I realised recently that my entire dancing style has been shaped by the jukebox scene in Michael. And by ‘recently’, I’m referring to the last five minutes when I was looking up this clip. You are experiencing my burgeoning self-knowledge in real time here!
I’ve started buying toilet roll from Who Gives a Crap, and maybe you’d like it too? Their bamboo toilet paper is 100% forest friendly, and they give 50% of their profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world. And every roll is wrapped in brightly coloured paper, so that’s very cheering. And best of all? You can buy in bulk, stack it in your boiler cupboard and feel like an absolute king.
Corporate Punk, a band led by my friend Sean Trischka, have a new video out! And it’s a banger, plain and simple. The fact that 3/4 of the band turned up to the video shoot in dark turtlenecks BY COINCIDENCE speaks to the powerful forces at work here.
Nick Cave’s newsletter is, as you might imagine, a site of extraordinary wisdom and feeling. Read this letter, on the difference between loneliness and being alone.
Camille O’Sullivan (one of my all-time favourite performers) singing People Ain’t No Good is a strong follow-up, especially if your feelings are at the door.
I saw Camille’s Nick Cave show earlier this year. I took my mum, who first introduced me to her music, and we likely gripped hands and wept for 85 of the 90 minutes, pausing only to re-hydrate. If you ever get a chance to see her live, please please seize it with both hands. She is absolutely transcendent.
72 Animals That Are So Round They’ll Roll Straight Into Your Heart. This is just incredibly soothing; I’ll offer no more of a defence for it than that.
And that’s it!
Love,
Katya
The Katch-Up's header illustration is by the brilliant Tamsin Baker.