Kith is a new, no-fuss cookbook whose mission is to re-establish our faith in tasty, traditional Scottish cuisine Talking to Sarah Rankin you can tell dinner at her house is a lot of fun. “I just want to feed people and for people to leave full in every sense,” she says. “Food is there to be enjoyed and shared with love.
” Rankin’s supper clubs and events in her hometown of Kinross and around Scotland are legendary, and now the private chef and BBC Masterchef contestant has published her first cookery book Kith: Scottish Seasonal Food for Family and Friends. Kith is a paean to Scottish producers, ingredients, and one of the most generous and useful books to have been published on Scottish food in decades. Inspiration for Kith came from Rankin’s time on Masterchef: “Sometimes we didn’t know what we’d be asked to make so you’d spend hours trying to memorise recipes for shortcrust or sweet pastry.
I just thought, this is really useful knowledge, it would be good to have it all written down in one place.” In a chapter called Firm Foundations, Rankin talks the home cook through classic sauces like bechamel and hollandaise, and how to make stocks, different types of pastry, bread, and even your own butter. The recipes are then divided into seasons, with great tips on sourcing the best produce, and building relationships with local suppliers, something she is passionate about.
(Image: Kith) “A cookbook in seasonal order just makes sense to me,” she says. “.