Things that make my heart sing
by Melissa Hemsley (lover of leftovers, fan of real food & eco enthusiast)
Hello and welcome to my little space here on Substack, make yourself at home.
In this newsletter, Things that make my heart sing, I share the things that bring me comfort and joy, including recipes, books, conversations, recommendations and playlists. Along with my lovely community of subscribers, I explore food, mental health, sustainability, seasonality and lots more. Those already here tell me they love my guest spots where my foodie friends share their favourite recipes so you’ll find lots of bigger food names and less well known names to discover popping up in here too.
How it works
In addition to the free content I share, each month paying subscribers receive the following exclusive content:
One brand new recipe - as always with me, inspired by cooking with the seasons and based on low waste, energy efficiency and affordable everyday meals
TWO of the following:
- recommendations (restaurants, food, travel, reading)
- kitchen playlists and guest spot recipes
- special discounts and bonus deals for brands I use every day
- first chance to book live events with me
- deep dives into my home (bathroom cabinets, tried and tested products, sustainable swaps etc), let’s get nosy.
- notes from my kitchen
- Q&As with me (ask me anything)
- conversations with people I love that I know you’ll be excited to hear from too
About me
Hello, hello from me. I’m a former private chef turned best-selling author, real food activist and sustainability champion who is passionate about spreading the power of feel-good food. I’m all about bringing it back to basics and share lots of ways to cut back on ultra-processed foods and celebrate more real foods.
I’ve published six cookbooks, including Eat Green, Eat Happy and (NEW) The Sunday Times Bestseller, Real Healthy - Unprocess Your Diet With Easy Everyday Recipes.
I love writing columns for The Telegraph, Times, Guardian, Vogue, and I’ve appeared on the telly globally from BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and Today Programme in USA.
I’m chuffed to be an ambassador of Fairtrade UK, volunteer for The Felix Project, judge of GQ Food & Drinks Awards and Soil Association (Best of Organic awards), the Guild of Fine Foods and YBFs (Young British Foodies) and host of the Sustainable Restaurant Association awards and the Veg Summit Awards (The Food Foundation).
I live in London and I’m a Mum to an 11 year old Staffordshire bull terrier named Nelly and 1 year old daughter called Summer Eliza. Summer is a much longed for frozen embryo baby and I like to share what I’ve learnt on my fertility journey, spoiler, a hell of a lot! Thanks for being here. You are very very welcome.
