It was a date-that-never-was that inspired a 26-year-old man who lives alone to write a book about batch-cooking. “Alas, they did not respond to confirm,” Calum Harris explains. “I checked the fridge for a nice meal to console my disappointment, finding oat milk, a BRITA water jug and some about-to-go-off kimchi.” A takeaway burger failed to shake Calum’s disappointment at finding an empty fridge after a long day.
“I also consider myself to be a bit of a lazy batch,” he admits. “I love to cook, but I do find I get to a point where I don’t really want to cook every single meal of every single day.”
Early days
Calum started making cooking videos in 2019, with the aim of making great vegan food quicker, healthier, simpler and more accessible. Somehow, he gathered 258,000 Instagram followers in the process. “When I went vegan in 2018, I noticed a lack of younger presence in the cooking scene, especially from a vegan’s perspective,” he explains. “So I thought I’d give it a go, and see how far I could go. I didn’t think any of this would occur at all.”
Calum first got into cooking as a teenager, inspired by people like Joe Wicks and Jamie Oliver, who Calum describes as his food icon. “He’s done so much to get people into cooking – especially men,” Calum explains. “He challenges the stereotype.”
Calum ended up on TV with Jamie when he took part in The Great Cookbook Challenge in 2022. “I didn’t win, but I won the heart of Jamie Oliver,” he says, of the man he now refers to as his “telly dad.”
I love to cook but I do find I get to a point where I don’t really want to cook every single meal of every single day.
“I’m a home cook, not a chef,” Calum explains. “That role in the kitchen has been taken on more by women, so it was refreshing to find someone I could gravitate to. I learned all my skills from my mum, the internet and cookbooks. So I try to make cooking as easy as can be, with minimal equipment. My aim has always been to make cooking simple, and work to what people can actually do.”
Simple mantra
As well as being easy, cooking should be fun, Calum reckons. “I have a laugh, I don’t know what I’m doing but I figure it out, and I love cooking,” he says. “Cooking is a therapeutic thing for me, and I believe others can feel that way too, by not thinking too deeply, and just getting stuck in.”
That doesn’t mean he’s immune from the anxiety that strikes when a post gets zero likes, fails to perform as well as expected, or attracts a negative comment. “That’s like a skill that you get 1mm better at dealing with each day,” Calum says. “What has helped is realising that no matter what stage you’re at in your career, we’re all giving it a go and we’re all pretty much clueless. The more I think about that, the easier it becomes to focus on creating something I’m truly happy with, rather than platform-pleasing. But seeing someone recreate one of my dishes is the best feeling in the world.”
The first step to successful batch cooking is making something you actually want to eat, says Calum, be that a burger, a stir fry, a bowl of pasta or a salad. The next is getting the flavours right. Salt is a non-negotiable. “People need to understand, seasoning is the key to making excellent food, especially vegan food,” he says. “Salt is your saviour.” Then there’s miso paste. “When there’s no meat, there needs to be something that gives you that umami,” he says. “It works wonders in all kinds of cuisines.” Finally, go easy on yourself. Tomato, garlic and ginger pastes will save you time and effort when you can’t be bothered to chop. And five spices are all you need, as far as Calum’s concerned. “The spice girls are paprika, cumin, dried mixed herbs, cinnamon and garam masala,” he says. “I like to use the same spices in my recipes. I’m not the type to have a spice that’s only used in one recipe.”
Plant-based dishes are a batch-cooking win on multiple fronts, says Calum. First, they last longer. “Veg-based dishes last 3-5 days in the fridge and 3-6 months in the freezer, which is longer than equivalent meat-based dishes,” he explains. It’s also cheaper and easier to cook with plants. “It’s much cheaper to buy veggies in bulk than to buy meat in bulk,” Calum points out. “With the cost of living being a thing we all have to deal with nowadays, it’s nice to be able to keep a couple of notes in your pocket for once. Plus, you can chop all the ingredients for a recipe on one board, without worrying about continually washing the board and knives – all you have to do is wash your veg.” There are health benefits too, of course. “By packing more veggies into your meals, you’re upping your fibre intake, which gives massive benefits to your gut health,” says Calum.
So, bung your favourite tunes on the speaker – “because music is gonna give the movement of cooking some soul,” Calum explains – and get batching.
Calum Harris is a vegan recipe creator and bestselling author. His latest book, Batch: Prep Ahead. Easy Meals. All Plants, is available now.
