Thomasina Miers – Favourite Things
Thomasina Miers is a cook, writer and restaurateur. In 2005 Miers won BBC Masterchef, and in 2006 she co-founded Wahaca, a Mexican street food chain of restaurants inspired by the food markets in Mexico: Wahaca now has 13 branches across the UK. She is the author of three cookbooks, has presented several cooking shows for television and writes a weekly column for The Guardian.
These are a few of Thomasina Miers’ favourite things…
Shoes
I’m very active and thrive on being energetic and moving a lot. In cities, we often forget that we are animals and that being physical is good for us, physically and mentally. I love cycling and walking around London, and I’m the type to run up the stairs at tube stations. Whilst I love being active, I also love fashion and clothes. I’m very tall so I hardly ever wear heels anymore, but I like trainers and beautiful, elegant flat shoes that are a bit quirky and cool for the evening. I scour charity shops and vintage shops for great trainers; I have just bought an amazing pair of Pierre Cardin high tops on Vestaire Collective, which are very cool and quite cheap because they were second hand. I love the flat shoes from Penelope Chilvers and Charlotte Olympia too. I think shoes tell a story about the person wearing them, but since I’m always on my feet mine need to be practical too. There is something very liberating about the end of the fashion from 5-10 years ago of women walking around in five or six-inch heels. No woman I know has the time or leisure to wear high heels all day. It’s the most absurd thing. Seeing that come out of fashion is gratifying.
Pulses
I am obsessed with food and taken by the idea that three times a day, every one of us gets to save the planet a bit by what we eat and what we put in our shopping basket. I think pulses are so underrated; they have more protein per gram than a chicken breast and are full of fibre. I think the bad diet epidemic is a lot down to the amount of processed food we are eating that has all the fibre taken out. Pulses are full of fibre which is a magic ingredient that is completely key to a healthy gut biome, pulses are also really great for soil and a good companion crop. It is a complete superfood and they’re cheap and can taste amazing. We have just put the “Wahacamole” on our menu at Wahaca which is trying to steer people away from guacamole a little bit. There is nothing quite so democratically wonderful than an affordable ingredient that saves the planet, is healthy and can taste amazing.
Books
Physical books and audiobooks. I don’t have a kindle, so it is an old fashioned book or Scribd – a non-Amazon audiobooks provider (I heartily disapprove of anywhere that doesn’t pay proper taxes and destroys the high street). I work hard and have three children, and at one point, in the maelstrom of children and work, I found that books had disappeared completely out of my life. I felt very mentally undernourished as a result. I had just begun reading again when we went into lockdown, and this helped me get back into it due to lots of early nights and not going out. I discovered how mentally boosting reading and listening to books is. I have a delightful new puppy, and I have to take him out every day, so I go for a walk as the sun rises and listen to an incredible audiobook. In the evening, instead of looking at my phone, I force myself to put my nose in a book and think about something that isn’t my life. We talk about mental health a lot and are beginning to realise how negative living our lives in such a busy way can be; books are a tonic.
Chillis
I have been known to go on holiday with a couple of dried chillis packed in my suitcase. Cooking is a pleasure for me, and I think it is a wasted opportunity not to make your food delicious every time you eat. I love the way a dried chilli can add background flavour to marinades, sauces and anything else. There are more than 60 types of Mexican chillis: some add depth of flavour, others smokiness, sweetness or earthy notes. If I was travelling anywhere I would have a toolbox of a few spices and some dried chillis. With a few simple ingredients, you can turn simple seasonal vegetables and fibre-rich pulses into an absolute feast.
Dancing
I love dancing more than most things. I have always loved dancing, I wanted to be a dancer growing up, but I went to an academic school where that was out of the question. We recently had a housewarming, and I was able to get some dancing going on in the kitchen, garden and basement. I find that if I go out and have a proper dance, I feel happy for the next three weeks. When I dance I completely go for it. I live in my head a lot and dancing is a great way to ground yourself, there’s something very primitive about moving to a good beat. It is so joyful.
Enjoyed Thomasina Miers favourites? Explore last week’s Favourite Things here.