Welcome to ‘Eating With The Goat!’

Picture this: a morning, afternoon, or evening in the kitchen. Stay with me here—not because you have to be there, but because you want to be there. Your favourite tunes are playing (for a chilled vibe , it’s Norah Jones, James Morrison, Jack Johnson or Corinne Bailey Rae for me and if I’m in the groove and wanting a bit of a party vibe I love the old school soul and 80’s at the moment), you’ve got your favourite brew in hand—whether it’s that perfect morning cup, your afternoon pick-me-up, or a glass of wine to accompany the moment. On your bookshelf, the inspirational GOAT (Greatest of All Time) are silently urging you to ask for their help, wondering why you’ve never reached for their wisdom sooner.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about the cookbooks on your shelf—the ones from the culinary legends, just waiting to spark the passion in you. They’re inviting you to step into the kitchen, not out of necessity, but for the sheer joy of it. To cook for the soul, not just for survival (although there’s no reason you can’t have both!). This isn’t about just filling your stomach; it’s about feeding your spirit, your creativity, your confidence in the kitchen and your well-being. Right now, I’m starving for the kind of nourishment that comes from being creative and feeding the soul the best way I know how.

For me, this is the moment when I realised I had wasted, mindfulness opportunity staring me in the face…

It’s Saturday afternoon, and you can feel autumn creeping in (there’s something about this season that always gets me inspired, particularly in the kitchen). I’m sitting at my kitchen table, sipping coffee, and gazing at my bookshelf. I often glance at my cookbooks, but today, something about them really catches my attention. I start imagining what it would be like to share a meal with the chefs whose books have been gifted to me over the years. I have a thought: Maybe I could do a ‘Julie and Julia’ and cook my way through one of their books? You know, become one with the chef and share their cooking journey with them. (If you haven’t seen this movie, you absolutely should—it’s fantastic!) I have had the pleasure of eating at one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants ‘Jamie’s Italian’ which was located in Pitt Street, Sydney NSW Australia (no longer operational). A truly inspirational feast with a comforting, fancy yet casual vibe, and a truly thoughtful birthday gift from my husband, but the closest I would ever come to being able to share a meal with one of the greats.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that cooking my way through an entire cookbook collection from the greats might be a bit overwhelming and a bit out of reach. While my collection isn’t the biggest, it’s certainly extensive enough that cooking my way through every book (or even just one) would be a bit unrealistic—let’s face it, as a mother of two with a full-time job, I’d be kidding myself if I said that I have the time and energy to achieve this!

In my twenties, I used to host dinner parties and have friends over regularly. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I could always pull something together. I miss that. Life—beautiful as it is—gets busy, and over time, my passion for cooking has become malnourished. Enter another thought: I can still use the inspiration from my favourite chefs to get back my kitchen mojo, without overwhelming myself. I could randomly select a single meal for the week using one of the ‘GOAT’ cookbooks and share my experience in re-creating it.

What followed was a simple idea—just a little something to bring more play to this cooking adventure. So, next, I’m inviting you into a light challenge—one that inspires, not overwhelms. One I want to share with you in the hopes of reigniting or sparking your own kitchen mojo. Maybe it will awaken your passion for cooking too, and inspire you to reach once again, or for the first time, for the wisdom of the greats. (I know there’s a lot of digital inspiration out there now, but there’s something special about physically turning the pages of a cookbook. If books aren’t your thing, try applying the same approach to your favourite cooking apps.)

The challenge is this: I’ve created spinners featuring the cookbook titles from the Greatest of All Time that sit proudly on my shelf. These include legends like Jamie Oliver (my favourite), Nigella Lawson, Anna Olson, Curtis Stone, Donna Hay, Bill Granger, Rachel Allen, Rick Stein, and more. Whichever book the spinner lands on is where I’ll get my inspiration. I also have a second spinner to determine whether the meal will be breakfast, lunch, or dinner and a third to decide how many courses I’ll be creating. From there, it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure, as I pull together a meal based on the options that are randomly selected for me. (Of course, you could always just write the options down and draw them out of a hat, but I’m taking this ‘feeding of the soul’ and ‘getting back my mojo’ thing very seriously! Plus, who doesn’t like a spinning game?! Leave a comment and I will reach out to send you a free downloadable PDF template for these spinning wheels for you to create your own.) I prepare the meal…I mean truly, mindfully prepare the meal; smell the smells, taste the tastes, take pride in its presentation, and let the great chef in question inspire me and lift me to be the greatest I can be creating meals in my own kitchen. Not just cooking great, but mind, body and soul great. These meals might feed the family, they might entertain guests, they might provide me with moment of indulgence that I will keep all to myself. Whatever it is, I will embrace it! For the foreseeable future… I am “Eating with the GOAT’.

Have you lost your kitchen mojo? Are you entering the cooking territory for the first time? Are you up for this cooking challenge? Do something for me — head to your own bookshelf and browse your collection of ‘GOAT’ cookbooks. Let them inspire you. Pull them off the shelf, flip through the pages. I promise the joy and fulfilment you will get from getting lost in your own kitchen with these books will change you. I know….I have been there before. Follow my journey for a bit first, or jump right in! Let’s find our mojo together!

Fast forward a couple of months. 

Now, imagine this: You’ve just planned, prepared, and enjoyed one of the best meals you’ve ever created. (Of course, you’ve needed a little practice to get into the groove, but that’s been part of the fun.) You feel nourished, content, and find yourself caught in a moment of pure, old-fashioned felicity (aka intense happiness—side note: I absolutely love that word! It is the perfect word to describe how I feel in these moments).

Why this feeling? Because you’ve discovered that creating in the kitchen is one of the most stimulating, satisfying, gratifying, and validating experiences you can have. We all have the potential to find comfort and warmth by becoming the GOAT in our own kitchen.

Are you ready to eat with the Greatest Of All Time?

Please note: Most of the recipes I will be re-creating are NOT my own. They will be from the cookbooks on my own personal book shelf. Therefore, I will include as many links as I can to get you where you need to go to find the chosen recipes each week, with full credit going to the chefs in question. As I progress through my journey, I will endeavour to happily share some of my own recipes with you, as I am confident I have some that you will love! Happy cooking!

The rhythm is in the cooking. The soul is in the experience. Grab those cookbooks, tie on your apron and join me next time at Eating With The GOAT!