Briony May Williams: ‘We Need To Keep Traditional British Recipes Alive’

Briony May Williams first graced our TV screens in 2018 when she made it to the semi-final of The Great British Bake Off series nine. A firm audience favourite, she lit up the tent each week with her fun-loving energy and positive attitude – traits that she has carried with her through a successful career as a TV presenter (Escape to the Country; Food Unwrapped; Morning Live), celebrity chef, and mental health and disability advocate.

Briony’s debut cookbook The Retro Recipe Society was released on 20 October (Found, £24.99), filled with 50 classic, nostalgia-filled recipes complete with a modern twist. To celebrate the launch, Briony spoke to us about the story behind the book, how she takes care of her mental health alongside her busy career, and the beautiful Cornish country house she can’t stop thinking about.

Interview: Briony May Williams, Author, Chef & Presenter

As the title suggests, The Retro Recipe Society is full of vintage-style recipes. What’s the reason behind that?

I bought a vintage recipe book at a secondhand shop a few years ago and since then I’ve been obsessed with old recipes. I’ve got about 80 proper vintage cookbooks now – I just find them fascinating and I think there are so many things we can learn from them. They’ve become a bit overlooked and forgotten, because these days – and I’m the same – if we want a recipe, we’ll just Google it. So I wanted to celebrate these old cookbooks and the recipes in them that have been around for such a long time.

Is there an element of celebrating traditional British recipes, too?

Absolutely – and in particular, celebrating traditional British home baking and cooking. We’ve all got busy lives, but it’s nice to take it back to a slightly simpler time when we made things like sticky toffee pudding or jam roly poly and enjoyed them as a family. These are such quintessentially British things – if you go to a pub in Britain, you can guarantee they’ll have a sticky toffee pudding on the menu.

There’s lots of heritage in the book from my family as well. The idea of passing down recipes from one generation to another is something we’re losing and I think it’s a really important tradition that we need to keep alive, if we can. Some of the recipes in The Retro Recipe Society come from my nan or even her mum. Some of them are well over 100 years old, and some are from my daughter’s childhood, which will eventually be her own idea of retro, nostalgic recipes.

What’s your personal favourite recipe in the book?

I really love the filo pastry roly poly! When you mention jam roly poly to anyone, they instantly get nostalgic and remember having it at school, or at their nan’s. What I’ve done is a modern take on the roly poly – it’s made of filo pastry, and it’s got a cheesecake filling made of blackcurrant jam and blackberries. It’s really delicious, easy to do and looks really cool.

Keep reading to find out how to make Briony’s Blackberry and Blackcurrant Jam Roly Poly.

Briony’s favourite recipe from her debut cookbook is the Blackberry and Blackcurrant Jam Roly Poly

As well as now being an author, you’re a TV presenter, disability and mental health advocate, podcast host, and a mum. How do you balance everything?

I’d love to say it’s a breeze, but it’s not. It’s difficult, and I do feel mum guilt a lot of the time. My daughter, Nora, is ten – she really hates it when I go away and is happy to make that clear! Basically, I cope because I’ve got an amazing family around me. My mum is my hero, doing a lot of childcare and school pickups, so I’m very lucky in that sense. My husband is brilliant and very supportive as well, so it’s quite a team effort from the family. I do love being busy though; I’ve always enjoyed having a lot to do.

Is there anything you find really helps support your mental health? You recently posted on Instagram that you’ve taken up swimming and are loving it…

Definitely swimming – it’s been amazing. It came about through a charity thing I did, and I couldn’t believe I’d got to 39 and still didn’t know how to swim! So I took myself to some adult swimming lessons at my local leisure centre, looked on TikTok for some tips, and learned how to swim. I go swimming a couple of times a week now, and I absolutely love it. It’s so good for my mental health and my physical health as well. It’s my escape when I need a bit of a break from life, when I just need a bit of time for myself: I can’t go on my phone; I can’t listen to anything; I can’t talk to anyone. I just get to disconnect for an hour. I love a new hobby and that’s how my baking came about too – it started as something new to do, and then it just spiralled from there.

How did you find the transition into the public eye after spending years as a teacher?

Honestly, people are so nice, and I’ve been really lucky. They just come up to me on the street and say they loved me on Bake Off or they really enjoy Escape to the Country. And I’ve always loved talking to people; I make friends with everyone, whether it’s a waitress at a restaurant or an air steward on a flight. And now people want to talk to me as well, so it’s been lovely. There’s been some negative things with trolls and stuff like that, but generally, it’s just people being really kind and supportive. I feel very lucky to be in that position. And I get to meet some amazing people – I was a huge Bake Off fan before I ever went on the show, so I was really fangirling when I got to meet all the former contestants. And when I met Ainsley Harriott, I really had to pinch myself!

When filming Escape to the Country, have there been any houses that you were tempted to buy for yourself?

Absolutely… I always say filming the show is like Rightmove but in real life. We went to Cornwall to film last month, and the mystery house was so breathtaking. There was just something magical about it. Me and all the crew were just absolutely mesmerised by it; the way it was styled was amazing, and they’d kept loads of the original features. It was just beautiful to the point where I called my husband like, ‘Do we think a move to Bude would be on the cards?’. I was so taken by this house that I really did consider it for a moment.

I live in Bristol, but I’d love to live in the countryside. I’d like to get a bit of land, get some alpacas or some donkeys and some rescue dogs, and I’d be as happy as Larry. The dream.

Finally, is there anything else exciting for you coming up?

I’m doing a TED Talk in Bristol on 8 November about embracing my disability [Briony was born without fingers on her left hand]. I’m really excited, and also terrified – it’s something I’ve always really wanted to do. Longer term, I’d love to write another book and explore the retro side of things a bit more, maybe go even further back into history to Victorian or Roman times and see if there’s anything we can learn from their recipes. A festive version would be so much fun as well; there’s lots you can explore within the retro world that people enjoy. As soon as you bring up the topic of retro, classic recipes, people get so nostalgic and excited to share their recipes or their experiences. I just think there’s a lot of joy to be found there.

Credit: Cíara Hillyer

How To Make Briony’s Blackberry & Blackcurrant Jam Roly Poly

Ready in 50 minutes and serving 6-8 people, this roly poly is extra crispy thanks to the addition of the filo pastry. ‘The creamy filling takes it to the next level,’ says Briony, ‘and if you make this during blackberry season, it will taste doubly delicious.’

Ingredients

• 270g pack filo pastry
• 200ml double cream
• 1.5 tbsp icing sugar
• 1.5 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g blackcurrant jam
• 150g blackberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C. Grease an 8 inch cake tin.
2. Whip together the double cream, icing sugar and cream cheese until spreadable. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
3. Spread some jam over half a sheet of filo then fold over the other half so the jam is sandwiched between. Place some of the cream mixture along one edge then roll up so you have a cream filled filo sausage. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets until you have used all the pastry.
4. Roll the first filo sausage in a spiral in the middle of the tin then place the other around the outside. Repeat to fill the cake tin. Brush the top with egg wash or butter. Sprinkle over the blackberries, wedging a few into the roll. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

The Retro Recipe Society by Briony May Williams (Found, £24.99) is out now and is available online at Amazon, TikTok Shop, Found.us and all good e-Book Shops (£10.99).

The Retro Recipe Society is out now (Found, £24.99)