The Kitchen #01: A recipe for the senses
Beetroot, Sumac Grapefruit Tahini Yogurt & Smoky Candied Almonds with Stacey O'Gorman, somatic coach and culinary artist.
I met Stacey in Auckland, New Zealand in 2022, after crossing paths through our mutual interest in sensuality. I had become obsessed with her podcast, Finger Food, and interviewed her for Underlena’s Musing on Sensuality series, quickly becoming obsessed with her approach to connecting food and the senses. I’ve since found out we share a family trait of planning our next meal while eating the current one, which is one of the reasons why she was the first person I contacted to be a guest on Notes on Sensuality.
Stacey will be joining us on a semi-regular basis to share recipes to invoke the senses, and we are thrilled to be able to offer this edition complimentary to our readers as a taster of what is to come for our paid subscribers as we welcome other guests.
I highly suggest subscribing to Finger Food for Stacey’s thoughtful musings on food, dating and somatic practice, plus episodes from the podcast. For us, she has created a most lush recipe to evoke the senses - enjoy and let us know if you make it.
~ Maxine
I’m Stacey O’Gorman. I was born in Aotearoa but now call London home.
I wear two hats: I’m a somatic coach and a culinary artist.
As a somatic coach, I guide individuals in reconnecting with their inner wisdom, releasing emotional blocks, and stepping into their most authentic, confident selves. My approach is rooted in body-based practices—blending talk therapy, breathwork, meditation, sound and movement to cultivate deeper self-awareness and healing.
As a culinary artist, I embrace multiple creative roles, including cookbook author, food & prop stylist, chef and recipe developer. Cooking has always been a deep love of mine—one that continually evolves and inspires me.
Recently, I launched my own Substack, Finger Food, which has become a beautiful ritual. I love the practice of sitting down to write each week, weaving together personal stories, somatic practices, recipes and interviews.
Outside of “work,” I spend a lot of time doing yoga, sauna-ing, moving my body and hanging out with humans I love. I’ve also recently started pole dancing, and it is giving me LIFE.
I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. I got my first cookbook at age five and was always eager to be in the kitchen, getting my hands messy and experimenting with flavors. I was particularly drawn to frying things as a small human—I loved the sizzle, the transformation, the sensory magic of it all. I think the first dish I nailed as a kid was fried rice.
My dad is a "see what’s in the pantry and make something spectacular out of it" kind of cook—usually something Asian-inspired and spicy. My mum is more of a recipe cook—meticulous, slow, present. And then there’s my granny, an exceptional cook and baker. I have fond memories of making pikelets, scones and the most incredible roast chickens with her.
Food has always been at the heart of my family. We’re slightly obsessed—discussing lunch while eating breakfast, already planning dinner before we’ve finished lunch. While we often see the world in completely different ways, food is the one thing that always brings us back together. It’s our shared language and our common ground.
Right now, sensuality, to me, is about deep presence—being connected to my body, my senses and my being. It’s feeling calm in my nervous system, awake in my emotions and attuned to the pleasures of the moment.
Recently, I moved into a house with a jacuzzi (before this, I lived on a houseboat for a year so the jacuzzi is a fucking LUXURY), and I’ve taken a soak every single night since I moved in a week ago. There’s something so inherently sensual about it—the contrast of the cool night air against the heat of the bubbling water, the sensation of floating weightlessly, the gentle lapping against my skin, the stars overhead. It’s become a ritual of slowness and embodiment, instantly bringing me into the present moment because my senses are stimulated in the most relaxing, beautiful way.
In my early twenties, my life was fast. At 22, I had started a bakery business, gotten married, and moved to London, all while navigating a lifestyle that was deeply drug- and alcohol-induced. I was completely disconnected from my body—until burnout and anxiety forced me to pause, reassess and shift. Sensuality became my pathway to healing. It taught me how to slow down, how to listen to myself, how to experience pleasure in the smallest, quietest moments.
Now, sensuality isn’t just an abstract concept—it’s something I live and breathe. It’s in the warmth of the sun on my skin and the ritual of sipping English Breakfast Tea with honey and oat milk in the morning. And when life happens and I feel burnout or anxiousness creeping back in, it’s my pathway home again.
So, on that note, I’ve made you a recipe for the senses. After living on a houseboat for a year with no oven or appliances—only a gas hob—the first thing I did when I moved into my new home with an oven was roast a chicken and make a broth from the bones. I’ve been using it for everything, but I thought it would be the perfect liquid (along with extra garlic and rosemary) to poach some colourful beets in for a few hours.
The poached beets, paired with a zesty sumac tahini dressing, some toasted candied almonds, and topped with lashings of good olive oil and rose petals just felt right for me this week. This is really a side dish to have with a roast chook and a garden salad but can be very happily eaten on it’s own. I hope you enjoy!
Beetroot, Sumac Grapefruit Tahini Yogurt & Smoky Candied Almonds
Ingredients:
Serves 2
To poach the beets:
500g baby beetroots (a variety of colors, if possible)
1L chicken stock
1 head of garlic, sliced in half crosswise
A few springs of rosemary
For the tahini sauce:
200g thick greek yogurt
1 tbsp tahini
½ grapefruit, juiced
1 tsp sumac
For the candied almonds:
½ cup slivered or flaked almonds
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
½ tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of sea salt
To garnish:
Edible rose petals
Extra sumac
Flaky salt
Honey
Method:
Poach the beets: In a pot, combine the whole beets - skin on, chicken stock rosemary and garlic. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook for 1-2 hours or until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife. The beets will bleed their rich, earthy color into the broth, creating a deep, fragrant infusion. Remove from the liquid, let cool slightly, then peel—their skins should slip off like silk—before slicing into wedges.
Make the tahini yogurt: In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, tahini, grapefruit juice and sumac. Season with salt to taste.
Prepare the candied almonds: In a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter or a good glug of olive oil, then toast the almonds until golden, add smoked paprika, honey and salt until you reach the perfect dark golden caramelised colour. About 3 minutes.
Assemble the dish: Spread the tahini yogurt on a plate. Arrange the poached beet wedges on top. Drizzle with the smoky honey oil or butter from the almond pan, scatter the candied almonds over the dish, then finish with flaky salt, edible rose petals and a little extra honey driz.
May this dish be a love note for your senses x
We’re off to make this lush dish ~ while we do that, subscribe to Stacey’s Substack and share this with someone you love. As usual, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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