logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
33m 26s

Katarina Cermelj: Cookbook Author, Food ...

Pastry Arts
About this episode

Katarina Cermelj (Kat for short) is an award-winning cookbook author, food writer, photographer and creator of the popular ‘free-from’ baking blog, The Loopy Whisk. She has a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Oxford, having previously completed her undergraduate Chemistry degree at the same university. Being a science nerd, she loves to use a very scientific, analytical approach in her recipe development – and she’s also a big believer in not only providing reliable, fail-proof (and always delicious) recipes, but also the reasons for why they work.

Kat’s first cookbook, Baked to Perfection, has been described as "the only gluten-free cookbook you'll ever need" and has won The Guild of Food Writers Specialist Subject Award 2022, the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Debut Cookery Book Award 2022 and was a finalist in the IACP Awards 2022.

Her latest cookbook, The Elements of Baking, is an in-depth (and enthusiastically nerdy) guide to making any recipe gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan or even gluten-free vegan – all while ensuring it still tastes spectacular.

theloopywhisk.com
Instagram, Facebook and TikTok: @theloopywhisk

In this episode, we discuss:

  • How an intolerance for gluten and dairy sparked the launch of The Loopy Whisk
  • How her PhD in inorganic chemistry paved the way for a career as a recipe developer          
  • Why the formula matters – using GF flour doesn’t guarantee success          
  • What gluten is, and why it causes some people big problems
  • Tips for making the best GF bread
  • Why sometimes you have to adjust the amount of flour used in GF recipes on the fly
  • What her two cookbooks, Baked to Perfection and The Elements of Baking, are all about 
  • The one GF recipe that Kat is most proud of
  • And much more!
Up next
Aug 12
Romain Dufour on the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie
Romain Dufour is a baking instructor and consultant to industrial and artisan baking companies. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Chef Dufour’s company offers expert training, masterclasses and guidance to bakers, helping them refine their craft and ele ... Show More
28m 1s
Jul 23
Joy Wilson, a.k.a. ‘Joy the Baker’: A Baking Blogger’s Success Story
Joy Wilson, also known as Joy the Baker, is a self-taught baker, cookbook author, and blogger who has been delighting readers and home bakers with her warm, relatable voice and mouth-watering recipes for over a decade. Originally from Los Angeles, Joy spent ten years soaking up t ... Show More
31m 40s
Jun 26
Chef Susan Notter, C.E.P.C.: The Multi-faceted Career of a Pastry Icon
Born and raised in England, Susan Notter started baking at a young age, then attended culinary school while working in a pastry shop. After graduating, Chef Notter had the opportunity to work in Germany for Konditorei Heinmann, where she spent three years learning about European ... Show More
51m 22s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
The Science of Stir-Fry with J. Kenji López-Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt gives us a lesson on Wok 101 and reveals the science behind great stir-fry. Plus, Cheryl Day joins Christopher Kimball to tackle your baking questions about everything from powdered milk to cardamom buns; cookbook author Chelsea Monroe-Cassel explores the food ... Show More
50m 44s
Feb 2025
820: Cooking Questions with Lisa Donovan and We The Pizza with Muhammad Abdul-Hadi
This week, food columnist for The New York Times Magazine, Lisa Donovan, joins us to talk about what she's been cooking up recently and help answer our listeners' kitchen conundrums, from making the best tomato paste despite out-of-season tomatoes to using unsweetened cho ... Show More
50m 8s
Mar 2025
Big Vegan Flavor | Nisha Vora
Nisha Vora is a cookbook author and content creator known for her innovative approach to vegan cooking. She discusses her second cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, with over 150 recipes to help you master the art of vegan cooking. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 2012 and wor ... Show More
53m 42s
Oct 2023
Sohla El-Waylly: Chef, On-Camera Personality, and Cookbook Author
Growing up, Sohla El-Waylly always had a passion for cooking, but it wasn’t until after she graduated college with an economics degree that she made the leap to attend culinary school. In the years following, she worked in fine-dining restaurants, even opening and running her own ... Show More
52m 59s
Feb 2025
797: Melissa Clark’s Deep Dive into Salt & Crystal Wilkinson on her Kitchen Ghosts
This week, we talk to two award-winning authors about their latest work. First, The New York Times cooking columnist Melissa Clark talks to us about her deep dive into the world of salt. From exploring salt harvesting in France to the history and revival of artisanal salts, she w ... Show More
50m 19s
Jan 2020
Hell’s French Kitchen: How 7 Days of Cooking Broke Writer Sam Ashworth
When Sam Ashworth apprenticed in a French Michelin-starred restaurant, it broke him after just one week. This week, he talks about his experience—which entailed cleaning squid for four hours a night—and why the French brigade system of training chefs and regimenting the cooking p ... Show More
50m 45s
Mar 2024
Anything’s Pastable 1 | Every Grain Of Salt
After Dan’s pasta shape, cascatelli, went viral, people everywhere were cooking with it and sending him photos of what they were making. As exciting as that was, he was disappointed that most folks were only making a handful of well-worn dishes with this new shape. So Dan decided ... Show More
44m 34s
Jul 11
829: Summer Cooking with Abra Berens and Chef Jiho Kim
This week, it's all about keeping cool and carrying on in the kitchen. First up , chef, farmer, and cookbook author Abra Berens joins Francis to take your calls about how to best use our summer produce. She’s full of ideas for all that zucchini, btw! Abra is the author of three w ... Show More
49m 40s
May 2024
How You Can Taste Food Like A Flavor Chemist
"Natural flavors” show up on ingredient lists for all kinds of foods. But what does that mean exactly? We get a peek into the secretive science of flavoring when we talk with Marie Wright of ADM, who’s created more than 1,000 flavors in her 30+ years as a flavor chemist. She expl ... Show More
32m 9s
Nov 2024
Kitchen Science with Martha and America’s Test Kitchen’s Dan Souza
On today’s episode, Martha goes on the road to visit America’s Test Kitchen, where she sits down with its Chief Content Officer, Dan Souza. Following the publication of Martha’s 100th book, and America’s Test Kitchen’s 25th anniversary, the culinary experts dive into the science ... Show More
37m 31s