RMJ
@rebeccamayjohnson.bsky.social
writer. SMALL FIRES out now (Pushkin Press) winner 2024 Nach Waxman Prize MEAL TIME in progress (Jonathan Cape & Ecco )
edits @ vittles and writes dinner document substack
Coastal Essex
www.rebeccamayjohnson.com
edits @ vittles and writes dinner document substack
Coastal Essex
www.rebeccamayjohnson.com
Pinned
RMJ
@rebeccamayjohnson.bsky.social
· Aug 19
I am excited to be working with Gabriella Doob at Ecco books for the US publication of my next book Meal Time, alongside Željka Marošević at Jonathan Cape! <3
Such a good piece up today on @vittles.bsky.social by Mariam Abdel-Razek (and incred illustration by Sing Yun Lee, too)
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
The Myth of Sisyphus
Mariam Abdel-Razek asks: why are chefs expected to love what they do? Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Such a good piece up today on @vittles.bsky.social by Mariam Abdel-Razek (and incred illustration by Sing Yun Lee, too)
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
Hanna Thomas Uose on complex PTSD and finding a way to cook without knives in today's @vittles.bsky.social
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/soft-cooking
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/soft-cooking
Soft Cooking
On complex PTSD and cooking without knives. Words and photos by Hanna Thomas Uose.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Hanna Thomas Uose on complex PTSD and finding a way to cook without knives in today's @vittles.bsky.social
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/soft-cooking
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/soft-cooking
Reposted by RMJ
Wrote a bit about Bad Customers for @vittles.bsky.social! You need a paid sub I think but you should probably have one anyway open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...
acid reflux - the customer is not always right
a rant about terrible restaurant customers, ft. Thom Eagle
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Wrote a bit about Bad Customers for @vittles.bsky.social! You need a paid sub I think but you should probably have one anyway open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...
Reposted by RMJ
I was beyond excited when the author of the new biography of Gertrude Stein, Francesca Wade, said she'd like to write about Alice B. Toklas for @vittles.bsky.social – and her essay is out today! Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook: An Audacious Literary Experiment
Gertrude Stein's biographer Francesca Wade on how Alice B. Toklas expanded the genre of autobiography with a book of recipes. Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I was beyond excited when the author of the new biography of Gertrude Stein, Francesca Wade, said she'd like to write about Alice B. Toklas for @vittles.bsky.social – and her essay is out today! Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
I was beyond excited when the author of the new biography of Gertrude Stein, Francesca Wade, said she'd like to write about Alice B. Toklas for @vittles.bsky.social – and her essay is out today! Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook: An Audacious Literary Experiment
Gertrude Stein's biographer Francesca Wade on how Alice B. Toklas expanded the genre of autobiography with a book of recipes. Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I was beyond excited when the author of the new biography of Gertrude Stein, Francesca Wade, said she'd like to write about Alice B. Toklas for @vittles.bsky.social – and her essay is out today! Illustration by Ella Bucknall.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-alice-...
Reposted by RMJ
If you appreciated Teen Vogue’s incisive and vital reporting on race and culture, thank the Black editors and journalists who did that work. If you read their stories on trans youth and queer liberation and disability, thank the queer and trans and disabled writers who wrote them. It’s simple math!!
November 4, 2025 at 6:54 PM
If you appreciated Teen Vogue’s incisive and vital reporting on race and culture, thank the Black editors and journalists who did that work. If you read their stories on trans youth and queer liberation and disability, thank the queer and trans and disabled writers who wrote them. It’s simple math!!
Reposted by RMJ
"As streets in global capitals are homogenised by billionaire-owned chains and private equity, Mamdani highlights that small-food businesses add an unquantifiable joy to the experience of living in a dense, fast-paced city."
A live-wire report of an essay by Apoorva Tadepalli (she needs to be here!)
A live-wire report of an essay by Apoorva Tadepalli (she needs to be here!)
A great dispatch from NYC in @vittles.bsky.social today about the role of small food businesses in Zohran Mamdani's campaigns – here's hoping some UK politicians take note... www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/how-did-zo...
How did Zohran Mamdani win over New York’s small restaurants?
A dispatch from NYC by Apoorva Tadepalli.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
"As streets in global capitals are homogenised by billionaire-owned chains and private equity, Mamdani highlights that small-food businesses add an unquantifiable joy to the experience of living in a dense, fast-paced city."
A live-wire report of an essay by Apoorva Tadepalli (she needs to be here!)
A live-wire report of an essay by Apoorva Tadepalli (she needs to be here!)
A great dispatch from NYC in @vittles.bsky.social today about the role of small food businesses in Zohran Mamdani's campaigns – here's hoping some UK politicians take note... www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/how-did-zo...
How did Zohran Mamdani win over New York’s small restaurants?
A dispatch from NYC by Apoorva Tadepalli.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:25 AM
A great dispatch from NYC in @vittles.bsky.social today about the role of small food businesses in Zohran Mamdani's campaigns – here's hoping some UK politicians take note... www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/how-did-zo...
Sesame Street - Monster in the Mirror (celebrity version)
YouTube video by mstatz
m.youtube.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Local bookshops 💯💯💯 I am chatting to beloved @rachelaliceroddy.bsky.social at Manningtree Arts next month about cooking and writing and much more!
www.manningtreearts.com/event-detail...
www.manningtreearts.com/event-detail...
Rachel Roddy | Manningtree Arts
Join acclaimed food writer Rachel Roddy to explore Italian cuisine, her award-winning books, and stories from Rome. Recipes, culture, and culinary inspiration await.
www.manningtreearts.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Local bookshops 💯💯💯 I am chatting to beloved @rachelaliceroddy.bsky.social at Manningtree Arts next month about cooking and writing and much more!
www.manningtreearts.com/event-detail...
www.manningtreearts.com/event-detail...
last week's cooking dinnerdocument.substack.com/p/cabbage-ri...
Cabbage Rice and Meatballs
a week in cooking
dinnerdocument.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:32 PM
last week's cooking dinnerdocument.substack.com/p/cabbage-ri...
Issue two of @vittles.bsky.social in PRINT now available to pre-order!
It has the theme of BAD FOOD and is gross and gorgeous and packed full of incredible writing and illustrations
vittlesmagazine.myshopify.com/products/vit...
It has the theme of BAD FOOD and is gross and gorgeous and packed full of incredible writing and illustrations
vittlesmagazine.myshopify.com/products/vit...
Vittles Issue 2 – PREORDER
Vittles - Issue 1 - Spring 2025. A magazine about modern food and culture. The first issue of our print magazine, released for Vittles' fifth birthday in May 2025. 160+ pages of writing about modern f...
vittlesmagazine.myshopify.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Issue two of @vittles.bsky.social in PRINT now available to pre-order!
It has the theme of BAD FOOD and is gross and gorgeous and packed full of incredible writing and illustrations
vittlesmagazine.myshopify.com/products/vit...
It has the theme of BAD FOOD and is gross and gorgeous and packed full of incredible writing and illustrations
vittlesmagazine.myshopify.com/products/vit...
Reposted by RMJ
I’m ASTONISHED that this article does not mention Poland’s horrific abortion laws as a MAJOR factor. Yesterday(!) was the 5th anniversary of the Constitutional Tribunal, staffed by Law & Justice judges, tightening abortion laws. And the current government has made close to zero progress on this.
Poland’s birth rate is in freefall. The cause? A loneliness epidemic that state cash can’t solve | Anna Gromada
Poland’s birth rate is in freefall. The cause? A loneliness epidemic that state cash can’t solve | Anna Gromada
Bonuses for families have done nothing to fix a baby bust caused by post-communist Europe’s relationships crisis, says sociologist Anna Gromada
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:55 AM
I’m ASTONISHED that this article does not mention Poland’s horrific abortion laws as a MAJOR factor. Yesterday(!) was the 5th anniversary of the Constitutional Tribunal, staffed by Law & Justice judges, tightening abortion laws. And the current government has made close to zero progress on this.
Reposted by RMJ
Today’s newsletter is an investigation by Sasha Patel and Ben Jacob into the expansion of Gail’s, and how it relies on low-paid migrant workers (particularly from Gujarat) to sustain its rate of growth.
Thank you to every Gail’s worker who talked to us.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...
Thank you to every Gail’s worker who talked to us.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...
'We're just a bakery': Does Gail's rely on low-paid migrant workers to further its expansionist vision?
The economics and migration behind the Gail’s expansion. Words by Sasha Patel and Ben Jacob. Illustration by Kruttika Susarla.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Today’s newsletter is an investigation by Sasha Patel and Ben Jacob into the expansion of Gail’s, and how it relies on low-paid migrant workers (particularly from Gujarat) to sustain its rate of growth.
Thank you to every Gail’s worker who talked to us.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...
Thank you to every Gail’s worker who talked to us.
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...
Reposted by RMJ
Polanski: I think there should be boycott of Israel
Peston: A boycott of a democracy? How dare you
Polanski: Well actually Israel just tortured a load of international civilians which is a war crime
Peston: Wow would you look at the time
Peston: A boycott of a democracy? How dare you
Polanski: Well actually Israel just tortured a load of international civilians which is a war crime
Peston: Wow would you look at the time
Robert Peston, "Where are you on the banning of Maccabi fans?"
Zack Polanski, "I'm Jewish, I take antisemitism really seriously"
"I don't think banning Maccabi fans is antisemitic at all"
Zack Polanski, "I'm Jewish, I take antisemitism really seriously"
"I don't think banning Maccabi fans is antisemitic at all"
October 21, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Polanski: I think there should be boycott of Israel
Peston: A boycott of a democracy? How dare you
Polanski: Well actually Israel just tortured a load of international civilians which is a war crime
Peston: Wow would you look at the time
Peston: A boycott of a democracy? How dare you
Polanski: Well actually Israel just tortured a load of international civilians which is a war crime
Peston: Wow would you look at the time
Reposted by RMJ
This is a fantastic piece of reporting.
October 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
This is a fantastic piece of reporting.
Reposted by RMJ
You’ve really got to support this kind of reporting
October 20, 2025 at 4:26 PM
You’ve really got to support this kind of reporting
Reposted by RMJ
Fascinating investigation into the global context behind the expansion of Gail’s and its terrible labour practices, very worthwhile read
October 20, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Fascinating investigation into the global context behind the expansion of Gail’s and its terrible labour practices, very worthwhile read
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w... (free to read)
At Gail's, what is the human cost behind a £5 loaf of bread?
The economics and migration behind the Gail's expansion. Words by Sasha Patel and Ben Jacob. Illustration by Kruttika Susarla.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w... (free to read)
Stocked up on buttermilk this morning so I can make Katie Smith
's breads again. big leek and potato soup w/ guinness bread energy this week www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/three-iris...
's breads again. big leek and potato soup w/ guinness bread energy this week www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/three-iris...
Three Irish Breads: Soda Farls, Guinness Bread, and Barmbrack
Katie Smith shares recipes for her ideal Irish breadbasket. Words by Katie Smith. Photos by Georgia Rudd.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Stocked up on buttermilk this morning so I can make Katie Smith
's breads again. big leek and potato soup w/ guinness bread energy this week www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/three-iris...
's breads again. big leek and potato soup w/ guinness bread energy this week www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/three-iris...
Some recent cooking notes and recipes dinnerdocument.substack.com/p/pears-and-...
Pears and Pumpkins
Three recipes and lots of cooking notes from the last couple of weeks.
dinnerdocument.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Some recent cooking notes and recipes dinnerdocument.substack.com/p/pears-and-...
I love this piece by @elidavies.bsky.social in today's @vittles.bsky.social (free to read) featuring @nigelslater.bsky.social beloved lentils and a well-travelled pot
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/this-pot-i...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/this-pot-i...
This Pot is Mine
Eli Davies on cooking to ground herself in new kitchens after repeated house moves prompted by precarious rental markets
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:13 AM
I love this piece by @elidavies.bsky.social in today's @vittles.bsky.social (free to read) featuring @nigelslater.bsky.social beloved lentils and a well-travelled pot
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/this-pot-i...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/this-pot-i...
Reposted by RMJ
This story - see also @londoncentric.media - is really upsetting and just awful. I emailed Neil Coyle MP just now to urge him to intervene - so should YOU.
'Last Wednesday, I received a call from Faye Gomes, owner of exceptional Guyanese restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen. Almost in tears, she told me she, along with 3 other food traders had been locked out of their premises at Castle Square in Elephant and Castle'
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...
There's one week left to save one of London's best restaurants
The battle for Castle Square, and suspicious goings on in Southwark, by Jonathan Nunn and Gavin Cleaver
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:45 AM
This story - see also @londoncentric.media - is really upsetting and just awful. I emailed Neil Coyle MP just now to urge him to intervene - so should YOU.
'Last Wednesday, I received a call from Faye Gomes, owner of exceptional Guyanese restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen. Almost in tears, she told me she, along with 3 other food traders had been locked out of their premises at Castle Square in Elephant and Castle'
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...
There's one week left to save one of London's best restaurants
The battle for Castle Square, and suspicious goings on in Southwark, by Jonathan Nunn and Gavin Cleaver
www.vittlesmagazine.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:36 AM
'Last Wednesday, I received a call from Faye Gomes, owner of exceptional Guyanese restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen. Almost in tears, she told me she, along with 3 other food traders had been locked out of their premises at Castle Square in Elephant and Castle'
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/theres-one...