Cookbook created during lockdown proving a success for a second time

‘The Dining Room At Home’ was first published by Colin Wallace, who ran The Dining Room in the town’s York Place before it closed four years ago, following lockdown.

During the pandemic Colin posted a series of blog posts on social media to try and keep people amused and active during lockdown.

From there things developed and Colin put pen to paper, using his love of cooking to inspire others and published the book of recipes.

The book, which features 36 delicious recipes including some favourites from the restaurant and others Colin’s been making at home for years, proved a hit with copies on the limited run selling fast.

But now, four years on with a little bit of updating, the book has been re-published and is now once again available to buy.

Colin explained: “I decided to re-release The Dining Room At Home this year because there is still a lot of fond nostalgia in Kirkcaldy for The Dining Room even four years after we closed its doors.

"I keep getting asked for recipes from those days, particularly the penne pasta with beef fillet and the cheesecake both of which are featured in the book, so it felt like a good time to put it back out there.

"We already had the publishers lined up too so it was easy to update it and re-release it for everyone asking about it.

“It’s really wonderful to see it out there again. It was a passion project for me during lockdown and it means a great deal to me to give people something entertaining to read and useful to use in their kitchens.

"The feedback has been universally positive too and, of course, it has a much wider audience now through my work on the Love Kirkcaldy Facebook group.”

Colin has previously said that writing the book saved him during lockdown; physically, emotionally and mentally. At a time when work was suddenly taken away due to the lockdown restrictions, it gave him a focus and a purpose. He wrote the book to give all of the restaurant’s loyal customers and friends something fun to focus on during what was a very hard time for so many.

Although Colin wrote the content, the artwork and the look of the book was down to Roddy Jobson, one of the former owners of The Dining Room.

The book features recipes designed to delight every palate from sweet to savoury and is the perfect place to look when culinary inspiration is required.

The re-released version of the book is again selling well, and Colin’s admitted that he’s not ready to put down the pen just yet with more writing projects in the pipeline.

He said: “There are another two books in the pipeline; the first will be out in good time for Christmas this year and the second will be appearing in Spring 2025.

"It’s very exciting! I plan to create a bit of community involvement with the 2025 project but there will be more said about that later in the year.”

The Dining Room at Home is available to buy online here from the Great British Bookstore.