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The Brit Lit Podcast


Aug 8, 2019

I’ve got a great interview for you today that’s both fascinating and more than a little mouth-watering. Olivia Potts is the author of A Half Baked Idea, a memoir which tells the story of how baking became first her comfort and then her profession in the aftermath of her mum’s passing away.

We talked about Olivia's time at culinary school, how she came to make what sound like amazing artisanal donuts, her favourite food magazine, and much more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

A Half Baked Idea, by Olivia Potts

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany, by Bill Buford

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell

The Comfort Food Diaries: My Quest for the Perfect Dish to Mend a Broken Heart, by Emily Nunn

Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking, by Elissa Altman

Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Britain's Best Baker, by Justin Gellatly

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster, by Sarah Krasnostein

One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson

The Secret Place, by Tana French

Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise, by Katherine Rundell

What Happens Now?, by Sophia Money-Coutts

Crossfire (Noughts and Crosses), by Malorie Blackman

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

 (A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)

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Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com

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The Brit Lit Podcast

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