Di Murrell

I came to writing a little late in the day but was rather spurred on when I won the Sophie Coe Prize for Food Writing in 2012. This was for a piece entitled 'Food on the Move’ that was later published in the food history journal Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC 96) edited by Tom Jaine and published by Prospect Books. I had written a blog (www.foodieafloat.com) for many years. It was said, at the time, by the London Times, to be the best one to discover life on the waterways of Europe. This blog has now been discontinued, replaced by Written in My Kitchen, which is largely about my life and times (and food – of course). I also write regularly and variously: contributing food related and food history essays mostly for the food history journal Petits Propos Culinaires. I also write book reviews for PPC. I write for several Francophile magazines about aspects of life in France. I have given talks at the Museum of London, the London Canals Museum, to the River Thames Society and many other groups and organisations on food history topics and about my books and my life. My first book, 'Barges and Bread' was published in 2017 by Prospect Books, and was the UK winner of the ‘Culinary History’ category in the 2018 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Inspiration for it was prompted by that period in my life when we had worked for Allied Mills carrying imported wheat up the Thames from Tilbury Grain Terminal to one of their flour mills on the River Wey. ‘Barges and Bread’ is the story of how London was fed through the ages, the bulk of which was in the form of grain, delivered to the city via the waters of the Thames. It also explains my own connections with this historic trade. Each chapter concludes with one or two bread recipes of the period. My second book ‘A Foodie Afloat’ was published in 2020 by Matador and is an account, from a cook’s eye view, of travelling through France by boat and how as the landscape changes so too does the food. It, too, has won a number of recommendations and awards. Short-listed in two categories by the Guild of Food Writers and winner of both the 2021 UK and Best in the World category ‘Food and Tourism’ at the Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards. My third book, ‘Zisha, The Little Teapot from Yixing’, written in collaboration with Professor He Yun’ao of Nanjing University is yet to be published by Chinese publishers, Xanadu Publishing. Currently I’m working on a fourth book, ‘Riverfed: A Culinary Journey Down the Thames’. It focusses upon a number of towns and places alongside the river that have some little known ‘foodie’ connections. I am now semi-retired in all things other than writing. I live part of the year in Richmond, West London. The rest of my time is spent in Burgundy, France.