Gaia buys Kate Humble's 'celebration of country life and craftspeople'

Gaia, an imprint of the Octopus Publishing Group, has acquired Home Made: Recipes from the Countryside by Kate Humble.

Stephanie Jackson, publisher at Octopus, acquired United Kingdom and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights from Rosemary Scoular at United Agents. It will be published on 10th October at £26.

The blurb reads: "Home Made features a collection of simple, sustainable recipes, alongside inspiring stories from 20 individuals who play a role in bringing food to our tables, from basket-weavers and apron-makers to blacksmiths and woodworkers; potters and glassblowers to fishermen and cheese-makers; farmers and chocolatiers to distillers and salters. Home Made follows Kate Humble’s much-loved début cookbook Home Cooked."

Recipes include roasted tomatoes with ricotta and garlic butter, maple and miso baked fish with noodle salad and one-pot spring chicken casserole, as well as sweet treats such as honey, almond and olive oil cake, apple, cheese and honey tart and plum tarte tatin.

Jackson said: "Kate Humble is the most generous of home cooks—and Home Made the most gorgeous collection of wholesome, delicious and fuss-free recipes from her country life. It’s also a celebration of some of the UK’s finest craftspeople—photographed by the great Andrew Montgomery—featuring stories, recipes and inspiration for the kitchen, garden, table and beyond. This is more than a cookbook—and there’s no better way to celebrate the harvest, or the holidays, than with a beautiful new book from Kate."

Humble commented: "This book is a homage to the people I admire most:  individuals who have the skills & courage to be makers, growers and producers and make it their living and their way of life.  It was a joy to be able to tell their stories and create the recipes they inspired."

A writer, smallholder, campaigner, Humble is also one of the UK’s best-known TV presenters. She started her television career as a researcher, later presenting programmes such as "Animal Park", "Springwatch" and "Autumnwatch" among other shows. Octopus Publishing Group also publishes Humble’s narrative books under its Aster imprint, most recently Where the Hearth Is which was published in paperback on 6th June 2024. Another, Thinking on My Feet (Aster), was shortlisted for both the Wainwright Prize and the Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year.