We’re loving the gorgeous new cookbook, Margaret and Me, in which Kate Gibbs explores how her grandmother Margaret Fulton has influenced Kate’s own passion for food.

Inspired by Margaret and Me, we recently tried our hand at making some of our favourite family recipes and sharing them over lunch. Here’s our staff on their own culinary influences…

Jan Lockwood:

I’ve decided to make my mum’s cottage pie, mainly because I loved it, and also because I haven’t eaten it for about 30 years. This dish (not really a recipe) was made out of leftovers from the Sunday roast. Whatever the roast meat was, it was minced up in my mum’s hand-mincing machine and put into a baking dish. Then veggies and gravy were thrown in, and the lot was covered with leftover mashed potato and topped with grated cheese (the only non-leftover part). From what I remember, this pie tasted nicer than the original roast dinner – maybe it had something to do with being cooked twice. So, to re-create this, I too will make a roast dinner and leave it, in my attempt to capture that je ne sais quoi.

Alan Vaarwerk:

Growing up, Salmon Mornay was my family’s go-to meal and my dad’s favourite meal to cook for my brother and I when Mum was out. My dad, however, decided early on that ‘Salmon Mornay’ was a name unworthy of his creation and therefore, in a moment of pure dadness, christened the dish ‘Fish Delish’. We’d usually have it with rice or sometimes over vegetables, and the basic white sauce part of the recipe was the backbone for lots of other dishes. There’s nothing remotely sexy about it, but as far as bang for your buck goes, there’s not much that beats Fish Delish.

Emily Harms:

My childhood memories come flooding back with the smell of a cinnamon tea cake. I remember walking in the door after a big day at school with my brothers and sister to the smell of a freshly baked cinnamon tea cake, which we would devour in seconds while still warm. My mum originally found this recipe from Margaret Fulton’s Baking – Margaret’s first ever baking collection that includes her best tried and triple-tested recipes. It must be good as this recipe has even made it into the recently updated edition of the cookbook.

I now know why it’s a staple recipe in any household: it’s quick, simple and tastes amazing! So when I thought about what to bake for today’s celebration of our family recipes, as my kids were driving me nuts and I realised I’d have to whip something up quite quickly – Margaret’s (and my mum’s and no doubt, so many other mum’s) trusty cinnamon tea cake was an obvious choice. The combination of vanilla cake topped with a generous sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon – YUM! – always reminds me of hot jam donuts and is the perfect, rock solid comfort food for this autumnal weather.

Judi Mitchell:

I’ve made ‘Parlies’ or ‘Scottish Parliament Cakes’ for today. I found this recipe in a tiny Scottish cookbook I bought years ago whilst living in Glasgow. They are not actually cakes but tasty, slightly ginger biscuits first supplied by a shop in Edinburgh to Members of the Scottish Parliament and gentry. Whilst not handed down through my family it is a nod to my Scottish heritage and the ten years I spent living there. They remind me of Sunday afternoons spent at my Nanna’s as a child, her warm heart, gentle Scottish brogue and mean Canasta skills. She always had tea and biscuits for us and I wouldn’t have been surprised if these had been in her repertoire. Now, I’m wondering what my Nanna would think of the current political events in Scotland?

Bronte Coates:

Even though my mum makes terrific meals she’s not actually a fan of cooking – she’d really prefer to wash the dishes instead of chop the onion – and has a very practical approach to mealtimes. Easy, organic and large quantities seem to be her guidelines and ultimately, what I’ve learned from her is a general philosophy as opposed to specific recipes. While I’ve adopted many of her culinary habits as my own (such as taking health fads far too seriously), the most notable influence is the fact that I decided to become a vegetarian. My mum stopped eating meat herself when she was sixteen which meant there was always a meat-free option available, alongside our meat dishes so it felt a very natural decision for me to stop myself at eighteen. So today, I’ve made an easy, mostly-organic, large salad with ‘ancient grains’ (one of the health fads we’ve both subscribed to).

My sister has also been a big influence on my culinary habits as she loves to entertain. When I was growing up, I longed for the days that I too could host glamorous murder mystery parties and fondue nights. I got a chance to host the latter when she went on exchange to Brazil and gave me her fondue set for safekeeping, during which I discovered such a night was far less glamorous than it appeared. And when my sister returned home she brought with her a recipe that I loved at the time: Pão de Queijo. I made some for today and have been told they have a decidedly 70’s feel about them.

Chris Gordon:

My mum is probably the best cook I know. This high praise because I am completely surrounded by excellent cooks, chefs even, and I like to think of myself as having a pretty deft hand in the kitchen. She’s also a kind and generous cook. The food is always laid out on platters, presented with a flair here and there. The table is set for every meal – napkins are always involved.

My family love to eat at my parent’s house. My son adores Mum’s Rice Pudding. My daughter could live off Mum’s Caesar Salad. My bloke expects Mum’s Seville Orange Marmalade every year. Sometimes we say quite selfish things like: “Okay, we will come IF you can cook…” In fact, I think it was partially out of desperation to stop the flood of these kind of requests that Mum made me a collection of my favourite recipes in a little book. The book is beautifully presented, of course, and has all my favourites from cheese sticks and minestrone, to caramel filling for tarts. Mostly though, I’m a sucker for just sitting around her table, hearing my Dad natter on and watching my Mum give a final swipe of a plate. It doesn’t seem to matter what age I am, home is still a Tupperware container of homemade biscuits.

Today I made her hummus recipe: easy, quick and delicious. She serves it with curly celery sticks and cheese straws; I cut up pita bread.

Stella Charls:

I’m an only child of separated parents, with little to no heritage to speak of in the culinary sense. These days, my parents are pretty adventurous cooks but my only memories growing up are of spag bol, roast chook or baked beans on toast (soft-boiled eggs and toast soldiers for a special treat). But my dad’s partner is a genius when it comes to curries. She used to be married to a Sri Lankan fellow and from him, she learned how to balance spice and sweetness like a pro. Her Syrian chicken is my favourite dish with the chicken pieces left on the bone and slow-cooked in an aromatic spice mix with honey, currants and a generous pinch of saffron. My mum loves it too, so it’s probably become the dish I associate most with family – my dad’s girlfriend’s ex-husband’s Syrian chicken, adopted by my mum (and me!).