We are joined with the marvelous Harrison Webb; a talented food blogger who has recently launched their debut cookbook: H’s Cookbook. Within the book you are greeted with Harrison’s favourite dishes, both classic and contemporary in flavours to be shared and loved with people around the globe. With a huge variety in recipes from breakfast, lunch and dinners to sauces and drinks…there really is a dish for every occasion!
In this Q&A, Harrison shares his reasons behind creating his book, where we are given insight to his own favourite recipes, where his passion for cookery came from and of course the meaning behind his viral TikTok on the recreation of Salt Bae’s £1,500 steak in which led him to become a viral sensation!
We wanted to give you a huge congratulations you on releasing ‘H’s Cookbook’ this year! Can you tell us what inspired you to write this book?
Thank you so much, it’s been a goal of mine to do a cookbook for a while so it still hasn’t really sunk in yet. Friends, family and the people that follow me online inspired me to make one, they were always asking me “Why don’t you make a cookbook?” so I really owe it to them.
You must have a favourite recipe in your book! Can you share it with us?
I’ve thought about this a lot and it depends on what I’m in the mood for. The book is broken up into chapters for whatever you might fancy throughout the day. I think it has to either be the butter chicken or the roast potatoes with lemon rosemary salt. (Maldon salt to be specific!)
Where did your love and passion for food come from? Have you always been a ‘foodie’ or is it something that you’ve learnt to enjoy overtime?
I got my love and passion for food from my dad, we would always cook together and still do quite frequently. Food is such an important thing in my family, whenever we’d eat out at a restaurant I was always thinking about how I’d elevate a dish or would want to make it at home. So to answer your question I’ve definitely always been a ‘foodie’.
You became a viral sensation on TikTok from taking on Salt Bae’s £1,500 gold steak and replicating it for under £65! What was your purpose on showing people this?
I seriously was not expecting that video to go viral, I love that Salt Bae himself reposted the video so I think we’re on good terms. It was just an interesting take on how you could replicate this so-called gold steak without having to spend £1,500. There are of course loads of other things to factor in, but news outlets in the UK were quite literally eating up any press about him at the time.
Would you say the younger generation are being inspired into learning how to cook through the use of social media and their influencers?
100% Yes! Food content really is everywhere on social media. It’s crazy to think that recipes can go viral now, the baked feta and tomato pasta for example left some supermarkets with a shortage of feta cheese, which just goes to show how powerful social media can influence people into the world of cooking.
What would you say your favourite cuisine is?
I get this question a lot and it genuinely is one of the hardest questions to answer. I love Indian food a lot, but the idea of mixing different cuisines and having small plates of everything would be the dream.
We can see you like to create popular food trends on the internet. Would you say your cooking style is more modern, or do you prefer the classical side of cookery?
I’d say a mix of styles, as you can learn so many things from cookbooks, online videos and also from the people you meet.
What are the 3 things you can’t live without in the kitchen?
- A silicone spatula
- A Microplane grater
- And of course, Maldon salt!
If you could give one piece of advice for people learning to cook, what would it be?
I became obsessed with spaghetti carbonara and made it 2 times a day for about a week until I perfected it. Maybe that’s a little excessive and not everyone is going to do that. I find the best way to learn is to focus on one dish you really love, as you will be a lot more familiar with how it tastes and dedicated to getting it right. As cliche as it sounds just give it a go! Because even if you fail, the next time you make that dish or cook in general, you’re always going to improve from your past mistakes.
…Thank you Harrison!
You can now purchase Harrison’s cookbook here and discover the huge variety of delicious recipes in which you can recreate in your very own kitchen!
Need to purchase some more of our very own Maldon Salt to make these recipes? Head over to our Where To Buy page to find your nearest store!
