My debut picture book, The Café at the Edge of the Woods, is based on a game my wife, son, and I played over lockdown. To my surprise and delight, it won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 25.

‘Sublime…and Subversive’ said the Times.

‘Delightfully grotesque…’ said The Guardian.

‘(a) gorgeously illustrated, gothic gourmet giggle.’ said the Daily Mail.

I still can’t quite fathom that this silly game has become a #1 bestseller.

Described by Harper Collins as “Fungus the Bogeyman meets Grimm’s Fairy tales, an outrageously original story in which an aspiring chef opens a cafe beside an enchanted wood and discovers the locals favour a most peculiar palette.”

I said this:

“As an obsessive collector and admirer of picture books, I’m both thrilled and a little nervous to be making my first foray into this beautiful world but comforted to be doing so with my two favourite characters, Rene and Glumfoot, close at hand. The Cafe at The Edge of the Woods began life as a game called ‘Cafes’ played in the park with my wife and son. Jessica and Axel would pretend to be a downtrodden waiter and a pompous chef, and I would interrupt them, impersonating an Ogre and demanding outrageous, disgusting food. I hope they will forgive me for exploiting our innocent fun for creative gratification and financial gain. Our game became this story, of an individual industriously following her dreams, weathering the obstacles and discovering the joys of collaboration. The book is both a love letter to them and a celebration of the wildly underrated art of arranging food to look like funny things.”

The Café has since been published in 11 languages.