Friday Interview: Tostada

Roxanne Toal brought her Spanish-inspired cuisine dreams to life via Tostada, sharing her deep passion for food and the joy it brings to the world. She explains, “I lived in Spain and travelled extensively throughout the country — put simply, I’m in love with the place; especially the food. It’s not just the ingredients and flavours and textures and smells, but the way Spanish people talk about food and their whole dining culture. Food is never just food, it becomes a moment and a memory captured in a mouthful. And it all stems from pure passion and love.”

Roxanne tells us that through Tostada, she is able to celebrate two of her favourite passions — travel and eating. Based in Whitley Bay, she took a leap during lockdown to launch the brand’s DIY meal kits — and demand skyrocketed. We adore Roxanne’s authentic style and down-to-earth approach to cooking; here she tells us about building the business, future plans for supper clubs, cooking classes and more of those delicious meal kits.

What made you fall in love with Spain and its cuisine?

My family have been going on holiday to Menorca every year since I was a young child, so that’s where it began. Some of my best friends live there, and my husband and I even got married there. Menorca is so beautiful; in every aspect from the coast and coves to the architecture and markets. I fell in love with the relaxed way of life and of course the food. For me, it’s not just the ingredients, flavours, textures and smells, but the way Spanish people talk about food and their entire dining culture. Spain had been in my heart from a young age, so I knew when I grew up I wanted to travel and see more of the place and learn the language. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to live, study and work throughout the country. I studied in Salamanca before moving to Madrid, a beautiful city with incredibly friendly people. I actually ended up taking a photography course in Madrid as I couldn’t stop taking pictures of all the amazing things I was seeing. The fruit and veg was misshapen compared to what you see in supermarkets here but tasted amazing! My absolute favourite is Spanish tomatoes, and specifically ‘Pan con tomate’ (grated tomato on bread). So simple but so delicious. It made me realise when you cook with fresh, local ingredients you can allow them do all the hard work. I hope to make many more memories in Spain in the future. I get my niece and nephew to really try new things when we’re out there — they now love squid!

At the moment, what services does Tostada offer, and have these been tricky to launch throughout the pandemic and lockdown? How have you adapted to this?

Tostada’s biggest hit so far has definitely been the At-Home Paella Kits. I went into it a little naively but I think that served me well. There was a lot more to it than I anticipated and it was a steep learning curve. There was plenty of stress, but I loved it. The night before they went out for delivery I didn’t go to bed. I tried to do the best I could to make everything sustainable and eco-friendly (again, more complicated than it sounds.) The work that goes into those little boxes is extraordinary. I spent a lot of time sourcing every single ingredient and ate a lot of paella to make sure it was perfect (somebody’s got to do it!) The business side of things was completely new to me so I learnt a lot. It’s definitely a labour of love, but I’ve honestly loved every minute. I then did a picnic kit collaboration with my good friend, Sophie from All Day Cake alldaycake.co.uk which was equally popular. Whilst lockdown has been so difficult for the hospitality industry, it has made me get creative — I’m going to be launching more of the at-home kits, and also have some gift sets coming out soon. They’ll include tasty things to spread on toast like sobrasada, coffee dulce de leche and cabello de angel (‘angel hair’) which is a Spanish pumpkin jam. I’ll also be collaborating with Flint Pizza flintpizza.co.uk  in Heaton, which I’m super excited about. I have some supper clubs planned for the near future too — my first will be at The Roxburgh in Whitley Bay in October and then I’ll be hosting one at Noodlehaus by Pippy Eats in Manchester in November. The dishes I cook at my supper clubs are special, personal and built around simple but striking flavours.

We love the branding of your business, right down to your Tostada totes! How did you decide on the name, and the aesthetic of the business?

Tostada means ‘toast’ in Spanish, (my favourite thing to eat is tomatoes on toast). I think it sums up the informal dining culture of Spain — both in the simplicity of great flavours and my own memories of eating snacks on small toast lined up on bars. I wanted the aesthetic to be simple, I love that simple food is sometimes harder to make as there’s nowhere to hide, it’s just incredible ingredients treated well. I did want the branding to be colourful, to remind me of Spain. The branding is actually a lot more thought out than people think. I’m very lucky that my husband, Gary Toal, www.garytoal.com works in design and advertising so he’s helped me a lot alongside his amazing designer friend, Mark Arrowsmith – (markarrowsmith.co.uk) they made my vision come to life. I’ve also just collaborated on a Tostada tea towel with a lovely artist named Julie-Ann Smith, which will be available soon.

Do you have a favourite dish to make, and if so why?

This is really difficult. I’d probably say Fish Stew as it’s one of my favourite things to make and eat. Again, it’s something I eat a lot of in Menorca so I have wonderful memories of it. I’m really lucky to live so close to the North Shields Fish Quays and be able to pick up amazing seafood here. Caldereta de Langosta is on my next supper club menu.

With many people working from home, do you have any suggestions for quick, easy meals for lunch or dinner?

I definitely have to say things on toast for lunch — surprise, surprise! It’s so quick, easy and satisfying. At the moment wild mushrooms are in season, so get them on your hot bread for a delicious snack. Pumpkin/squash is also in season, which is really good roasted with some cheese, nuts or seeds. I do love seasonal greens fried in butter with poached eggs for a lovely lunch, too. I think one pot wonders or tray bakes are really quick and easy for dinner. I’d do chicken or fish with onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, paprika, sherry vinegar, bay leaves, saffron, fennel seeds, maybe some legumes and then some crusty bread on the side, of course!

Finally, could share your favourite North East spots for a day out?

The North East coast is so beautiful and I can’t list them all but I’d have to say Riley’s Fish Shack is a favourite. I used to work there and I never got bored of the view or the amazing food. It’s incredible, and where I take people when they come to visit. I think the Ouseburn is great and love visiting all the independent places there. Heaton’s food scene is really growing too, I could eat Flint Pizza every day. My perfect day in the North East would probably be a road trip along the coast, exploring Northumberland. I love finding markets, local fruit and veg shops or farm shops along the way and of course checking out as many cafes and restaurants as I can!

Oh, did I mention I like toast?