The Sportsman at Home

THE TIMES FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025

In The Sportsman at Home, Stephen Harris welcomes us into his kitchen in Whitstable to discover how to make classic, nostalgic home cooking taste even better than you remember.

The Sportsman is nothing short of an institution. Now in its 25th year, Stephen Harris took over a rundown pub on the Kent coast in 1999 and turned something ordinary into something extraordinary with his pared-back style of cooking, earning a Michelin star, as well as being named the UK’s best restaurant multiple times. It’s both a cult classic adored by chefs from all over the world, as well as a truly beloved, unpretentious local.

Organised into chapters such as Tea, Dinner, An Ode to Cream and Christmas, to name a few, Stephen captures the imagination for simple home cooking with his love of seasonal, local produce, and scholarly, much-lauded approach to putting flavour first in the easiest, most effective ways. With dishes such as cream of tomato soup, cottage pie and tart tatin with vanilla ice cream, Stephen reintroduces familiar favourites, made simpler, and much better.

With stunning location photography of the Kent landscape that serves as Stephen’s inspiration and essays on his life in the kitchen, The Sportsman at Home is a true celebration of simple food at its very best, from one of the most respected chefs in the UK.