Featured Events in Newport in July, 2025 (August Updated)

‘I was completely pole-axed by this . It’s a breath-taking achievement to depict such pain so exquisitely… Olia Hercules deftly fuses war reporting, food memoir, an investigation into identity and an act of resistance to create what I feel compelled to describe as a painting out of words . An instant classic.’ Nigella Lawson About the Book ‘I am writing this story without knowing its end: it begins long before I was born and will continue long after I die. I am writing this story to help myself heal and to make you understand.’ When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian chef Olia Hercules decided it was finally time to tell her story. Strong Roots is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification, to Olia’s grandmother’s deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her Aunt Zhenia's school protest, to her own parents’ flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022. This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations – the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances. Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots. ‘It is the roots that keep the trees from falling during a storm. Olia Hercules tells us that the same is true for people and nations. It is the roots of culture and dignity that make them unbreakable at the time of war and peace, in Ukraine and beyond.’ Serhii Plokhy About Olia Hercules Olia Hercules was born in the South of Ukraine. She studied Italian language and International Relations at the University of Warwick. After spending a year in Italy, Olia settled in London, pursuing a career in journalism. She would later quit her job as a film business reporter to pursue her dream to cook for a living. Dedicated to researching food culture and culinary traditions of countries less explored,Hercules is the author of the award-winning cookbooks Mamushka,Kaukasis and Summer Kitchens. Follow Olia on: Twitter: @Olia_Hercules | Instagram: @oliahercules ‘Olia Hercules is a beautiful writer . So attuned to the sensual details of the world. Very raw, very honest , in a way I appreciated a lot. And all the ingredients – personal stories, historical context, trauma, hope are so finely balanced. It deserves to be read and admired far and wide !’ Charlie Gilmour ‘Only Olia Hercules could write such a cinematic and brave-hearted book examining what it is to live as a Ukrainian family at a time of unimaginable horrors and yet on every page the reader finds grace, strength, and occasionally the sting of dark Ukrainian humour. Strong Roots manages the near impossible: it is both a deeply personal book and a vital historical record’ Caroline Eden We will be joined on the evening by some of our local Ukrainian community. Please note a percentage of ticket and book sales will be donated to Olia's charity Cook for Ukraine Information Source: The Kitchen Table | eventbrite

As part of Shaftesbury Fringe 2025 The Kitchen Table presents comedian George Egg demonstrating recipes from his new book The Snack Hacker. There will be an opportunity for Q&A and the book will be available for purchase and signing on the evening. If you'd like to eat before or after the event do please book ahead with The Mitre as they will be busy for Fringe on this evening. We also encourage you to come early and geta.drink from the bar before joining us for the event. About George George Egg is a comedian, a cook and a content creator. Since 2015 he has written, produced and performed four live cooking-with-comedy shows. All four shows enjoyed sell out runs at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and went on to tour both nationally as well as overseas. During the Covid lockdown George began producing 'Snack Hacker', his short-form online food show in which he interferes with familiar food items, improving them and creating innovative recipes with food-centric stand-up. Over one hundred episodes later, the show has amassed tens of millions of views, an avid social media following and has attracted a slew of A-list guests from the worlds of comedy and food, including Romesh Ranganathan and James Acaster. The show's success has in turn lead to George appearing as a 'celebrity chef' at numerous food festivals, as well as winning Content Creator of the Year at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drinks Awards 2024. George has appeared (and cooked) on Channel 4's Bake Off: An Extra Slice and Steph's Packed Lunch, ITV's This Morning and BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends as well as guest-presenting an episode of BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme. He now features regularly on Loose Ends as one of the shows roster of co-hosts and appears every Monday on Craig Charles' BBC 6 Music show where he talks snacks. About the book George Egg inhabits a place where the potentially frowned-upon (processed cheese, crabsticks, salad cream) sits with the gourmet (date syrup, tahini, seaweed) and on occasion the deluxe (lumpfish caviar, liquorice root powder, Babybel). Discover hacks for fast food favourites alongside 'proper' recipes, using surprising combinations, unexpected ingredients and unconventional methods as George guides you from Deep-fried Pot Noodle to Chip Shop Tortilla , Microwave Shakshuka to Twiglet Brownies and Peshwari Toasties to Beer-battered Celebrations . Served with a generous helping of culinary memories and heart-warming stories, The Snack Hacker is a joyful celebration of food and a reminder that it's sensible to play in the kitchen. WINNER OF 'CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR' AT THE FORTNUM AND MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2024 'The cookbook I've been waiting for my entire life' JAMES ACASTER 'One of the most exciting new cookbooks that's being released in 2025' OLIVE MAGAZINE AS HEARD ON THE CRAIG CHARLES SHOW ON BBC 6MUSIC A collection of over 90 rule-breaking recipes of unpretentious cooking for everyone from the well-seasoned cook to the kitchen-shy greedy-guts. Information Source: The Kitchen Table | eventbrite

Information Source: Catriona | eventbrite