Easy Like Sunday Lunch with Eleanor Tomlinson

Lashings of gravy, mean Margaritas and nostalgic Disney movies: actress Eleanor Tomlinson sits down with LAMP LDN to talk us through a Sunday at home. And we want an invitation!

At LAMP LDN we know the value of time spent at home – creating memories with family and loved ones, enjoying quiet moments alone, sitting around the table to share a meal, pottering around in the garden, endless lists of DIY and, if we’re lucky, long baths with a favourite book.

Our Easy Like Sunday Lunch series gives us five minutes to share a cup of tea on a Sunday morning with someone we admire, as they talk us through their rituals for a Sunday at home. We also ask them to curate a list of their favourite pieces from the current collection at LAMP LDN.

This Easy Like Sunday Lunch is hosted by actress Eleanor Tomlinson, star of BBC’s Poldark and The Outlaws, at her charming, early Victorian home.

Talk us through your ideal Sunday at home

Sunday is my favourite day of the week. It starts with a coffee in my garden - my happy place. There’s something about being outside and being able to hear the birds tweeting - it’s my moment of calm and stillness before diving back in to the working week. Sometimes I read my book or look at my lines for the coming week, sometimes I do a crossword. I think giving yourself time with your own thoughts is one of the most powerful things you can do. It’s a reset, but also when I’m on my own, I’m at my most creative.

The main focus of a Sunday for me is the big, slap up, traditional Sunday lunch. My week isn’t complete without it. I absolutely love cooking, and I love entertaining, but the best Sundays are when it’s just me and my husband. Usually it’s chicken with all the trimmings. I’ve even taught myself to make my own Yorkshire puddings! Everything is served on antique serving plates (I love a Victorian serving platter) and the table is always scattered with candles. Sunday lunch is sometimes the only meal we get to make together due to our working schedules, so we like it to be really special. We then choose a bottle of red and get it down our necks!

Sunday evening comes in a happy and lazy haze, having stuffed our faces. Occasionally we go to our local for the pub quiz, or we stay home and vegetate in front of a movie.

What’s on the menu for Sunday lunch at your place?

It changes depending on what we fancy. We recently mastered roast beef and it’s delicious! It’s equally about the trimmings for me. I grew up in East Yorkshire, so the stars of the dinner are always the stuffing, the Yorkshire puddings and, of course, a completely ridiculous and unnecessary amount of gravy. The whole plate has to be drowning!

What’s your Sunday hosting essential, and do you have any tips for someone who’s new to entertaining at home?

Set the scene. Make the room you’re eating in look really beautiful. Set the table, light some candles, use beautiful crockery, play some music. Hosting is about time with your guests so get all the prep done before they arrive and enjoy a glass of wine with them. It’s annoying when someone is confined to the kitchen, so I like to have my guests in there with me as I potter but I also like to have done the worst of it by the time they arrive.

Do you have a favourite Sunday lunch memory from your childhood?

Every Sunday. Mum was the cook and would make a delicious roast for us. We’d eat early in the afternoon and then have the rest of the day to play. Sunday evenings were always so sad as it meant school the next day but we were so lucky growing up - I look back and oh boy, do I miss those times.

Tell us about your style - when you’re hosting for family and friends what are they most looking forward to?

God, I hope they’re looking forward to my cooking! In all honesty, I make a good cocktail - I’ve just mastered making a mean margarita. So, maybe they look forward to that!