'All The Cool People Live in Chiswick'

Celebrity food writer Melissa Hemsley on her love of west London

Melissa Hemsley is one half of the Hemsley Sisters whose food business Hemsley + Hemsley has pioneered modern healthy home cooking since 2010.

She's also got strong links with West London having grown up in Kingston upon Thames, where her mum still lives.

Melissa lives in East London now but she will be going down memory lane when she comes to Chiswick to take part in the forthcoming Cookbook Festival.

"I went to Tiffin School and my earliest impression is that all the cool people live in Chiswick. So I hung out a lot with them, and I'm a member of Soho House so I get to have brunch in Chiswick quite often and meet up with my friends in Chiswick and Barnes.

"I love to come back to see my mum and take river walks and I've been to some really good restaurants in the Chiswick area. I'm looking forward to having brunch there when I come for the Cookbook festival."

Melissa had no ambition to be part of the food industry when she was growing up.

"For me, I didn't think it was ann industry that had anything for me. I went to Tiffin School and I wanted to be a doctor and I had no idea being in the food industry was available as an option. My only role models in cooking were Nigella and Delia, Nigella is an incredible journalist and Delia was the Queen and well as for everyone else I didn't feel women were represented as chefs, it was the Gordon Ramsays and the male chefs who had years of French training with blood. sweat and tears.

"In fact I see the food industry as a loving community and everyone does look out for each other. I've been on the foodie side eight years now and when I started you didn't work in the same way. Now you have to think about social media and being out there, and it's not just about writing anymore. For example, today I am supposed to be writing, but because I've been doing interviews, thinking about demos for food festivals, sorting out free recipes to put on social media, I haven't had the chance to write yet.

"People trust you and people want to hear from you regularly, they want to see you on social media, and out meeting them at demos where they can ask questions, they want free content, and lots of kitchen tips, so a lot of my time is spent working out what people want. For example with back to school next week I will be thinking of ideas to help people cook ahead, put food in the freezer and get stocked up."

Melissa says she is really excited about the Cookbook Festival, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

"I really believe in cookbooks, libraries and in kids beginning cooking early in their lives. But it's also about giving something back. I 've spent two days in Newcastle for a collective where we will provide free cooking classes for people with cancer.

"It's incredibly rewarding, so when I turn off the email to write, I also feel I am making a positive impact.

"I don't want just to be an author of cookbooks, but to make books that people use. I was told that on average people use two recipes from a cookbook -you slave over writing them and people spend £20 quid buying the food, so that seems a bit of a waste. I try to work out what people want and I find social media and doing demos is an amazing way to connect- I can ask myself, what am I missing, what do they need from me. I love people chatting to me,about anything really, how they can save money, about where to get quality meat etc.

"I hope I can bring some of that passion on my visit to Chiswick and am looking forward to coming and meeting everyone."

Melissa’s new book ‘EAT HAPPY: 30 minute feel good food’ was released early 2018 and is a celebration of fast, fuss-free, food, packed with simple, batch cooking recipes all made in just under 30 minutes. It uses easy to find ingredients and makes meals out of leftovers leaving minimal waste. So far, it’s reached No1 on Amazon.co.uk and been translated into Dutch and German.

Melissa has featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, Vogue, The Times, Stylist, GQ, House & Garden, Harper’s Bazaar, Bon Appetit, Conde Nast, The Evening Standard and Food52. She has also appeared on Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, Sky News, Channel 4 News and has given talks at BFI, Radio Times festival, BBC Goodfood shows and cooked at festivals and high profile events internationally.

She presents a podcast ‘Live Life Better’ with Virgin Books and Penguin Living where she talks to authors and experts on subjects such as resilience, productivity, sleep, empathy, relationships and happiness.

The Hemsleys have two best selling cookbooks; The Art of Eating Well and Good + Simple. They also have a Hemsley + Hemsley café at Selfridges, London and their cookery show was shown on Channel 4 and distributed worldwide to over 20 countries.

Melissa is a supporter and volunteer for CookforSyria.com, Headtalks.com , Future Dreams, The Prince’s Trust and is a judge of the YBFs (Young British Foodies).

Read more about the Chiswick Cookbook Festival. You can find out about the individual events here. Tickets can be purchased here through the Chiswick Book Festival system.

September 3, 2018