Jo Rodgers

London

Contributing Writer at Condé Nast Traveller

Contributing Writer at Vogue

Columnist at House & Garden (UK)

Contributing Writer at Country Life

Articles

Breakfast with… Florence Knapp

3 weeks ago | toa.st | Jo Rodgers

Before she wrote her debut novel, The Names, Florence Knapp was already well known as a heritage craftsperson. Twenty years ago, with young children at home, she began a sewing blog that focused on English paper piecing, a specialised type of hand-sewing that drew a devoted community of fellow makers. Florence wrote extensively on the craft, lending her expertise to books and magazines. But all the while, she was experimenting with fiction on the side.
Jo Rodgers on what to buy for difficult-to-please mums on Mother's Day

2 months ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Jo Rodgers

We’re still a couple of weeks from the equinox, but hallelujah, you can sit outside again without getting a blue nose. In our snail-filled, too-shady London garden, where I’m pecking at the computer, the resilient hellebores look hale, and some pre-potted tulip and narcissus bulbs that I ordered from Sarah Raven (cribbing a suggestion from last year’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide are already on the move.
'Mary Berry has an aversion to a soggy cake bottom and I have one to a flaccid croissant': London's best baked goods by the people in the know

Mar 5, 2025 | countrylife.co.uk | Rosie Paterson |Emma Hughes |Jo Rodgers

A few short years ago, if you lived within spitting distance of a Waitrose, the value of your house went up; nowadays, it’s all about how close you live to a Gail’s or, better still, an independent bakery. Even Greggs is in on the action and its vegan sausage roll continues to make literal headlines. With so much choice, it can be tricky to know where to go when in search of your favourite pastry, so we asked the best people in the know for some recommendations. What?
How to make the 'best pancakes in the universe'

Mar 4, 2025 | countrylife.co.uk | Jo Rodgers

Last week, in her unbeatable guide to Oxfordshire, Jo Rodgers claimed to have uncovered the world's — actually the universe's — best pumpkin pancakes. Where? Five Little Pigs in Wallingford. 'They’re warmly spiced and have a texture like crisped-up cake and they come with mascarpone, a rich seasonal fruit (poached blood oranges, figs, and so on), and a pitcher of maple syrup.
Dawn Chorus: The Dorchester’s plans for British Pie Week, Anya Hindmarch takes flight and how to rent the Earl of Suffolk’s childhood home

Feb 17, 2025 | countrylife.co.uk | Rosie Paterson |Jo Rodgers

A piece of the pieThe Dorchester’s The Grill by Tom Booton restaurant is partnering with East London’s historic pie shop G. Kelly right in time for British Pie Week (3rd-9th March). The reimagined pie — a contemporary take on G. Kelly’s pork and mushroom pie — will be available exclusively at The Grill for Pie week only, alongside Booton’s signature chicken and vegetarian offerings. G.
‘I don’t want to oversell it but they are the best pumpkin pancakes in the universe’: Country Life’s unbeatable guide to Oxfordshire

Feb 8, 2025 | countrylife.co.uk | Jo Rodgers

You would think we’d be tired of Oxfordshire by now. She’s the head girl of the home counties, clear-eyed and bound to be a success, but after all, you can only nod along to so many ballyhoos before tuning out. And yet: a tickertape of new openings, gilding the regional bedrock of riverside walks, pubs, and destination hotels, keeps travellers boomeranging to the same county year after year.
How Traveling With Family Made a Familiar Route in France Feel New Again

Dec 16, 2024 | cntraveler.com | Jo Rodgers

In the mornings Andrew and I ate poached eggs and salt-crusted potatoes at an outdoor table facing the central allée of the formal gardens while the boys plumbed the mazelike box hedges, looking for frogs the size of pennies. On a lower tier of land, the jardin exotique-planted with roses, crocosmia, and delphiniums-is dominated by a scene-stealing circular swimming pool that's rimmed by a thick lawn and blue-and-white-striped umbrellas.
'After one lunch, our server took £5 out of a tip we had left and handed it back to our gobsmacked four year old. He’s still talking about it': The best places for Sunday lunch in south-west London - Country Life

Nov 8, 2024 | countrylife.co.uk | Jo Rodgers

Jo Rodgers tracks down the finest roast lunches in London's smartest postcodes to see you through the winter.
This Low-Key, Bicycle-Filled French Island Is Where You Should Unwind this Fall

Nov 3, 2024 | vogue.com | Jo Rodgers

Products are independently selected by our editors. We may earn an affiliate commission from links. Off the windswept western coast of France, around two and a half hours by car north of Bordeaux, the Île de Ré is often invoked as Europe’s answer to Martha’s Vineyard: outdoorsy, a little la-di-dah, and a watering hole for city-dwellers on holiday, particularly during the summer.
Jo Rodgers' guide to buying gifts for practical people

Oct 31, 2024 | houseandgarden.co.uk | Jo Rodgers

Kendal NoctorNo, I can’t believe it either. But I’m writing this with Santa-shaped praline chocs on my desk, so it must be time. After putting together a guide for ‘people who don’t do stuff' in 2023, I was grateful to hear from a lot of readers who are kindred spirits in practical gift-giving. People who, like me, approach this season with some weariness about the need to shop, and hesitation about exchanging presents that aren’t useful to the recipients.