A Little Break, A Big Update
A Cotswolds escape, a new content schedule and exciting things ahead
Hello, friends! This week’s post is coming to you from the glorious Cotswolds, where we’ve escaped for a much needed breather for a few days. It’s amazing how a change of scenery can be just what you need to feel reset and refreshed.
Our home for the weekend is a converted chapel that’s full of character from the outside and quite sleek and modern on the inside. Very thankful for the bedroom being underground too. With the weather as warm as it’s been, it was like having air con!
TWIG is our favourite coffee spot in the area and their freshly baked focaccia sandwiches are out of this world. We didn’t grab one this time as we only dropped in for our morning coffee. But we did pick up a couple of croissants, which were equally as delicious. Definitely worth checking out if you’re ever visiting Bibury.
For all the times we’ve been to the Cotswolds, we’d somehow never made it to Daylesford before! So this time we made a point of heading over to have a wander round. It’s stunning inside, extremely boujee and I would 100% be doing my weekly shop there if I lived in the area! We picked up a few bits to make a ploughman’s for lunch, although sadly, the focaccia was disappointingly dry.
The Update
If you've been following my Notes - you’ll know that we’ve had a bit of drama with the oven. The main fact being that it blew up… and then when they came to install the new one, they discovered there was no power coming through anymore. Something about a burned cable behind the wall..?
Thankfully, our regular sparky was able to pop round quicker than expected and everything was sorted just before we left for our trip. The shiny new CLEAN oven is now sitting proudly in the kitchen and I’ve named her Hope - as in, “I’m putting this in the oven and hoping for the best!”
However, the unexpected break did give me the space to finally sit down and map out a proper content schedule for Taisty Bytes. Something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. I’ve also finally fleshed out some ideas that I’ve been noodling over and I’m ready to share - which I’m really bloody excited about.
So, below is the new content schedule we’ll be moving forward with, including two brand new features I’m excited to launch. I’ll keep the intros brief for now, as you’ll get to know each feature properly when their first posts go live.
Week 1: Cook the Books (Part 1)
Last week was the launch of my new ‘Cook the Books’ feature - and I can already see that it’s something that could be very excitingly massive. So, before it gets completely out of hand (in the best way), I’ve decided to split it into two posts across the month.
I originally planned to tackle 3 bakes per week, but the new rhythm will be 3–5 bakes every other week. This should give me the space to keep creating without burning out. Or burning anything, ideally.
Week 2: Bake the World
Introducing one of our brand new features: Bake the World! Each month, I’ll be exploring recipes from a different country - learning new flavours, techniques and discovering stories from kitchens around the world.
Week 3: Cook the Books (Part 2)
In Week 3, we’ll head back to the pages of our chosen cookbook for the month. I’ll be baking my second set of recipes, wrapping up the experience and sharing some thoughts on how the book fared overall. Perhaps even with a cheeky little review at the end!
Week 4: Byte Club
Rounding out the month will be our second new feature: Byte Club! This will be a monthly roundup of everything I’ve been loving, learning from or obsessing over. Basically, the cool stuff I’ve found that month that’s too good not to share!
The first rule of Byte Club is: there’s always room for cake.
I will be including things such as:
Recipes I’ve found on Substack, Instagram or elsewhere that I have or will be trying
A Beandog Bakery update
What I’m listening to in the kitchen (playlists or podcasts)
And a few shoutouts to other brilliant humans doing brilliant things
Beyond this being a roundup post - I’m envisaging this could become something like a community-led feature. Maybe some challenges, giveaways, meetups, etc. Maybe some fun merch? Whatever it is, I’m looking forward to seeing what this evolves in to. Hopefully you are too!
So there we have it! That’s what the next few months are looking like around here. Let me know what you think - or if there’s anything you’d love to see baked, explored, or shouted about.
P.S. We’re officially T-minus one week until the kitchen renovation begins! It should only be out of action for a week (famous last words, right?) so fingers crossed there won’t be too much disruption.
Hope is ready. I’m ready. Let’s do this!
See you next time!
Mark + Hiro 🐾
hi cows! hi hiro! hellooooo new oven and content anticipation!!!!
Excellent plan Mark, and very good decision to drop the cook the books to fortnightly. There is quite a bit of creation you have scheduled, so I look forward to supporting your work.
Good luck with the reno.