Maximum flavour, minimum effort: this philosophy forms the basis of celebrated social media foodie and author Tom Smallwood’s upcoming book, ‘Tom’s Diner.’
With a combined following of over a million across platforms, Smallwood’s approach to cooking has consistently been about keeping it simple. But his refusal to overcomplicate things in the kitchen isn’t about cutting corners – it’s about creating more with less: fewer ingredients, fewer steps and heaps less fuss.
Starting Young
Smallwood’s culinary journey began at home, especially around holidays like Christmas, when his grandma, mum and aunties would cook up a storm. To Smallwood, food meant community from a young age. “There was always the idea and association of food meaning families coming together,” he told Crumb Wire.
“Even now, the way I experience food isn’t even necessarily consuming it. It’s more about providing people with the experience or with the love that I’ve put into the recipe.”
At 16, Smallwood got a job at a restaurant washing dishes. “It was more of a paycheck at the time – I mean, I was 16, there wasn’t much else going on,” he said. “But eventually, I got upgraded to the garlic bread, and that felt like a really big step up.
“That’s when I sort of started to think that there was something that I could move towards, maybe I could get put on the fryers or move somewhere else. So I think that ignited a little passion for gaining some authority in the kitchen.”
Cooking Content
The idea to start cooking for an audience came from the urge to break the monotony of service life. Smallwood recalls working at a cafe for about 12 months, when he realised he was starting to get sick of everything on the menu and the daily prep that went behind it.
“I started making the cooking content by asking the French chef I was working for to give me a recipe to try out at home. I made a caramel slice, a vanilla slice and these recipes that he had in his binder – all in French.
“I spent at least an hour on every recipe, being like, ‘What is this word? What does this mean?’
“Eventually, I learned a couple of words in French – mainly just how to read flour and sugar. But that was the start of my journey cooking online,” he explained.
The more videos Smallwood made, the deeper his passion for sharing recipes got. He isn’t opposed to an audience request or challenge either. “I think getting the audience involved has always been a very big part of it, trying to forge a connection with people and feel like they are also part of the content.
“I’m often taking recipe suggestions or tips from my audience and I think I’ve learned a lot just from the comment section alone.”
The Laziness Factor
“I call myself lazy, but I think that it is to my benefit in cooking,” Smallwood told Crumb Wire.
“I will always find the easiest way to do something, the easiest way to describe my process and I feel like that’s really resonated with people.”
Smallwood credits technique as the secret sauce to his minimal effort, high-reward creations. “There are a few things that I’ve learned along the way. Like if you’re making a stew, you’ll sear the meat first, and that is just adding a little flavour. It’ll take you a minute, but in the long run, it’ll be a lot better off.”
Another hack involves using flavourful ingredients like chicken and vegetable stocks. “There are some continental stock pots that I have really been liking for the past year and a bit. It’s like a little jelly cube, like a demi glace that you can just chuck in as a stock concentrate.
“That will just add a ton of flavour straight away instead of having to cook something for an hour or two.”
But while this easy path does serve those who like to meal prep, that’s not the goal for Smallwood, who believes storing a week’s worth of food in Tupperware takes the magic and novelty out of eating. The object of the quick and easy recipes in Tom’s Diner is to cut the monotony of daily prep and decision-making through easier recipes.
The Author Track
It wasn’t Smallwood’s dream to become an author; in fact, he found it challenging to translate his usual short-form video format to black and white text.
“I never really thought that I was going to be an author. That didn’t really spring to mind when I thought of what I’d be doing in the next five years,” he shared.
“But the book felt like the next step in my career as a content creator. I felt I had worked enough to be at a point where I could develop recipes and collect them together to provide for the audience.
“It also feels like a proper achievement that I can tell my mom about. ‘I’ve got a book now, Mom! This is almost a real job!”
Another motivator for Smallwood was sociocultural. “When I was growing up, I only had female figures cooking in the kitchen, and it was, in some sense, the traditional style of how mealtime was at the time.
“Moving into working for Pascal, the French chef that I’d worked for for a while – a masculine figure, who was a very good chef, very humble about how good he was at cooking – really inspired me to get into the kitchen as another male.
“So, if I can inspire other guys like myself to have a little bit more confidence in the kitchen, Tom’s Diner is my best bet at that. ”
Tom’s Diner
Smallwood’s book, Tom’s Diner, published by Penguin Random House Australia, covers a broad range of cuisines and recipes that are simple, efficient, delicious and go easy on the pocket.
He is most excited for readers to check out his iteration of spicy vodka pasta, tweaked slightly from the online version for a gentle level-up, and a slow-cooked harissa lamb shoulder.
“It does take three hours,” he admits, “but the recipe itself is almost completely hands off. We’re just seasoning the lamb, covering that, putting that in the oven, and by the time it comes out, it’s completely falling off the bone. And you can do whatever you want with it.”
Tom’s Diner will be available for purchase in paperback and e-book formats from November 11, 2025.
Find more food creator stories on Crumb Wire.
