Feedback with Anna Stanford

FEEDBACK WITH ANNA STANFORD

Photo by Tia Talula

The name Anna Stanford might not sound familiar - but to her 196k Instagram followers, Anna's Family Kitchen is a lifesaver when the sentence 'What shall we have for dinner tonight?' leaves them with nothing but a blank expression.

Launched in 2018, Anna’s Family Kitchen was inspired by her love of food, wanting to feed her family healthy, home cooked meals - but without spending hours in the kitchen. Her reels make recipes look both effortless and inspirational and more importantly they all use fresh additive free ingredients wherever possible.

This month sees the launch of her second book Spinning Plates, and is shaped by Anna coming to terms with her husband passing away, her children heading off to university and the realisation that family dynamics shift and evolve and we all end up 'spinning plates' as we adjust to the new normal. With over 80 recipes each one is fuss-fee and achieveable for cooks of any level.

Taking a moment from her own plate spinning, Anna talks about her love of Asian food, reminisces about eating Chicken Chow Mein for breakfast in Hong Kong, and recalls the horror of being in the middle seat on a 14 hour flight - with food poisoning!

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What food always reminds you of your childhood?
It has to be Bolognese and roast dinners. Roast dinner was every Sunday. My mum used to put the beef - or whatever the joint was - in the oven before we went to church, which basically meant it was nuked by the time we ate it, but it was a lovely tradition that I still keep. I do, however, call a stop to Sunday roasts around April because they’re a lot of work, and a lot of washing up, but I love a Sunday roast in the winter months. To this day, my boys would eat Bolognese every day of the week. I try to create new recipes inspired by lots of different cuisines I’ve experienced but the English Bolognese – let’s not even call it a ragu - is a staple, and my boys still love it. If I try and go off piste with a new ingredient, such as including pork or bacon, there's an uprising!

Do you have a current favourite restaurant or type of restaurant?
I was very fortunate, when I worked in media in my 20s and 30s, to go to all sorts of wonderful restaurants all over the world. I rarely eat out these days, but if I want a night off from cooking, we have a great local pub called The Hopbine Inn, with a dynamic young chef which serves fantastic food including a cracking Sunday roast. For a treat it’s Hakkasan - my children absolutely love it. We probably go there once a year. I think I went there in its opening week over 20 years ago and it’s always consistent, it never lets you down. I love Asian inspired food.

What food or ingredient could you not do without.
I’d say onions, garlic and chopped tomatoes. My lovely mum always used to say, “Every time I come to this house, you’re chopping an onion!” They’re just staples, and I have a very full spice drawer as well. It’s interesting - the knowledge that is coming through now about nutrition: rather than ‘your 5 a day” it’s now ‘the 30 a week” which includes all the spices. I think if you have a well-equipped spice drawer, onions, garlic tomatoes and some fridge staples you can more or less knock anything up.

You’re a self-taught cook – was it difficult getting your first book Anna’s Family Kitchen published?
It was.  I knew exactly what I wanted my book to be, but when I went out to all the big publishers, the feedback was that family meals had been done 100 times over. It was frustrating as I was sure my book would sell. Because I wasn’t a celebrity, I think my recipes came across as more achievable and relatable. This was real cooking with real recipes tried and tested on my family from my home kitchen - not a TV chef with a whole team behind me. Recipes I managed to adapt for my family seemed to resonate with so many other families - particularly for those with children who may all have different tastes, requirements, allergies, or like my daughter who at the age of 12 announced she was going to be vegetarian! So, I ended up self-publishing, and it exceeded my expectations. I remember saying to my husband, ‘If it washes it’s face, that would be great” and instead it did phenomenally well. For my second book a publisher approached me so that has been lovely. It’s been a really positive experience.

Could you tell us about your latest book?
The title I came up with is Spinning Plates. I lost my husband 18 months ago to cancer and at the time I thought, where is this going to go? I have a daughter at university, a son about to start university, just one child at home, and suddenly I am no longer cooking for a family of five, which was the whole concept of Anna’s Family Kitchen. So, I turned the problem on its head and thought about how every family evolves. People leave, couples split up and sometimes like us you lose people. Children go for a bit, but inevitably they come back for a period of time, so it’s very much about the ever-changing nature of family life and as a busy parent how you spin those plates. It’s really an extension of book one, with a whole new collection of recipes.

What’s your quick supper after a day of photography or writing?
It depends on what I’ve got in the fridge but my go to is my sticky Asian chicken, using store cupboard staples, soy, honey, mirin ginger, garlic and chilli – toss it all together with some chicken then pan fry until it all goes beautifully caramelised and sticky. I then serve it with rice or noodles. I also batch cook so I always have Bolognese and Chilli Con Carne in the freezer for busy evenings.

Have your children followed your footsteps into cooking?
Yes thankfully! My daughter is the most amazing vegetarian cook; she makes fantastic meals and knows how to combine flavours.  She’s really experimental. At the moment she’s into fermenting everything! Over the summer holidays my dining room looked like a laboratory with vessels of Kombucha and pots of Kimchi. My boys have more of a limited repertoire, but they are both very competent and confident in the kitchen, and I try to stand back and not hover over them. Thankfully, I brought them up on spice, so they all love it. My youngest son who is 16, makes this spicy chicken. When you walk into the kitchen whilst he’s cooking it, it makes you cough, but I love the fact that he’s getting involved with food prep and is experimenting. Egg dishes are a staple for all three children. My eldest son is confident enough to cook for his girlfriend and I have no concerns about him fending for himself at Uni this year so that’s good! It’s just so great to send them off  into the world knowing they can look after themselves. They’re not so good with the clearing up, though!

Is there a memorable meal you can remember eating?
I found this really hard to answer because there are so many. I’d say our wedding; we go married in Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, and we had the most amazing food. We said we would go back every year for our wedding anniversary, but then children came along and it didn’t happen! But we did go for our 20th anniversary and had a seven-course tasting menu. Then there are so many amazing memories of travelling and eating. I went to Hong Kong for the first time when I was 18 and I remember having Chicken Chow Mein for breakfast every morning, then when I went to Thailand for the first time, I think I had Tom Yum soup twice a day every day. Another memorable meal was a seafood fried rice dish I had just before we left a tiny island in the Philippines. By the time I got to Manilla I was so ill and had to do a 14-hour flight home - sitting in the middle seat next to someone who took the aisle seat with a broken leg. That one I will never forget!

Is there something in particular you always keep in the fridge?
I always have a pack of tender stem broccoli; it’s the one veg that I roll out every day with everything. You just feel virtuous if you’ve had your broccoli. Healthy bits like hummus and olives you can pick on are always present. I’m a complete convert to “lazy” jarred spices. Although I prefer to use fresh garlic, ginger and chilli, the jars and tubes are really handy to have in. I always have butter, Parmesan and wine!

What would be your last supper if everything was available and where would you eat it?
I’d definitely be with my children – as long as they’re not bickering. I love sharing plates, mainly because I find it difficult to choose one thing off a menu, so I’d like lots of plates of tapas eaten somewhere like San Sebastian. Or I’d be somewhere exotic such as a beach in Thailand with Tom Yum Soup, and Pad Thai. Or maybe in Italy with a bowl of truffle pasta!
 

Published by Hamlyn, £22, 9th October 2025. HB  www.octopusbooks.co.uk. 

You can order Spinning Plates here
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