Regula Ysewijn
Culinary author, photographer, anthropologist and broadcaster

Regula Ysewijn is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning food writer, photographer and author of six books about food culture, including on for the National Trust and Downton Abbey. Topics are (but aren’t limited to) the history of British puddings and bakes, the traditions of Belgian beer cafés and the history of baking in the Low Countries. She is asked to come on TV and radio regularly to talk about the various topics she writes about and writes a food history column for the magazine of Belgian heritage institution Herita.

 

Regula is one of the two judges of the Belgian version of The Great British Bake Off (Bake off Vlaanderen) in addition to being a judge for The Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards and World Cheese Awards for nearly 10 years. In 2022 Regula was one of the five judges along with Mary Berry and the royal chef Mark Flanagan, for the Queen of England’s Platinum Pudding Competition, which was broadcasted on the BBC.  

 

Regula was born in Flanders, the Dutch speaking region of Belgium. She travels between Britain and Belgium for her work, this can be TV appearances, talks, demos and research. Regula also hosts a sporadic podcast.

 

After her internationally lauded Pride and Pudding and Oats in the North, Wheat from the South, Belgian Café Culture and other books, Regula Ysewijn turns her attention to the baking traditions of Belgium – the place of her birth with her latest book: Dark Rye and Honey Cake – Festival baking from Belgium, the heart of the Low Countries. In this book Regula links art of the Low Countries to the food history and festival traditions of the region.

Bibliography

 

Pride and Pudding – the history of British Puddings

(2016 Murdoch Books), new English edition in 2022 (Murdoch Books)

 

Belgian Café Culture – A Portrait of the iconic café

(2016 and anniversary edition in 2021, Luster)

 

The National Trust Book Of Puddings

(2019, National Trust)

 

Brits Bakboek

(2019, Carrera Culinair)

 

Oats in the North, Wheat from the South – a history of British Baking

(2020, Murdoch Books) US edition: The British Baking Book (2020, Weldon Owen, Taiwanese edition)

 

The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook

(2020, Weldon Owen US, Titan Books UK)

 

Dark rye and Honey cake / Van wafel tot koek

(2023, Murdoch Books UK/AUS/NZ, Weldon Owen US, Overamstel NL/BE)

 

Awards and nominations

 
For Pride and Pudding:

 

André Simon Memorial Food & Drink Awards – shortlist

 

Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards’ shortlist

 

Gourmand World Book Awards – Culinary Heritage category – winner for Britain

 

Best books of 2016 by the BBC Radio 4 The Food Program

 

The Best British Cookbooks of the 2000s’ by the Great British Food Awards. 

 

For Belgian Café Culture:

 

Gourmand World Book Awards – Culinary History category – winner for Belgium 

 

For Oats in the North, Wheat from the South (‘The British Baking Book’ in the US, Brits Bakboek in NL):

 

Gourmand World Book Awards – Food Heritage – winner for Britain

 

Gouden Kookboek (The Netherlands) – Shortlist

 

André Simon Memorial Food & Drink Awards (UK) – Nominee

 

Best books of 2020 by the BBC Radio 4 The Food Program, The New Yorker and The Washington Post

 

 

Appearances 

 

Television 

United Kingdom

BBC One ‘Inside the Factory’ (Season 6)

BBC One Breakfast (2016 and 2022)

BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour (2020)

BBC Radio 4 ‘The Food Programme’ (Belgian Beer, 2019)

BBC The Platinum Pudding Competition (judge) (2022)

United states

wgntv.com Chicago midday-news lunchbreak baking demo (2020)

The Netherlands

Tijd voor Maxx (2019) NPO 1 

Koffietijd (2021) RTL4 

Heel Vlaanderen Bakt  (judge from 2017 onwards) NPO 1 

Heel Vlaanderen bakt kids (judge from 2020 onwards) NPO 1 

 

Belgium

Bake Off Flanders (judge from 2017 onwards) Play4

Junior Bake Off Flanders (judge from 2020 onwards) Play4

 

In print

The Guardian, the Telegraph, the Independent, former Jamie magazine, Delicious. magazine, BBC History, Flow, Knack, Knack Weekend, De Standaard magazine, De Morgen, Foodies, Food and Travel and more…

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have specific questions or want to get in touch? Contact me via email.