Family whirl
ALISSA TIMOSHKINA • Kapusta
CULTURE & LEISURE • Wednesday Routine
ALISSA TIMOSHKINA • food writer • Kapusta
Neighbourhood you work & live in: North Islington
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
As a freelance food writer and cookbook author, my home kitchen is my workplace. It’s a place of both exciting creative moments and mundane chores. On Wednesday morning there’s chaos, making everyone breakfast, trying to get my oldest kid to school on time, packing a snack bag for her after-school club. I’m constantly juggling work and family life. I’m quite literally holding the baby in one hand, cooking a meal with another.
When I’m creating content and developing recipes, I try to make sure those meals also feed my family. When the baby sleeps (on me), I try to use the time for any writing and emails, and often have to do a bit more once the kids are asleep.
What’s on the agenda for today?
My new cookbook, Kapusta, came out on 20 Feb so I’m mostly focused on that. That includes recording content for social media, doing interviews, planning and promoting events, and arranging various collaborations with restaurants, chefs, and food brands. The book is a love letter to the vibrant, humble vegetables that have shaped some of the most cherished culinary traditions across Eastern Europe.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’m going out soon with my girlfriends for the first time in a long while, and I’m super excited to visit Ognisko, a legendary Polish restaurant in South Kensington. The place is steeped in history and serves the most delicious food, alongside a very impressive array of infused vodkas — which I’ll sadly have to pass on, as I’m still breastfeeding.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I love London for the sheer variety of family-friendly events. We keep an eye on the Barbican’s programme and regularly go to their family film club. Their theatre programme is equally exciting. In fact, some of the best theatre moments of a lifetime took place in their venue, from all of Complicité’s productions, to the rare Dmitri Krymov appearances, to My Neighbour Totoro, which was one of the best outings with my daughter. I’m also looking forward to The Southbank Centre’s new indoor playground space, created entirely out of recycled objects and materials.
Any weekend getaways?
For over a decade, my partner and I have been going to Orford, a small town near Southwold. The whole coastal area is stunning and full of real hidden gems. The real foodie appeal of Orford is Pump Street Bakery — and Pump Street Chocolate.
What was your last great vacation?
Probably one of the best holidays of my life was to Sestri Levante in Italy, back in 2022. It’s our cherished spot that we keep going back to. I almost feel reluctant to share, as I want to keep this little treasure of a town to myself. The pistachio gelatos are phenomenal, and there’s a small trattoria that does the best farinata.
What store or service do you always recommend?
The one thing I really have no time for (and therefore, long for terribly) is self-care. My exhausted self is currently desperately longing for a session with my favourite osteopath in London, Frederic Roscop, who has his practice in South Kensington. I can’t recommend him enough.