The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver
June's cookbook club pick & event
UPDATED: We had out digital meet-up for this book on Thursday 13th June and it was just wonderful to hear how much the group have loved discovering The Pepperpot Diaries. I think the general feeling can be summed up by one of our gang who described Andi, this book and its food as being “whole-hearted and generous”. Absolutely right. This is a wonder of a book. Certainly one to transport you to the Caribbean with its dishes and flavours. Beautifully written, so evocative, and packed with recipes that are revelatory.
Some of the dishes we talked about - and a little about what their cooks thought of them:
Dhal puri roti - “pillows of deliciousness” (as you can see from the photo below) and their cook’s only complaint was not having made more of them
Tea-brined spiced barbecue chicken - “divine”; their cook loved the impact the tea-brining had on flavour and texture of the chicken
Green seasoning - a lot of love for this. Just the most useful, bright-tasting, flavour-lifting fridge stand-by.
Johnny cakes
Rice and peas
Honey-baked chicken
Orange, chilli and ginger aubergine
Leek & callaloo
Ginger beer - quite a few people made this! And it’s now being enjoyed in different ways, with some people treating it as a cordial to be topped up with sparkling water / lemonade.
Cucumber, ginger and lime juice
It makes me especially happy that The Kitchen Bookshelf has introduced this book to people who didn’t know it before but are now so excited to have it in your kitchen. Knowing that makes me as happy as this book does.
Last word goes to The Pepperpot Diaries playlist that accompanies this book and is available on spotify. So good. So good. 19 hours - yes, that’s right, 19 hours - of great tracks to cook to from this book or really any other.
The Pepperpot Diaries is a book that has been swirling around me for years. I now find myself here in Antigua, with finally some time and space to start getting these thoughts down onto paper...
The Caribbean is not just one place, it is many places, many stories, many people. And we each have our own way of cooking, our own way of telling those stories, our own way of bringing flavour to the plate….This book is my way of telling just some of those stories, my way of singing my song. A bit of the last, the present and the future.
Our theme for June is cookbooks to travel by. It has two strands: a broader conversation about books that transport us; and a single cookbook club pick. That pick is The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver - and the words above are taken from its introduction.
If you would like to come along just send me a message:
You don’t have to come to the event to be part of the discussion - please do also share on this page your thoughts on the book and the recipes.
In my opinion this was one of the stand-out books of 2023. So much more than a cookbook it is a joyous exploration of Jamaica through its food. I’ve never actually been, but thanks to The Pepperpot Diaries I truly feel that can not only imagine being there, but can feel its tastes making my mouth water.
Read on for more thoughts from me on the book and the author, plus links to a few recipes to get things started if you don’t already have the book.
The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver (published April 2023 by DK)
About the author
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to AC & The Kitchen Bookshelf Cookbook Club to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.