Lou Robbie Talks Her Debut Cookbook and Shares an Exclusive Recipe
Lou Robbie joins the video call from her usual spot in the kitchen, familiar to any one of her hundreds of thousands of Instagram and TikTok followers or the millions of people who have viewed her viral recipe videos.
The mum of two, who lives just outside Galway City with her husband Mike and kids Meabh, 10, and Hamish, 7, is bubbling with excitement – after a year of planning, cooking, testing and writing, her debut cookbook, Make & Freeze: The Ultimate Guide to Family-Friendly Meal Prep is finally here. “It was very hard keeping it a secret,” she confides. “When you have a social media platform and the whole idea is that you share continually, it was tough, especially during last summer – I had 100 recipes to make, test and submit by October. So the push was on. I was cooking non-stop, testing recipes for the book every day, and I couldn’t share any of those dishes online!”
It all started in January 2023, when she began researching getting published and secured an agent. The previous November, a video she shared (“Just me doing what I do – batch-making homemade snacks suitable for freezing for my kids’ school lunches”) went viral, and her following has snowballed since then. She now has over a million followers across her social media platforms on @littleloucooks.
A cook book for the generations
However, she has been growing her business since 2021, when she officially launched Little Lou Cooks as a series of online cooking classes for kids and adults. But when her online following exploded, she sensed an opportunity. “The online world is fast, sometimes fleeting and fluid, but a book is peaceful, tangible and timeless,” she writes in the introduction to her book. When her page grew so rapidly, her next goal was to get her recipes into a book, something that could be “loved and used and passed on”, and something many of her followers were asking for.
“As much as I’m a chef, most of the parents who follow me are not. I want the recipes to be empowering and relatable, able to be made by any cook or any parent.”
It’s a testament to Lou’s ambition, drive and talent that her book proposal culminated with a 14-publisher bid. Lou eventually went with UK-based Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, which puts her in a strong position to share the book with her followers around the world (she has lots based in the UK, Australia and US). “To get a worldwide publisher from the get-go is incredible,” she says. “I get bombarded by questions about whether the book is going to be available in Australia, and there are so many Irish people around the world.”
I’ve been lucky enough to get a peek at the book, and it’s filled with Lou’s signature warmth and ease. Even though she spent a decade as a professional chef in places like Cava and Ard Bia, her recipes are easy, accessible and real, something that was hugely important to her: “As much as I’m a chef, most of the parents who follow me are not. I want the recipes to be empowering and relatable, able to be made by any cook or any parent.” She will often tweak methods and even equipment to make sure the recipes are accessible to as many people as possible. “Every time I write I ask myself, is this helpful? Is it going to help a parent? And if it’s not, I’ll rework it,” she says.
“Time is precious and short, and people have to be able to make these dishes in a short space of time,” she continues.
Ahead of the official launch of her debut cookbook this evening, 21st July, at the beloved Kennys Bookshop from 6 to 7pm, we're sharing a recipe from the new book.
Quick turkey meatballs on a sub roll with tomato sauce
SERVES 4
I like to buy turkey mince to mix things up now and again. It’s a nice change from red meat and a leaner, healthier option, too. Because these meatballs are low in fat and less juicy, it’s good to serve them in a sauce. My kids love a meatball sub roll for dinner, and I love making this because it is so quick and easy!
You’ll need
400g turkey mince
25g panko breadcrumbs
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
Spray oil
To serve:
Sub rolls or bread rolls
Tomato sauce (homemade or shopbought)
Grated cheese
Method
1. To make the meatballs, put all the ingredients, except the oil, into a mixing bowl, mix well, then divide and roll into 12 even balls.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 170ºC. Lightly spray the basket with oil and add the balls, working in batches if the basket is small. Air-fry for 10–12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
3. Heat the tomato sauce and add the cooked turkey meatballs. Put 3 meatballs and some sauce on each roll, coat in sauce, and top with grated cheese.
Delivered straight to your inbox every month.
