Square Peg signs two more from Roasting Tin bestseller

Square Peg has signed two new books with Rukmini Iyer, bestselling author behind the Roasting Tin series.

The Vintage imprint will release The Green Barbecue from Iyer in spring 2021 and The Roasting Tin: Sweet in autumn 2021. Rachel Cugnoni, publisher for Vintage, bought world all language rights from Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown.

Rukmini’s original Roasting Tin book was published three years ago, aimed at “minimum effort, maximum flavour” recipes for busy home cooks. It was followed by The Green Roasting Tin in 2018, The Quick Roasting Tin in 2019 and this year The Roasting Tin Around the World. 

In The Green Barbecue Iyer will move on from the roasting tin to the barbecue and grill to offer "the ultimate vegetarian and vegan BBQ book, a collection of 75 flavour-packed, mouth-watering recipes all completely meat-free, with over half the recipes entirely plant-based and suitable for vegans".  Meanwhile in The Roasting Tin: Sweet–the last in the Roasting Tin series–her focus will be puddings.

Following sales of over half a million copies, Cugnoni said Iyer had “transformed the cookery space” with her Roasting Tin series, calling her a “mini miracle” to behold. “She has made it possible for people with busy lives, and several plates spinning, to deliver nutritious, flavourful and affordable plates to the table for family and friends to enjoy. And with The Roasting Tin: Sweet she will give us the puddings too," she said. 

"The recipes she creates are, each one, minor miracles and she has now brought her fantastic flair, imagination and taste buds to bear on the barbecue. With these 75 delicious vegan and vegetarian Green Barbecue recipes she has reclaimed the flame from the caveman and handed it to every man and woman. And if the sun isn’t shining or you don’t have an outside space all these recipes can be cooked in the kitchen with either a griddle pan or in the oven. It is a great privilege to work with her and watch her, book by book, transform the culinary lives of the nation. She is a mini miracle — watch this space!”

The Roasting Tin series has collectively sold 437,883 books for £5m through Nielsen BookScan, and Iyer was the fourth bestselling cookery author of 2019 after the Pinch of Nom and Bosh cookery writers and Jamie Oliver. The Roasting Tin books have also been sold in America, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Poland and Russia. 

Iyer said of the new projects: “I am delighted to be working with Rachel and the team at Vintage on the upcoming Green Barbecue and final Roasting Tin book, all about one-tin bakes. The support for the series has been incredible, and I’d like to thank all the readers, booksellers and not least the #tinlads who have enthusiastically recommended the series to their customers, friends and family. This summer it’s been wonderful creating a series of barbecue recipes for vegetarians and vegans to enjoy while cooking outside, particularly as I’ve been able to test the recipes on my vegetarian family. I’m now looking forward to working on a collection of exciting, easy one-tin bakes – an idea certainly inspired by requests from readers asking for a baking version of the Roasting Tin books!”

The Green Barbecue and The Roasting Tin: Sweet will have a “major” marketing and publicity campaign planned for 2021, according to Vintage, alongside a bookshop tour.