Nick Frost’s new book begins with a handwritten recipe for beef stroganoff, a sentimental artifact he discovered long after his mother passed away. This cherished memory competes with recollections of his father’s Sunday lunches, complete with his unique gravy recipe involving McEwan’s Export. The book also includes his Welsh auntie’s version of cawl soup, a dish he now prepares for his own children, as well as his iconic “pies in a bowl,” a staple from his time living with his lifelong friend and collaborator Simon Pegg. While cooking has always been therapeutic for Frost, it was only when a publisher approached him about writing a cookbook that he realized his life story could be told through the 300 or so dishes he could prepare. Frost’s childhood was marked by his father’s bankruptcy and his mother’s alcoholism, but the recipes provide a positive connection to those memories.
Frost, now 51, explored some of this territory in his 2015 memoir, “Truths, Half Truths and Little White Lies,” which chronicled his chaotic life prior to his success in films like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” with Pegg, leading to their cult following and Hollywood fame. The memoir ended with Frost’s breakthrough on TV in the sitcom “Spaced” and his subsequent squandering of the money he earned on alcohol and drugs. This new book delves into his experiences of fatherhood, his first marriage, and his current long-term relationship, providing a more reliable happy ending.
Frost effortlessly switches between fantastic comedy and raw reality, always striving for honesty in his writing. Readers of his first book appreciated his candidness about topics such as mothers, addiction, and grief. As exposed as he felt, Frost wanted his children to understand how he reached his current place in life. This book serves a similar purpose, while also offering readers the chance to learn how to make a great omelette.
We sit in the restaurant at Petersham Nurseries in southwest London, a place with a family feel that has been run by the Boglione clan since 2002. Frost has been a resident of nearby Richmond for over a decade, and this restaurant is his go-to for special occasions. After returning from six weeks of filming in Finland, he revels in the atmosphere of being surrounded by people again, with a menu before him. While the food in Finland was decent, he found it somewhat lonely. He describes driving through vast forests for 20 minutes only to arrive at stunning lakeside houses that sell homemade cinnamon buns and coffee, leaving him to drive back deserted.
Frost has recently completed six films since the lockdown, all of which have yet to be released. The cookbook came to fruition as a way to fill his time during those schedules. Interestingly, food played a role in Frost’s entry into the entertainment industry. Leaving school at 16 without qualifications, he worked at a Chiquito’s branch on London’s North Circular to support his parents. Initially a waiter, Frost eventually became a line cook. It was through the restaurant that he met Simon Pegg, as Pegg’s girlfriend at the time also worked there. Frost and Pegg eventually lived together in shared flats (even sharing a bed at one point, albeit platonic), and their dysfunctional relationship translated successfully into the TV show “Spaced” and subsequent surreal film comedies, most notably the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. People consistently ask Frost what’s next for their creative partnership.
“We talk a lot,” Frost says. “We are going to be together at the London film festival, and before that in Liverpool for a comic convention. We’re like: ‘Two days together! It’s gonna be amazing!’ I think one of the great things about the films we’ve made is that you got to see us age a bit as people. The characters have gotten older and more complicated. So even if it’s another 10 years, there will be that …”
These complexities have also manifested in real-life struggles with alcohol and drugs. One significant step for Frost was receiving a diagnosis in his late 40s that revealed a multitude of neurodivergent conditions: ADHD, OCD, PTSD, dyslexia, anxiety disorders, and a healthy dose of hypervigilance.
“I was 47,” he recalls. “When I started researching it, it explained so much about my behavior. I attempted medication for the first couple of years, but having essentially a bottle of methamphetamine in my house was challenging for the addict in me. I would think, what would happen if I took 10 of these at once? Ultimately, I had 47 years of figuring out how to cope, and I had mostly done okay, so I went back to my own methods.”
Frost has reached a point where he can usually find humor in his neuroses, even if he can’t completely overcome them. He shares an anecdote of a hotel stay in Finland that showcases the impact of his ADHD on his life. Initially, the breakfast routine provided comfort, with the familiar presence of a juice machine, coffee, and three small pancakes with strawberry jam. However, two weeks into his stay, he found that the hotel had changed the breakfast menu to carrot cake, a teatime treat rather than a morning delight. In the middle of the room, Frost stood for 10 minutes, dumbfounded by this alteration, his ADHD-powered brain spinning with confusion. While it may seem strange to others, to someone with ADHD, it makes perfect sense.
Frost had always recognized his compulsive tendencies, from needing to eat the same lunch every day to other habits, but they became significantly worse in his 40s. Loneliness played a role, as he had lost all his family and many friends had married and started families. This isolation led him to build emotional walls, resulting in deeper struggles with mental illness. The kitchen became his refuge, providing solace during insomniac nights spent making focaccia and offering a cathartic release through the act of chopping. He appreciates that spending hours in the kitchen alone is not viewed negatively because the end result is something delicious. When he’s not working, Frost enjoys having people around, using his cooking skills to prepare meals for everyone each day.
To confront the destructive aspects of his personality, Frost has tackled his binge eating habits, successfully losing around 100lb in the past year by gradually eliminating the behaviors that would lead him to secretly consume the top tier of a wedding cake, for example.
He knows exactly when this pattern began: “As a 51-year-old man, I can…”
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