Review: The Hungry Cook, by Olivia Galletly

Years ago, when one of my sisters had moved to a faraway country, another of our sisters asked her if she’d made any proper friends yet. 'You know what I mean,' she said. 'The sort of friends where you can turn up at their house, open their fridge and say, ‘I’m starving, have you got anything I can eat?’'

On that basis, I think it would be very good to be proper friends with Olivia Galletly. If her debut book The Hungry Cook is anything to go by, not only would her fridge be full of good things to snack on, but she’d be an extremely hospitable host.

If you’re a dish magazine reader, you’re likely to already be a fan of Galletly’s recipes, which manage to be on-trend and very much grounded in the reality of getting dinner on the table. This matters: TikTok tricks and high-minded concept food all have their place, but it’s those who can take the burden out of a nightly chore who deserve celebrating.

In the introduction, Galletly says she thinks of herself 'first and foremost as a home cook'. The former graphic designer (who now works as a recipe developer, food photographer, videographer and stylist) has learned her craft through 'plenty of trial and error', watching her parents, reading cookbooks and studying YouTube. I think this is a strength; it means that she tells you how to make a spiced oil to drizzle over spiced lamb koftas, but includes an instruction for what to do if that feels like a step too far. Love the look of a luxe potato and parsnip gratin but know you’ll never have the knife skills or patience to slice and arrange the vegetables? No sweat, she says, just shove them in the pan and leave neat layers for another day. There are recipes that repurpose rotisserie chicken and a jazzed-up way with frozen crumbed fish fillets, plus a handy tip to use a bag of shredded slaw mix if you’re running short on time to make her spiced vegetable fritters.

While she’s mindful of how readers might like to spend their time and energy, Galletly also knows how to stretch them. A chapter of recipes that require ‘a bit more effort’ is full of slightly more involved projects, including some spicy cumin lamb buns that I can’t wait to set aside a weekend afternoon for. Fans of Galletly’s dish baking columns will be delighted with the selection here too; a well-rounded collection of cakes, biscuits, brownies and puddings - including a magnificent dish of caramel and sesame bananas, inspired by the toffee bananas and ice cream she loved eating at Wellington’s iconic Beijing restaurant as a child. A final chapter of cocktails (and mocktails) seals the deal: hers is a household that takes hospitality seriously (garnished with a perky straw).

So, The Hungry Cook presents lots of reasons to want to be besties with Olivia Galletly, or at least be invited over for dinner and drinks. Most importantly though, it sparked a minor miracle in my household. When I was leafing through the book at home my teenage daughter paused her doomscrolling to look over my shoulder and point out all the things she wanted to eat. Then came the kicker: 'Maybe I could start cooking dinner on Tuesday nights, making the recipes from this book?' Thank you Olivia, you’ve got a friend for life.

Lucy Corry is a Wellington journalist and food writer.