Welcome to A Lot On Her Plate
I’m back, I have some BIG news, and a new home. Let me explain how it’s all going to work….
Welcome back, my friends. It’s been a minute. Before I begin, let me first say that I have missed you, and I have missed this: zipping into your inbox and seeing how many of you are opening and reading my words/cooking my recipes. Please never think that I take that for granted. It has, and always will, thrill me, and of course it feels like a true privilege.
But it’s been a while since I last wrote, and that’s mostly down to a deeply anxious pregnancy, post-pregnancy baby-wrangling, and having to prioritise my paid jobs within the very short slots of time in which I’ve been slowly clawing my way back to work. ‘Nap when baby naps’? Nah, I work when baby naps. But my baby is now one (I actually can’t believe that as I type it), I’m sharing the childcare load, and I am gently reemerging, with renewed verve and a lot of inspiration.
But first, some news. This weekend, I finish three amazing years as a monthly recipe columnist in The Sunday Times magazine. I wanted to share this news with you, my loyalist subscribers, before anyone else. Over these years, I’ve developed, tested, styled and written over a hundred recipes, been delighted to win a Guild of Food Writers recipe award and - more importantly - have loved seeing readers (and some of you) cooking and enjoying my recipes.
This monthly column has been one of my main, regular income streams for the past three years, and I’ll be honest, it’s been a saving grace through the life-warping craziness of Covid and then new mumdom. (Remember, you can still always find my other column in wonderful Olive magazine)
It’s absolutely the end of an era. But here’s the really big news. I’m feeling fired up about it- and here’s why. I’m working on something that I believe will be even better than having a paid-up, monthly column in a national magazine. And that is this: my new Substack, A Lot On Her Plate, which you’re reading right now! The name feels beautifully full circle as it was the name of my first food blog, and then my first cookbook, and now as a newish working mum I’ve got more than ever on my plate.
This is something of my own, free from the tonal, creative and commercial constraints of a large media empire. This will be something that pulls together all of the joyful things I love to write about, plan, create and share, and here’s the really good bit - you guys get to help shape it too. Being here, on Substack means that when I write to you, you can write back and, more crucially, talk to one another. I really hope we can build something very special together.
I’ve been personally spending more and more time as a reader on Substack and what I like is that it feels like a soulful solution to the content saturation problem; a calm, curated space away from the scroll and frenetic reels of Instagram, the Tik Tok wormholes, or the advert-clogged sprawl of recipe websites. It’s also a platform that allows writers to be supported directly by their readers.
At Substack we have so many talented writers I love, like Farrah Storr, Deborah Robinson, Yasmin Khan, Melissa Hemsley and Emma Gannon all doing their own thing, but what’s more, while it’s a newsletter model, there’s a tangible sense of dialogue and community within it, as subscribers and writers post comments, replies and threads. And these are things I’ve realised have been missing as a freelance columnist beholden to publications and their readerships, and as a presence on Instagram, whose random, ever-changing algorithm increasingly hides my content from my followers (unless it’s a reel) and serves me the work of influencers with crazy editing skills who I don’t care to follow.
So, drum roll..here’s the bit where I need your help. In the spirit of complete transparency, I’m doing this all alone. No sponsorship. No salary from a media company. No one to pay for all the hours, sometimes days, I spent writing and recipe testing.
So, if you have enjoyed the work I have done over the last decade, and are at a point in your life where you feel you can become a paid subscriber to this Substack, it would mean the world to me. Truly.
And because I wouldn’t dream of asking you for money without giving you something I think is of true value, here is what you’ll get as a paid subscriber:
*Access to exclusive giveaways with the brands I work with and love
*Once a month ‘ask me anything’ sessions where I’ll answer your burning questions like how I got into food or how to get the most out of your celeriac
*Post comments and be a part of our community of food-loving peeps, with little behind-the-scenes videos and voice notes like what that must-order dish at my new favourite restaurant might be
*My travel black book - deets on where I’m staying and eating when we travel, as well as my guides from recent trips (by popular DM demand!)
*Full, unlimited access to my recipe archive
*Early-bird booking privileges for my very exclusive forthcoming IRL food events, which I’m excited to reveal soon
PLUS: On the last Friday of every month you’ll get my ‘Something For the Weekend’ seasonal weekend recipes. These are picking up where the Sunday Times recipes left off, and consist of a minimum of two tried and tested hero recipes to sprinkle some magic on your weekend. These will be easy-but-elevated recipes ideal for cooking and sharing at the weekend.
But mainly, and I can’t stress this enough, you’ll be supporting me. I’ve spent over a decade turning out so much free content and sharing it on my blog, website, Instagram and latterly here in this newsletter. Now feels like the time to charge for some of the work I do.
What does it cost?
It costs £6 a month or £50 a year, which, if you take out an annual membership works out at around £1 a week, so less than a fancy coffee.
I do however understand that with the cost of living crisis, this may not be an option for everyone. If you are having a difficult time then you need only email me, and we can work something out.
Or, if you are in the lucky position of being able to buy a subscription for someone who would benefit from joining this community then you can do so by clicking below.
You can also become a Founding Member…
For those of you who want to become even more involved with this joyful little community, I am offering a limited number of founding memberships. This is for those who want to help get A Lot On Her Plate off to a flying start and become even more up to speed. It costs £150 and for that you also get:
*Special ‘evening with Rosie’ Zoom cookalong once a year, bringing some of the recipes from my cookbooks to life together, over wine (or mocktails!)
*VIP early access and first dibs for my very exclusive IRL food events which are coming soon and will be very limited numbers.
*A signed copy of my one of my books of your choice with a personalised postcard from me
*Post comments and be a part of our community of food-loving peeps, with little behind-the-scenes videos and voice notes
If you’re interested in becoming one of my first founding members (you legend), then simply click below:
And if you’re happy remaining a free subscriber?
Great! For the most part, this newsletter will remain the same with occasional recipes, interiors and other cool stuff! It’s just it will be MUCH more regular - we’re talking once a week for food and lifestyle-focused dispatches straight to your inbox on a Friday.
What you need to do
Absolutely nothing! Unless you can’t stand the thought of hearing from me on a weekly basis, or receiving a free weekly dispatch each week (in which case feel free to unsubscribe), you will be automatically carried over from Mailchimp (the previous platform on which I wrote my newsletter) with me to Substack when I launch in a couple of days’ time. And if you know someone who should join us then you can share the news by clicking below!
Phew. So there it is. Well done if you made it this far. All that remains for me to say is that I’m so pleased you’re here and I do hope this is the start of something deeply delicious and satisfying for both of us. Thank you for reading, and see you very soon.
Love, Rosie