Life with Nat - EP257: Tasty chat with Amy Sheppard

Episode Date: August 23, 2026

Nat was joined by the incredibly lovely Amy Sheppard, cookbook author, to talk about making dinner times joyful, easy, AND still nutritious Get the new cookbook Speedy 10 - https://geni.us/speedy10And follow Amy on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amysheppardfoodGet in touch with Nat, buy tickets for upcoming live shows and link to Patreon, all the family's Instagrams, and more: ⁠⁠lifewithnatpod.komi.io⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know you can't wait for Life with Nat to begin. But just before we catch up with the family, have you watched the show on YouTube? Nat's nieces episodes are perfect to get on the telly. With a glass of wine in hand, you'll feel like your besties are right there with you in your living room. Or if you're lucky enough to have your summer holiday still to come, the wait in the airport will fly by when you're watching Tony dish out his wisdom. Search for Life with Nat on YouTube and get watching. Hello, everybody.

Welcome to Life with Nat. I hope you're all good. Today I'm very, very excited because I've got an amazing woman on called Amy Shepard. She is a Sunday Times bestseller with her book Easy 10. She's a fantastic cook. You may have seen her on Insta. She's got over a million followers and is just amazing and I can't wait to get stuck in. Lovely to see you, Amy. I am so excited to be here. I'm so excited. I'm so pleased we made it work. Yeah, definitely. so, so busy at the moment because you've got your new book coming out. I know. I know.

I cannot believe how quickly it's come round. I feel like I've been talking about it for about four months down. It's finally like a couple of weeks away. It's fantastic. I really want to get back to the beginning is what I want to do because what I like to do is get through to the person before we're going to into the bump of the book. I read that you got into this because you had your son.

Yeah. And you were, you know, stretched. on time, stretched on money, and you started cooking these things, and then posting them up, and it, you know, it started there. Tell me how it all began. It was really, really accidental. I've got no background in food at all. Right. I've always loved cooking, but I've never, like I haven't been trained, haven't done anything like that. And I was working for the council and I had my eldest son, who's nearly 19 now. And I decided to be a stay-at-home mom. So I'd to give up work, be at home, had another little boy, who's now 16.

And money was really tight. Money was really tight. We were living in this little flat in London with like two bedrooms. I was cooking all these budget meals, just trying to, you know, chip peas and lentils and anything that I could make work because we'd had this massive drop in income. And then when we moved out of London, I made lots of mum friends. And you have like the boys' kids coming over for dinner. found lots of people just asking me for recipes and kind of tips on kind of what I was cooking.

I was very much kind of leaning into like how my mum had taught me to cook when we were kids. Yeah. Lots of budget, frugal things. And I thought, I'm going to write them down. I'm going to write them down and I'm going to put them in a cookbook. And I didn't tell anyone. I told my husband that was it. Didn't tell anyone about it and just kind of scruled away writing these recipes down and taking pretty rubbish photos, to be honest.

But I took some photos of it all. And I thought, I'm going to put it up on Amazon. I'm going to do like an e-book. Because e-books were all the rage at the time. This was like 10 years ago. And I put it up and nothing really happened. And it was all a sort of bit awkward. I spoke to, I just contacted an agent in London, like a food literary agent.

Yeah. She said, if you can go in the press, I reckon people are going to really love this because, you know, budget cooking is very like now thing. So I wrote this kind of really sort of homemade press release and I sent it out. And it was honestly, it was one morning, every paper in the country picked up the story.

Wow. And run with it. And my phone, I literally just set up social media for the book. And my phone just started pinging like constantly, and suddenly new followers. And it was everywhere. It was in the Daily Mail and the Sun and the Express and the Guardian wrote about it.

And my book went to night. number one in all books, which was just, but honest, I can't even tell you how homemade this book was. But yeah, I think it just kind of the whole budget cooking and budget shopping just really resonated at the time. And that's how I got my first publishing deal. It's absolutely amazing. And, you know, the thing is, it's to be able to do that, Amy. You know, we all have thoughts. We all say, oh, I'd like to do a book or, you know, whatever it is, I'd like to start a business. But to have the impetus to do that. that with two children, you know, under stress, you know, financial stress and where you

were living and everything, to do that, it's very impressive. And I think people, do you know, no, it really is. That's really, that's really kind. You know, you need to pat yourself on the back because it's easy to think of those things, but to actually get off your ass and do it is another story. Do you know what? I think sometimes it's not always the doing it, the finding the time. I think so often it's people find it a bit cringe or bit embarrassing. like put themselves out there, because it was, because I remember putting the book out there and seeing all the school moms,

like the next day at the gate, and obviously, like, they'd seen it because I put it out on my Facebook and had lots of kind of mum follower friends. Yeah. I just remember thinking, oh, man, this is so, but this is really embarrassing

that I've done this kind of really homemade thing and almost like, who does she think she is, that she could write a cookbook type of thing? Everyone was so lovely, though. I was just about to say, did you feel that at the gates? No, not at all.

Not all. Not at all. Everyone was just like, that is amazing that you've done that, that you've, exactly what you've just said. Everyone was just really kind and really supportive. And, um, but I think that holds us back so much just thinking it. It still does sometimes with me. Like I still regularly think, oh, no, I can't do that. Sometimes I go up to the school.

Yeah. I kind of forget, you're just mum, you're mum mode, aren't you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then sometimes I think, oh, that was a, I had that really embarrassing post with Imperial Lever out yesterday, right? running around in a shower house. And I forget that everybody sees what I do. I can totally forget it something.

Yeah, yeah, I do as well. I still conduct myself on social media, like I've got 200 followers. Yeah. I still like put stuff out and think, yeah, no, I probably shouldn't have said that out loud. But I think I think that's why people like you. Oh, thank you.

People really, I think, and me as well, I think, you know, my followers as well, I'm not half of what you've got, but they just like real people. Yeah, I think so. They find it really refreshing. Do you know what I mean? Because I feel the exact, whenever I watch your staff,

so much stuff resonates with me. I see you say stuff on the pod clips and just in your social media. I think, yeah, that's exactly how I feel. Yeah. That's what I do. And it really, you know, when you can really relate to someone.

Yeah, absolutely. So what was your first cookbook called the homemade book? So the first cookbook, so the sort of the homemade cookbook then got properly published and turned into a proper book with proper pictures, and that was called The Savvy Shoppers Cookbook, which was so long ago now, it's virtually out of print, I think. Right, okay.

There's like, I don't know, this might be some copies floating around, but it was a really long time ago. Was it a second one then Easy Ten? Was that the next one? The second one, I did one in between, which was, which I wrote during lockdown, which was called Hobb. So that was with Bloomsbury, and that was all about cooking on the hob.

Yeah. Just, yeah, lots of dinners on the hob. But that was, that was mad because I signed a publishing deal. I think it was in, did we go into lockdown in 2020? Can't remember, but don't want to. No, I think I'm sorry, I'm going to momentarily bring you back there. I think it was like the January 2020.

And I was like, yeah, that's no problem. I can write a book in six weeks. I mean, I don't know what I was thinking anyway that I could write a cookbook in six weeks. And how are the boys then? So the boys were like, oh, I could just do the massive when it is, 2020, like 2007, like 13 and 11. It's a lot, isn't it, at home? Yeah.

There was a lot with the kids. I think a bit younger that, like 12 and 10. So I'd be like just starting secondary school, coming to the end of primary school. A bit easier than when they were toddlers. But I was like, yeah, I can do it in six weeks. That's no problem because I've got boys at school now. I haven't got toddlers. And then we went to lockdown, I think, in the February, March time.

And so then it was homeschooling. And everyone was at home and my husband was off work and everyone was here. And it was just... How did you do it? I don't know. I don't know. I would some mornings, I would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning. Yeah.

And I would cook like three recipes, like three dinners before the kids got up. And then my oldest was obviously doing his own thing on, you know, on the computer at school. But my youngest, I was doing like full like homeschooling, sitting down doing maths. And then I'd have to go back to it. in the evening when they were done. Wow. Crazy times. But you got it done?

Got it done. In terms of your ideas and thoughts, so Hobb for me is so brilliant, it's such a simple idea. And I think people really love that. I mean, I think we're all obsessed by food. You can tell by all of the food programs that we watch and the travel logs. And, you know, I don't think you can ever be bored of food. I love it. I did cooking with the stars last year and I won that.

And I got to know some chefs and I just love that world. And somebody who I really love, and I'm sure you know and maybe resonate with, is Poppy at all? Yes, just love her. Again, Poppy came from TikTok and has done so well. And I actually, do you feel there is a snobbery with the you? Do you ever get negativity? Because I know Poppy does at times, but she's very successful. Oh, yes, so much.

So, so much, particularly men. I'm not going to knock men, but some talk, but. Nah, knock them. But honestly, some of the comments from men are brutal. Right. On social media, especially if I do anything, they consider like a little bit, this is a really old-fashioned phrase, but they would consider like a little bit common.

Like if I use, I use things like sage and onion stuffing in my food. I use potato waffles. And I love cooking with fond of, stuff and just making really basic eating ingredients. But I get hammered when I do that. Can you think of a comment? What sort of things? Just like, I mean, one of the ones I got the other day was that my food is like school

dinners and it's just like the word common is used quite a lot because people talk about like how I talk and how I pronounce words and things. I honestly, it's one of the worst things I do on social media that I will go full, full fledged do a voiceover and mispronounce something that I've always said wrong for lots of years. Right. I can't think of an example now. Oh, don't worry. Where are you from in London, anyway?

I'm from Essex. Oh, are you, Essex? Yeah, so for Brentwood. Oh, Brentwood. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I love the, I mean, I love the way we talk. Yeah, I do.

I'm from Islington. But, you know, again, why are we going to change? What are we changing for? Who are we changing for? Yeah, I don't know. I think I probably did at the beginning. I don't know if you've had moments of this just during your career

where you felt like I should probably talk a bit different or I should... I've definitely done that especially going on interviews when I was younger. I think I'm trying to put on my telephone voice and I think right

with age comes ease. Yeah, it does. You know, and I'm very happy to be myself and I'm very proud of where I'm from and my working class background. Yeah, exactly the same. And I just, you know, I like having an accent.

I like kind of leaning into where I've come from and it's still there. Yeah. Like when I was a kid, I'd love all that. And I've got the same accent as my mum and dad have got because they grew up in Ilford. And it's like, yeah. Do you still have you? Are your mum and dad still with you? Yes, they are.

Yeah. Brilliant. I bet your mum is super, super proud of what you've done. It's just, they're just so proud. They're so lovely my mum and dad. And they're just incredibly supportive. I mean, they think it's quite mad that, like, that it's just, turned into this massive thing.

But yeah, they're so supportive. My mum and dad love. They're just the most amazing couple. They were married when they were like kids. They were married when they were 18. And so they've been together forever. And they just cooked together every night and make all these amazing things.

And they're just, yeah, they're just so lovely. So you were brought up in a family where food was loved. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Food was a big thing for you on the table with the thing. Yeah, it's a massive thing. because we moved from Essex when I was like eight or nine. Yeah. So we moved to, we moved to Cores.

I live in Cormall now. Where are you in Cormor? I'm on the South Coast. I'm on a little village in the South Coast. So I've got the beach at the end of the lane, which is just so... It's my favourite. Lovely. It's gorgeous.

It's really lovely. I mean, it's packed at the moment, which actually I really love it when it gets busy because it feels like I'm on holiday as well. Yeah. When you're with other people that are on holiday. God, what a summer you've had down there. It's so lovely.

It's the first year we've not booked Cornwall for... Really? Where do you normally go in Cornwall? We love kind of Padstow, Watergate Bay. Oh, nice. That's sort of Morgan Porth, France. Yes, yeah, yeah, beautiful. That's where we really like.

But yeah, we didn't book it this year and keep looking out the window thinking, oh, gutted. Maybe a quick bag holiday weekend trip. Who knows? We should see. We should see. So Emily Scott's down there, isn't she? Yes, she is.

I was so lucky to have, I've met her at an event last year. Yeah. She's so lovely. And she's just, she did, she's amazing. And what she does is just incredible. She did like a cooking demo because she had a fish book coming out. And it's just amazing what she does, just amazing. Yeah, her restaurant was down at Ortegate Bay.

Yeah, and I went in and I bought a book and she signed it for me. Oh, I said hello. Yeah. But yeah, I'm just such a fan and such a foodie of all of you chefs. That's why I just love talking to you. So you kindly sent me a very sneak peek PDF. I feel very lucky of Speedy 10. Yeah.

I was reading it in bed last night and I love it. And what I love the most, I think, is the simplicity of it. And how about it? If I was in my kitchen, I could go to a couple of things. and I can look at your chapters and think, right, okay, rice. Have I got rice? Let's look at that chapter and let's see what I can make. You know, there's staple, store cupboard things that everyone should have.

And I just think that is so clever. Oh, that's so kind of you. It's one of my favourite things on social media is when I post a recipe and I have comments underneath saying, I'm making this tonight, I've got all the ingredients. And I love that. And I think, brilliant, you don't go to the shops. It's made from stuff you've already got in the cupboard. It's not going to cost you low.

of money. So yeah, I just love it when people say that. This is what I really like. So you've got one here, which is called paella-ish. Yes. So again, you know, you don't mince your words. You're not trying to dress up. You're not dressing any recipe up. It's like my son loves this one. You know, you can use a teresa. Prorns would be good, but they're a bit pricey, but you can add those in. You know, it's just really easy to read, simple. Honestly, I cannot wait to start making these recipes. Because again, I don't think you ever come out of that getting up in the morning and thinking, oh, what are we having for dinner tonight? No, I know.

I don't know what to cook. I don't know what to do. I'm quite, you know, I'm a good cook. Yeah, yeah. I enjoy it. But sometimes I think, oh, I'm going round again. That repetitive circle of that, chili, chicken and rice. Spaghetti bolanets.

Spaghetti. Spaghetti. Yeah. Lezannea. And you go round and round, whereas here I'm thinking, oh, would Joni eat that? I think Joni would have the spice. coconut and lentil rice. I could give that a go.

Yeah. You want them to taste more things, you know. Yeah, but still have kind of really familiar components in it. Yeah. God, I've had moments over the years with my boys where they've both been fussy eaters at various different times and they get really sort of locked in on one ingredient and that's all they want or just one dinner. So it's just sort of, so there's a whole beef mince chapter. Yes. And I know that people, families love a bit of beef mints and you, like we're saying, you don't want to get stuck in that chili. spaghetti bolognese, lasagna cycle.

But also, if you're doing food for kids, you don't want it to be so, you know, completely different. They're not going to recognise it and they're not going to try it because that is the worst thing when you've cooked to dinner. Oh, when you're exactly that, it's heartbreaking, isn't it? It is a couple of hours doing something that's really tasty, really good and actually quite difficult. Yeah.

Turn their noses up. You want to chuck it at them, don't you? And just go, no thanks. It's awful. Yeah. I love the beef pasty wraps. They look cracking. You use a lot of pastry as well, don't you?

I do. So easy 10, there's a whole pastry chapter. Yeah. I went all out and did. But the pastry chapter is just ready roll pastry. So short crust, puff pastry. I don't know about you, but we buy that a lot. A lot.

A hardly ever cooked pastry, which is really bad because my mum is the best. She makes the best pastry. My mum used to make a pastry. Really? One of my earliest memories, funnily enough. because I lost my mum when I was 19. Right. I don't have loads of memories, but I remember being in the kitchen,

and I remember her washing her hands. Yeah. And me standing there and saying, oh, everything's really freezing. And I remember her saying, you need freezing cold hands. The bowl's been in the fridge. Everything needs to be freezing cold to make pastry. Yeah. And it's a really early memory of my mum washing her hands in ice cold water to make the pastry.

Oh, that's so lovely. So that's one of your early memories with your mum doing that. What does she use to make with pastry? Apple pies or she would do I think like a beef mint sort of pies and she'd make doing suet puddings and stuff like that

I love suet pudding yeah I love suet yeah should you but fuck it so good so good so good so what's your favourite chapter

in the new book or haven't you is it all brilliant for you or a favourite recipe do you know what I would probably say it was just quite unusual for me because I'm not I do eat chicken.

I really like chicken, but I sometimes can't always get that excited about chicken. But the chicken recipe, the recipe's in Speedy 10, I just love them. I think it's my favourite chapter. Yeah. And what's your favourite chicken recipe in there?

There's a creamy lasagna, which is also like a lasagna-ish. So it's a creamy, one-pan lasagna. So it uses no fresh lasagna when you're biting sheets. Yeah. Just cutting it into strips, chucking it, literally you could tear it up,

throwing it into a creamy sauce with leftover roast chicken. You don't need a massive amount. And it's got some veggies in there. It's got some kale. And then it's topped with cream cheese and then just finished off under the grill with a load of cheddar cheese on top.

And it's so good. It's so, so good. It's like a proper big autumn hug of a dinner. And all in one pan, yeah. Which you can't be. I've got to come home from work. Or you know you've got a busy evening. ahead doing other things. The last thing you need is eight pots out. No, you really don't.

I just have no interest in that sort of cooking anymore. I think I did have once for a time and I was quite into, let's do big elaborate things. I just can't be asked anymore. No. I just really can't, especially writing Speedy 10 as well, I think, because I probably wasn't that, most of my recipes weren't necessarily that quick that I'd done in the past. It was a bit of a sort of learning curve to go actually, we want like proper big comfort food. But it's quite, got to be quick. And I was like, oh man, that's going to be, that's going to be a lot. But it's been quite good actually. It's got me into like a different way of cooking. And now I'm just like, I don't want any nonsense in the kitchen. I just want everything quick now.

Absolutely. Going back to your Instagram page. Yeah. I'm not on TikTok. I'm sure you're huge on TikTok as well, are you? Yeah. I've got about, I think it's like 700,000 on TikTok. I was really, I was really late to TikTok, like years late to TikTok. And I was already quite established on Instagram, about two years after lockdown, like two years after everyone else during TikTok. I went, oh, I should probably, I should probably give that a go. But it's so different. I don't know, do you go on TikTok to? I'm on there. I've got the life of Nat stuff on there. I never want it. I'm terrible. I think I've got about 25,000 followers. I just, I can't get it. I don't get it. It's just not my thing. I should post more.

It really, really took me a while. Probably took me a year before I started enjoying it. I remember the first time I went on it, I was like, what is this? Just a lot of noise and a lot. It's so fast. It's a lot for my brain to take. Yeah, it is a lot. But then what happens is I feel like the algorithm kind of figures you out. And then you're like, then you're hooked.

You're completely hooked. Yeah. It's probably best you don't do it, to be honest with me. Because it's like, it's a slippery slope. But I am a big Instagram user and I just want that more soft and easy. And I don't really scroll for long and that's all good. So you come up often. what have been your moments on Instagram

which have just been huge hits or are they all kind of much of a muchness? I mean, I'm interested. What do people love the most to see from your cooking? I mean, probably recently is I did a series called Cooking Like It's the 90s. Because I'm 46. I was born in 1980s.

So during the 90s, that was kind of my childhood teenage years. And that was where all of my kind of food memories come from. And I just felt it was just such a different time, wasn't it? So I did like a homemade Finder's Krispy. Do you remember the Finder's Krispie pancake? Yes. Yeah, I do. I loved them.

I absolutely loved them. We always had them in the freezer at our house. And so I did like a homemade version with like mini tortillas and breadcrumbs. Actually, it wasn't breadcrumbs. I used fruzzles. I used crushed fruzzles. Honestly, it's not surprising people get annoyed on me on social media. When I say this stuff out loud.

You can't beat a frazzles, though. You can't be a frazzle. I'm in. You're in. You're fully in. So I'd crushed fruzzles and put them on the outside and then fried them up. And so it's like cheesy, cheesy, smoky ones. And I did this.

I don't know if you remember this, but I wasn't sure whether it was just going to be a thing that my mom did. But she made this, and a lot of people said it was a real school dinners thing. She made this like scone-based pizza. Right. So you kind of make a scope mix, and it was always on like a rectangle tray. You do it quite thin, and then you do your, like, topping and cheese and some herbs and stuff like that. Right. But it seemed to bring back so many memories for people.

And it was really lovely because I went to stay with my mum and dad a few weeks ago, and there's a couple of weeks after I'd posted this. And my mum had completely forgotten that she used to make this pizza. So she made it. Normally I'd take the boys or I'd go to my husband, Paul, but I just went by myself to... Yeah. So my mum and dad. And they made this pizza and I was just sat on the sofa and I was just 14 again.

Oh, that's wonderful. But being looked after by my mum and dad are just having a homemade pizza and it was just so lovely. That's so lovely. I remember my mum, I can't remember that. She didn't do that one. Yeah. But there was a school dinner which I absolutely loved. And boy, did I have an appetite.

I remember always going back to the dinner ladies for seconds and thirds. Yeah. And it was called chicken meringue. Oh, I don't know. I don't know if you remember it. No. Sort of chicken in a sauce with onions and it was nothing exotic, but my mum got the recipe from the dinner ladies.

Oh, I love that. Yeah, I remember I cooking it at home because I loved it so much. Yeah. Yeah. I had great school dinners. People talk about school dinners being crap, but mine were great. I loved my school dinners. I've got such great memories of school dinners.

Me too. Like some of the cakes we had as well. And Semolina. Yeah. With jamming and the rice pudding with the skin on the top. all of those things, you know. I love me. Have you gone back and had some of those things as an adult

and do they still land the same? Because some of them just, they're just not the same. They're just not as good. No, I haven't. I would love a bowl of Semolina though with some jamming. I should do that. I should buy myself some. Yeah.

We used to have at school, it sounds really often. I don't think it's in fashion at all. But what's it called? Oxtail soup. They used to a homemade oxtail soup and those twoies amazing chips so we would get

my mates we'd get a bowl of oxtail soup and we get chips and we dip chips in our soup that was just like oh so good

interestingly my daughter had her lower brace on yesterday oh yeah and the day before so she's in a lot of pain

and she said can you get me a Heinz cream of tomato soup and then she makes white bread thick butter cheese

sandwich and she dips it in the tomato soup but that's her little comfort yeah I love that

yeah I'm going to have your comfort food that you enjoy. You do. And I love that when you see with your kids, them having stuff or coming up with their own little comfort rituals, that you know that when they're adults, they're going to look back on that and they're going to have that. You know, your daughter's who has that tomato seat when she's 30 and go,

oh, God, remember I'd have a brace or so. I just love that about food. Yeah. It kind of cement these memories. Yeah. I completely agree. And I think that's another reason why we're all in love with it. It's that the nostalgia of,

the nostalgia of those sorts of things that you eat that remind you of core memories throughout your life but then also the memories you make through food and the memories where you're gathering people together or you're on holiday and you go to a lovely restaurant or it's someone's birthday and you go out you know it's all about that gathering of people and being together and we're huge you know me and my family are very very close

and you know we've just been to Tuscany together and we were cooking in this little tiny kitchen and getting stuff from the supermarket, but being together and, you know, just having a glass of wine and cooking and who's doing what. Oh, so lovely. The holiday was great, but that kitchen was the best for me. Yeah. That was the best part of the holiday for me, you know.

That's so good. Sometimes the best part, because we've been to France, like South Catering with a couple of other families for the last two years and absolutely loved it. And that is exactly the same, just going to French supermarkets and getting all these little with little gorgeous bits and cheeses and salads and yeah exactly like you said and they're all cooking together I just love it so good it's so so so good we should definitely cook together at some point we should definitely oh no that means I might have to have a trip to Cornwall oh no that'd be that'd be terrible

a nightmare yeah that'd be brilliant definitely do that oh we should we should we should do something for Instagram or something yeah we should do a little another episode where we're cooking or something it'd be great Yeah, that'd be really fun. We could cook up some school dinners. Yeah, absolutely. You can make me a chicken meringue. Yeah, yes.

You could do a simulina. Yeah. Do your kids love what you do? Are they proud of you? Or are they like, oh, my kids are like, oh yeah, mum's, whatever. They're not really bothered about what I'm doing, which I like. No, I think they both went through a phase where their mates were really excited about the fact that they had a mom were quite a big following. but both of them are, but they're just both very much.

They're really proud. They're so lovely. They're just, they're really lovely about it. Yeah. But they're just not, you know, I'm just their mum. It's, but yeah, no, they are really lovely about it. But my eldest has just, neither of them have shown much interesting cooking. I don't know if your kids have.

Oh, I'll tell you a story in a minute, yeah. But Elliot, my eldest, has just started cooking from speaking. Oh, really? And they've never, my previous cookbook, honestly, it sounds to be bad, but I don't even think they've really flicked, even flicked through the other books. No, it's not bad at all. My kids haven't looked at my autobiography. Really? No, couldn't give a shit. But Elliot is just, he's like, I really want, because he's working at a hotel at the moment, so he comes back at kind of, you know, random hours and late hours. He's like, I just want to cook some pretty easy stuff. And I was like, how about speedy 10? He went, oh, yeah, maybe. Anyway, he's cooked a couple of things to me I'm just desperately trying not to be too enthusiastic and too excited about it about the kids cooking He's got some pasta out

My, so Eliza was on Junior Bakeoff Was she? Yeah, she got, it was really interesting at the time because she went through the process in lockdown Yeah, I know it's like,

a terrible mum She was nine when she came to me and said, I want to fill up this forming mum. Yeah. I really want to do the bake-off. And I went, oh, yeah, all right.

I said, that's ridiculous. I said, you can fill it in, darling. I said, there are thousands of people, don't get your hopes up. Yeah. So, you know, but I'm always like that. You know, don't have expectations very high and then you can't be disappointed.

Yeah. Anyway, she filled it in. We got an email. She did something online where she had to talk to somebody. Then there was the next stage she got through. And another stage. And it even got to a point where I spoke to a producer on the phone, really embarrassing.

And I said, look, I said, just want to check. It's not because of who I am that she's getting through this far. No, but you worry? You know, they want me to see me on it or I want it to be. And they let you want to just be her thing.

And genuinely, they were like, absolutely not, Miss Cassidy. Your daughter's talented, it's got nothing to do with you at all. And then I felt okay about it, you know, and I was like, brilliant, okay. But yeah, she did it. She absolutely loved.

it and... That's amazing. Yeah, she was 10. And we just lost my dad, actually. So we lost my dad in the April. Yeah. And then she got through and we knew she was going to be on the telly. So I'll always say it's granddad's gift to her, you know.

And then that summer... Yeah, and that summer she was filming that and she was away. And, you know, it's young, 10 to go away. I was working. So she went away with the childminder at the time and was phoning me every day and getting through the stages. But it really helped her. And I think she really needed that.

It would have been a very hard summer for her, I think. Definitely sometimes being taken out of the kind of the normal. It was her gift, you know. Yeah, that's a little thing. And she still love cooking. She still love baking. No, then she went into teenage years, couldn't care of less. Yeah.

But now she's, you know, she's with her friends or her boyfriend, and they'll get some steaks and they're in the kitchen and their season and their stuff. And she'll make pasta. and she's very good, you know, she can chuck stuff together and she's a good baker. So I've got no worries with her, no worries. She just did her work experience, actually, down at 45 Park Lane. Oh, really? And she worked in, for one of the days she was in the kitchen.

And she messaged me and she said, mum, I love this so much. I love it so much. That's amazing. So I said, it's really hard, hard graft. But if you've got a passion for that, you know, AI can't take over kitchens or food. No, that's so true That's so true I can't take that over

So I said I will support you all the way If you decide that is a route You'd like to go down hard work Really crap hours But if you've got a passion You will love to hear But incredible If you find that and you love doing it

It's just amazing Yeah So we'll see Anything could happen She's got to do her mocks And GCSEs and PCC levels So we don't know yet But she's definitely got a passion

And the other one Joni. So she'll be 10 in a few days' time. Well, in a minute, I will go down to the kitchen and she has left such a mess, but she made some cracking brownies. That's amazing. So she's another one.

So yeah, you know, cooking is in the house and they do love it. They do. It's so lovely as food is, isn't it? When you see your kids starting to love food and starting to cook. My youngest, Sammy, is 16. and so he's just started cooking for his girlfriend

and so they come over and they cook together in the kitchen and I just, I love it. It's great, isn't it? It's so nice to see. And Joni, because she's, you know, nine, we bought some, she said, no, what I want to do is I want to get some chicken fillets and I buy the little mini chicken fillet thing.

Yeah. And she said, no, I'd like to season them. So she's there and she'll get out the organa or the Italian herbs and she's rubbing it all in and leaving it for a bit and then pop her in the air fryer. You know, she's hilarious. She'll get out of fillet steak. That's amazing at nine though.

Honestly, she'll get out of fillet steak. Don't mind me. She loves a steak. She'll get out of steak and her chips and she'll do it all in the air fryer. She does her steak in the air fray. It comes out perfect. Really?

I feel like I just, I fully haven't embraced the air friar like my kids have. I agree. I think it's brilliant. I do use it for stuff, but it just, even though we've had it for years now, it just still doesn't really occur to me to cooking it.

Whereas my boys, just like anything that can be cooked in the air fryer there's just easy for them though, it's brilliant for them. For me,

I know people put a roast chicken in it and all that. I want to use my oven. I want the oven to be on. I like the hob to be on. I just, that sort of kitchen. It feels like I know.

I know. Do you know what though? I would say chicken in the air fryer is the best chicken I've ever had. It's so good. But yeah,

I still cook it in the oven. Yeah. It makes no sense. It's just, I don't know, I guess it's just like what we grew up with, isn't it? I think so. I think so. But, yeah, our kids. And, you know, you can buy the frozen croissons now.

Yeah. You know, it's just easy. It's nice for them to be able to make their breakfast and have a hot quasson or whatever. Yes, they can chuck it in the oven. But also, they're very impatient. They've been brought up. They're not like us. They didn't have to wait for, I don't know,

more commending to be on Tuesday night. I loved more commending. It's great, wasn't it? It was so good. But do you remember that kind of, that stage on Channel 4, every night there'd be a program on at 630 or whatever? Yeah. So you'd have your Morkmanee, you would have your, the Fons, happy days. Happy days, yes.

Oh, what was the other one? Blossom. Oh, I loved, Blossom was my favourite. Blossom was great. I was in love with her brother, Joey. Do you remember Joey? I do. Just loved Blossom so much.

But yeah, it was. We had like four channels, didn't we? And we had to wait, and each week, I couldn't wait. for that evening. They haven't got that now. So for them putting on the oven for 25 minutes, they're never going to do that if they can chuck something in for 12 in the air fryer.

Yeah, no, it's true. Which is a shame, but that's where we are. I don't want to be grumpy and old. I think when they're older, like, are people going to own ovens? Are they just going to have, like, an air frown in the corner of their own? I would imagine it would be kind of a larger scale air fryer, perhaps in the wall of, you know, it'll be smart, won't it? Everything is smart.

You'll just be chatting to it and shouting at stuff. won't you? You will, and your fridge will know what it's got and what it hasn't and the orders will just turn up.

You won't have to worry? Have you seen some of these digital fridges with the, like, TV screens on the front? They're mental. Yeah, it's crazy. I got contacted by,

I probably shouldn't say this, I won't say the brand, but I got contacted by a brand this was a couple of years ago and they said, I really wanted to do a collaboration with a fridge freezer. Yeah.

Could you like fit it in your house and can you do it? And I was like, whenever I'm doing stuff, We obviously want to try stuff out and you want to see the price point. It was £4,000. Yeah, yeah.

For like a fridge freezer. I was like what it would have to do to warrant being $4,000 anyway. I probably shouldn't say that. No, no. But I was really shocked and it was like a whole world of a whole world of fridges and appliances

that I had knew nothing about. Yeah, no, I know. They can be pricey, I have to say. Some of them are mad. Some of them are like 12 grand. Yeah, 12 pounds? Oh, go so this is like a, this is like an extra. Yeah, but what's the brand?

I can't remember. It's like I really, I can't remember. I don't know. It's like a big American. Everything's massive. Yeah, yeah. You know, the Hobbs, huge. It's got 10 rings on it and everything's like monstrously big.

But yeah, huge. But they're more for kitchens, really, but people do have them in their homes. Yeah, it's mad. We replaced our fridge the other day and I think it's like 300 quid. I mean, I'm not going to like it's really shit. But, you know, when you think about your career at the moment and what you're doing, so obviously your financial side of things, you've got your books and you earn through Instagram and like you say, you have your partners and you collaborate people, whatever.

Sort of what I'm doing at the moment really is the pod and different collaborations with people and, yeah, documentaries and stuff, but I've come out of the acting world for a little bit. I'd love to go back there at some point. I'm doing a pantom, playing a Wicked Queen at Christmas. So that would be great. Yeah, yeah, that would be really fun. And you've just done a voiceover, haven't you? I have just done a voiceover for Rickettsia Face.

But it's very little, very little part. Is it? I'm going to watch it at the weekend because my mate was, she sent me some voice notes when I was on the dog walk this morning. She said, it's absolutely brilliant. It's really good. It actually got slated in the reviews. Did it?

Really badly slated. But I just think people don't know what to say about him anymore. Do you know what I mean? I think he's just doing his own thing. I've seen some clips of it. really, really made me laugh out loud. It's just rare that somebody sticks to what they like to do. Yeah.

And he does that. Yeah, definitely. It's his style. It's what he does. And it's been number one on Netflix around the world for three days. So I don't think you'll be that bothered about the review. No, to be honest with you, it's not about what critics think, is it? No.

Actually, it's not about sort of people writing reviews and newspapers. It's about people actually just sitting at home watching it on the tell and enjoying it. Absolutely. Yeah. And it was such a brilliant thing to do. I play a couple of, I play his mum. So I play Gus's mum in it So just so you know when you watch it

And I also play the mum of the three kittens Which you'll understand when you watch But it's very short bits But yeah I was thrilled to Have you done much voiceover stuff before? I have done a few bits and pieces One animation before this And then I've done one that's actually coming out

With the BBC at Christmas time I've done a little cartoon for BBC Which is great But yeah it's something that I really enjoy and could get into, really. Must be so fun. Really fun, yeah, to encapsulate that character. But even when you're doing voiceovers for documentary series,

which I've done before, you know, there's a certain tone for everything. Do you know what I mean? Rob Beckett, for instance, with the dating show he does, you know. Yeah. It's a king of voiceover for that. It's so brilliant. Yeah. I'd love to do that sort of thing.

Look, come down with me. You get the awkward voiceover, brilliant, you know. Love that. You'd be so good at that. Yeah, I'd like that. You'd need to pitch Channel 4. We'll have to throw that out into the... Into the universe.

Yeah, that's it. Chuck it out there. Chuck it out there. As I say, we're both kind of similar with all the different bits and pieces. Do you ever kind of doubt yourself second guess and think, well, how long is this going to continue for? Oh, God, all the time. All the time, because I feel like...

Especially with the brand stuff, especially with Instagram and social media, it definitely feels like... I'm going to sound like someone's grand when I say this, but it definitely feels like a young person's game. like most of the influences are kind of in their 20s. And so I do definitely second-guess myself thinking, oh my God, how long am I going to be doing, like, influencer brand,

how long are they going to want to work with me for? I don't know. So it definitely feels like I'm the oldest influencer in the country sometimes. But yeah, so I definitely second-guess myself about that. And it's such an unpredictable thing, isn't it? I mean, you know, whether you're doing brand stuff, which you do or whether you're promoting the podcast, it's such an unpredictable thing, social media, isn't it? Very, yeah, very.

But whether you're getting engagement or whether you're in favour or what people are liking. So it's really hard to not make that your main aim of you're only as happy as how many likes your last post got. That's interesting, yeah. I mean, I'm not, I think that for me is very different. because I think my career, you know, I've been on telly for 30 years. So, you know, I've carved a career. Definitely. And then obviously this bonus stuff is brilliant.

But I don't ever look. But it's not your main kind of, yeah. You know, I do something and I don't even look at the engagement of it. Yeah. But I understand if that was my main game. You're kind of. And if something doesn't do as well as you want, you know, is this it? Is this it?

Right. It's a lot of pressure, though, for you. It is. And you just kind of have to not make it your main kind of. kind of aim and just look at, I've, I just love, I love Instagram. I know it's really enough to say, but I really love Instagram. I love chatting with people and I love sharing recipes and I just, I still, I feel like I'm kind of exactly the same on Instagram as I was when I had 200 followers.

Yeah. Like I still share the same things and I still chat in the same way. Like nothing's really changed and I still, obviously I've started. It's just like fun. So it doesn't, it doesn't feel like a job to me on there. No. But you do have to remind yourself sometimes, especially when you get negative stuff happen or negative comments and things. Yeah.

You just have to try and, I remember speaking, I don't know if you know, like Becky Excel, she is like a massive foodie. And I saw her a few months ago. And we're just talking about the, she's gluten-free. She's got a really huge gluten-free page. Her food's incredible. She's celiac and does all of this amazing stuff. She's had, God, I don't know the number, but I think she's, she's, she's got. God, I don't know the number, but I think she's had about nine Sunday times bestsellers.

Wow. So she's amazing. She's been doing it for a really long time. And we were just chatting about it. And I'm sure she went on me saying that we were kind of saying with social media, you have to, the way that it is now, you can't always enjoy the compliments because you feel like if you enjoy that too much, you can't, you can't be invested in either, basically. Absolutely.

When someone says, well, something's wonderful, you can't go, oh that's brilliant, I feel so great about that. And then when someone says some things about shit, you can't go, I'm devastated, that's ruined my day. You just kind of have to treat both exactly the same. Yeah, I've always done that throughout my career. I've been very, I don't know why. People always say it to me.

I don't know why I've got such a thick skin. I don't know why things don't bother me. But even doing plays, people used to be running out to get all the reviews and reading it all. I don't read anything. No. You know what I mean? Yeah, I don't.

So I get reviews for my books. I remember the first book coming out or being in like, you know, the Daily Mail or something, daily mail comments, things. Oh, no, don't do that. And I'd have, I'd have, at the beginning, I'd have my mum and dad going, oh, God, all the things been written or Paul had go,

you know, you've got a one-star review for your book. And I just think, do you know what, guys? I'm not looking at them. I don't, I don't want to know, because I can't do anything about it. No. And it's just so, yeah, so part of it's kind of on quite thick skin.

part of it's just, I just sort of live in a little bubble of ignorance. A little Cornish bubble. A little Cornish bubble of not knowing, yeah. So how exciting, Speedy Ten is out this week? Yeah, I can't wait. It's incredible. I cannot believe how quickly it's come round all of a sudden. It's going to be brilliant.

Are you going anywhere? You're signing any or doing any of that sort of stuff? So I've got a few different things that I'm doing. I've got quite a lot of radio things. I'm going on Women's Hour, which I'm so excited about because my mum and my auntie Paul still listen to it every day and they have done for years and years

so I just feel really tough to be honest so I'm doing that lots of radio staff I think TV as well that's not 100% confirmed so cooking on TV which is something I've never

done before I did a bit of cooking on this morning when I did the cooking and the stars thing and they asked me to go on and do some cooking I did a tray bake a chicken pepper

kind of big tray bake thing it was really nerve-wracking but I really enjoyed it. Did you? And I've done Saturday Kitchen a couple of times for promo stuff. Yeah. And I always get up there with Tebba and I'm sort of chopping and helping and you'll love it.

It's brilliant. How different did it feel to cooking with, doing live TV to cooking with the stars? Did it feel really different? Very different. Yes, very different. Very, very different. But you have to keep it kind of simple. Yeah.

And all of those shows, everything is, you know, very simple because it is live and you haven't got a long time. So you're not really doing much cooking. This is all kind of prepped. Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. Yeah. Whereas cooking with the stars was so stressful. I found it.

I loved every minute of it. Yeah. I loved it. I'd do it all again. But that time and remembering everything and, but I loved it. I think I could have worked in a kitchen. I think if I didn't do what, people always say, what do you think you would have done.

Yeah. And now I think that's what I would have done. I think I would have gone into a kitchen. Yeah. Because it lights me up inside. Yeah. Do you think you'll do something like that again? I don't know.

Master Chef have asked me before. Have they? Do you fancy? I shouldn't really say that, should I? But yeah, no, they have. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe.

I'm not sure. They just seem so intense. They just seem so intense. I think it's over a lot of weeks and with the children. I always think Master Chef is one when I've got more time at home and I could cook all day. Yeah. then that's something.

I wouldn't want to go on there and not give it my best shot. Yeah. Make it my life. Do you know what I mean? Because Master Chef since you're one of those things, they'll come on and they'll say, I've coached this ten times. Yeah. It's like the bake-off, like I've practiced and practiced this one.

So you just, yeah, there's obviously a lot of behind the scenes stuff goes on as well. A lot of stuff, yeah. I mean, I did the Christmas special bake-off and made a fantastic gingerbread sort of statue. And it ended up looking like some sort of stonehenge, rather than Albert Square. So if you want to look it up and have a laugh, please do. I'm going to do that. As soon as you get up this time, that's what I'm going to be doing.

I love that you went and made to Albert Square though. Yeah, I tried to do kind of the ghost of Christmas past and sort of Peggy and Dot and, you know, friends of mine that I've lost and love Christmas. No, it was absolute shit. It didn't work. But there you go. The thought was there. The thought was there. Amy, it's been so lovely talking to you.

Thank you so much for giving up your time. And I really, really wish you well with the book. I'm sure it will be another Sunday Times bestseller. Oh, that's so kind. Thank you so much for having me. Oh, it was brilliant. And all the pictures in the book are fantastic. I urge you.

Listeners, you know how much we love our food on this pod. It looks like a cracker. So get buying. Maybe we should do it for book club. That'd be a good one, wouldn't it? Do a cookbook for book club. I'll have a little think about that. Maybe it can be a little bonus, brucey bonus.

But yeah, I hope. Cornwall treats you well for the rest of the summer. Oh, that's brilliant. Thank you so much. Hope you have a lovely rest of your summer. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me on. Absolute pleasure and good luck with everything. And hopefully we'll cook together soon. Yes, definitely. All right. All right. Thanks, Amy. Thanks so much. Oh, what a fantastic woman.

What a lovely, lovely chat. I really mean it. The book is amazing. And as I say, for someone to start something from scratch with no help and to be as successful as she is. now. I just wish you all the best and yeah, go and follow Amos Shepherd. 0778-8-1919. Let me know what you thought of this app and I'll see you really soon. Cheers!