NEWS: I'm A Panellist On BBC Radio 4 - The Kitchen Cabinet

Plantains, jerk & African origins in Caribbean cooking. Listen to my latest episode

May 27, 2023

Welcome to COOK WITH LERATO! My letters to you with ravishing recipes, stories & a good dose of African magic. Subscribe to travel with me one delicious dish at a time.

Spring sunshine is trying its hardest here in England. Today I am off to the finale of the Chelsea Flower Show, the ‘haute couture’ of the international gardening scene. I love working with the Royal Horticultural Society and they have been wonderful supporters. I am especially keen for inspiration for ornamentals, edible flowers and plants as ornamentals, so stay tuned and I’ll report back with fabulous photos and plant news.

On set with the inimitable host, broadcaster & food critic Jay Rayner

LISTEN TO EPISODES BELOW

On to the main gist of today... In a bid to climb enormous mountains, traverse vast oceans and soldier on to the next mission, I often fail to stop and smell the roses. I don’t think I shared the news with you, that I am now a regular panellist on the juggernaut of a show known as The Kitchen Cabinet on BBC Radio 4.

My first episode was in January 2023 and since then I have travelled across the United Kingdom joining a panel of intelligentsia, headed by the inimitable Jay Rayner. Typically recording the show in front of an audience of over 200 guests firing questions at us, (not all at once, thank goodness!) we discuss food in an almost nerdy fashion, deep diving into a range of simple, awkward and inventive recipes, with history and science, all with a good dose of fun I must say.

It is such an intense show, one that I love and thoroughly enjoy as it gives me such a vast platform with millions of listeners, (over 2 million listeners Jay and the producers assured me) to explore all that I know and love about African cooking and its diverse flavours and technique, but also space to share all I know about food from across the world.

On previous episodes we have discussed the African origins of Caribbean cooking, Japanese food, unusual food pairings, how to cook the perfect risotto, how to curb the heat in chillies, I have brought in my bewitchingly fragrant Black Pepper & Vanilla Chai Shortbread, Plantain fritters and apricot harissa and many more dishes for my co-panellist and guests to devour. I talk a lot about plantains, for obvious reasons. How to Cook Plantains! Jay once remarked that plantains are worthy of their own show, so watch this space!

I will link this newsletter to the side menu found on the main page of Cook with Lerato. And hopefully fetch previous and future recordings, which I will upload to this newsletter. This way you can easily listen to them wherever you’d like. I do hope you enjoy listening. Watch my behind the scenes videos on my socials like here & here.

The show is on BBC Radio 4 at 10.30am on Saturdays with each episode available for a month. Listen live or recorded on BBC Sounds, or the iPlayer podcast.

Listen to some of my episodes here.

2024

Lewes - March 2024

What an incredible show! We discuss palm wine of West Africa, grape wines, cocktails and cooking with yuzu, what to do with a harvest of nettles and a glut of avocados - besides having a facial. Enjoy!

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-27:48

2023

One of my favourite episodes and the last of the year 2023

West Horsley Place - Dec 2023

“Is double dipping okay?” The filming location of BBC TV show, Ghosts. An amazing episode once again solving cooking dilemmas, non alcoholic drinks ideas, the longest feast ever, the art of creating nibbles & more. Fun Fun Fun!

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-27:52

Luton

A spice masterclass with or without chef’s hats, record breaking food, hybrid dishes like my Yassa Dauphinoise (Recipe from the Guardian) and ‘mince lava?’ What a fantastic marriage of flavours

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-27:50