Rosie Kellett on the Life-Changing Power of Cooking Communally

What if you only had to make dinner once a week?

I have to warn you: Listening to the latest episode of the show may lead to some daydreaming about an entirely different life.

This week’s guest, Rosie Kellett, shares an apartment with a bunch of housemates who throw about $34 a week in a shared bank account to cover the group’s grocery and household essentials.

Each person cooks for the group just one night a week—mostly vegetarian, budget-minded dinners, with “late plates” saved for anyone who can’t make it on time but still wants a home-cooked meal.

That means they’re not required to think about what to make for dinner every single evening, and they’re not each buying individual bottles of olive oil and soy sauce and cinnamon.

The system has some challenges, of course. Some years, there’ve been allergies among the group to keep in mind, and some nights, the person cooking has to expand the meal to feed a last-minute guest or two. But the benefits are many, including getting to taste—and learn to cook—the favorite foods of housemates from a huge range of countries.

The biggest payoff, though, is in connection.

Before she moved into the London loft, Rosie says she was on the brink of leaving town. “I was probably at my loneliest. I was like, I can't afford to be here. And I didn't really realize it, but I was craving community.”

“After a while of living this way, it sort of dawned on me,” she says, “I feel good because I feel like I'm being considered. And I feel like my needs are being taken care of, not through a romantic partner, but just through the people I live with, my friends and my community…This way of sort of sharing and taking care of each other in a very small way that doesn't cost you anything but your time really is quite profound.”

Photo: Benedikte Klüver

Rosie’s new cookbook is named after the group text that goes out each day, asking who’s in for dinner. And with recipes like Rosie’s, you’ll want to be. Even if you can’t live in a warehouse with all your friends or buy a plot of land to live communally right now, listening to this week’s show might inspire you to set up a weekly dinner with folks you love, rotating who cooks to give everyone a break.

In our chat, Rosie shares some crucial advice on cooking cheaply as well as her formula for a celebratory menu that satisfies a bunch of different dietary restrictions.

Below, you’ll find her recipe for A Summer Feast, which is meant for a crowd of friends but could also fill your fridge for a week of easy eating.

Win a copy of In for Dinner

How to enter: Make sure you’ve joined the club of The Dinner Plan’s paid subscribers by end of day Sunday, August 24, 2025. That’s all you need to do! Giveaway winner will be alerted by Substack DM and email—be sure to check your messages.

Becoming a paid subscriber is a great way to make sure the recipes and episodes keep coming your way, but there’s another way to enter, too. Free subscribers can enter the giveaway by sending along a fridge voice memo for potential inclusion on the show. Just follow the instructions here by Sunday, August 24.

U.S. addresses only, 18+. Giveaway not sponsored or administered by Substack. Ends Aug 24, 2025. This newsletter includes affiliate links—commissions from your purchases help to support the show.

Rosie mentioned:

Spinach and Chickpea Curry
Confit Tomato and Chickpea Stew
Brown Sugar Vanilla Cake (reprinted from In for Dinner on The Telegraph)
Alison Roman’s Pasta With Zucchini, Feta, and Fried Lemon
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Chermoula Aubergine With Bulgur and Yogurt
Farinata
Stainless spider for straining and scooping
Nordicware tins with lids—more sizes and depths here
Microplane wood-handled fine grater
Sharpton whetstone
Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy (Bookshop here)
Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess (Alibris here), especially her easy almond cake
Claire Ptak’s Violet Bakery Cookbook (Bookshop here)
Rosie’s Sad Girl Dinner
Go to Rosie’s US book tour events!

From the ad break:

Enter The Dinner Plan’s pantry, cookbook, and kitchen gear giveaway!
Find Franklin Farms Tofu Bites wherever you shop.
Head to SkoutOrganic.com and use code DINNERPLAN for up to 30% off your order during the Back-to-School sale.
Shop CookGoldilocks.com for the $85 six-quart enameled Dutch oven.

Maggie mentioned:

Gabriella Cámara’s Trout (or Tuna) Tostadas with Chipotle Mayonnaise

---

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

America’s Test Kitchen calls this 7-piece tri-ply stainless steel cookware set from Goldilocks a best buy. For $235, you get all the oven-safe essentials: a 1.5-qt saucepan, 3-qt saucepan, 10” skillet, and 8-qt stock pot, plus lids that fit all four pans.

For great performance, free shipping, free returns, and a lifetime warranty, check it out at cookgoldilocks.com.

---

Photo: Benedikte Klüver

A Summer Feast

Reprinted with permission from In For Dinner Copyright © 2025 by Rosie Kellett. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

In the summer, I like to cook lots of delicious things in big batches, to share over dinner with friends, or to keep my fridge stocked all week with perfect bites. These dishes go well together in a meal but also are great on their own; they last well in the fridge, some might even say they get better, and they showcase the very best of summer produce. If you can, eat them outdoors, with the sun on your face—it’s scientifically proven to taste better.

Serves 6–8

For the marinated vegetables:
3 medium eggplants, sliced into rounds
3 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
1 Tbsp sea salt
6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp dried oregano

For the herbed bulgur:
2 cups bulgur wheat
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
a bunch of dill, finely chopped
a bunch of chives, finely chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the tomatoes:
2¼ lb of the most ripe, juicy, sweet tomatoes you can find
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

For the walnuts:
1 cup walnuts
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

For the tahini dressing:
⅔ cup tahini
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper

For serving:
hot sauce (optional)

chili oil (optional)

To make the marinated vegetables:

1. Preheat the broiler to its highest setting, or heat a heavy cast-iron grill pan over high heat.

2. Toss the eggplant and zucchini slices in a large colander with the salt. Set the colander to one side for 20 minutes in the sink while the vegetables release their water.

3. Pat the vegetables dry, then lay them in a single layer either on a baking sheet under the broiler or in the grill pan. Broil or pan-grill until one side has turned golden brown, then turn and repeat on the other side. A little bit of char here is nice, so don’t worry if parts are blackened.

4. Repeat with all the eggplant and zucchini slices.

5. Combine the grilled vegetables in a big bowl with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and oregano, mix well to combine, and set aside to marinate at room temperature until you are ready to serve.

To make the herbed bulgur:

1. Rinse the bulgur thoroughly under running water, then place in a large bowl.

2. Crumble in the bouillon cube, cover with freshly boiled water, and stir to combine.

3. Cover the bowl and set to one side for 30 minutes to allow the bulgur to absorb all the stock.

4. When you are ready to serve, fluff up the grains with a fork and stir in the olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped herbs, and lemon zest and juice.

For the tomatoes:

1. Simply slice, sprinkle with the salt, and drizzle with the olive oil.

For the walnuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Roast the walnuts on a baking sheet for 8–10 minutes, until just starting to brown.

3. Take out of the oven and toss with the olive oil and salt. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

For the tahini dressing:

1. Whisk together all the ingredients into a smooth paste, then thin out with enough ice water to reach the consistency of plain yogurt.

To serve:

1. Pile your plates high with the herbed bulgur, marinated vegetables, salted tomatoes, roasted walnuts, and drizzle with tahini dressing. A splash of good hot sauce doesn’t go amiss here either, and chili oil would be a welcome addition in the warehouse.