Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table

click here for more details, find new or used items

Nigel Slater

Our price £3.99 (£7.99)

New from £2.74

Used from £1.19

Pages: 320 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0007199473

Pub: HarperPerennial

Pub date: 2008-06-02

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1781

Editorial Review:

How long does it take before somebody becomes a national treasure? It's certainly happened to Nigel Slater, and Eating for England is a highly enjoyable reminder of just why we esteem the estimable Mr Slater. Subtitled The Delights & Eccentricities of the British at Table, this is wonderfully entertaining stuff, explaining such matters as how some of our most cherished foods are the result of frugality (bread and butter pudding, for instance, is the direct result of utilising a few slices of leftover bread and a pat of butter, rather than culinary aspiration). As Slater points out, the British have a relationship with food which is quite unlike that of any other nation -- for many years, we were reluctant to discuss food matters (leaving culinary discussion to, for instance, the French), but we now appear to be in the grip of a national food obsession, with program after program on television and -- inevitably -- a host of books on the subject. But few are written as entertainingly as Nigel Slater's. It isn't just the discussion of food itself (from haute cuisine to the humblest of comfort foods) that's so diverting here, but other sociological (and tongue-in-cheek) related matters, such as `A Teenager at the Table' (`The shoulders droop, the head hangs sulkily down, eyes glaring intently at an invisible spot on their lap. Their whole body seems to say `I'm not eating this'). And Nigel Slater is perfectly happy to address subjects not found in any other food books (such as the modest chocolate bar -- different varieties are entertainingly compared and contrasted).

This is a personal portrait of the British and their food, filled with love of the eccentricities and peculiarities that encapsulate the national character. And it's great fun. --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

A disappointing mess of a book (0/0 people found this helpful)

"Eating For England" is re-heated "Toast". Disappointingly, Slater has produced a clunker here, and where Toast worked because he linked food memories to his own childhood, this latest volume lacks any structure on which to hang various short observations and sketches about food. What's more, it's quite repetitive in places, and simpy doesn't work in others.

Slater at his best pinpoints a long forgotten food memory that several of us of a certain age will have had. There are a few gems like that here (the whole chocolate Club biscuit experience for example) - but these are too few and far between for my liking.

Nigel Slater writes best about himself and his relationship with food. When he tries something different - observational stuff about different types of cook, or diner, it simply doesn't work because he's not part of that set up. You can't remain aloof from such things and pretend otherwise. These pieces of the book come over as phoney - and in places bitchy and unamusing.

"The Kitchen Diaries" was neither a practical cook book or a particularly entertaining diary; "Eating For England" maintains this loss of focus from an excellent food writer who needs to re-connect with a loyal audience next time around. Nige - let's just cut to the recipes for the next one, eh?

All puddings are English. Nigel is a pudding. Therefore Nigel, regrettably, is English. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Eating for England - The Delights and Eccentricities of the BRITISH at Table? I skimmed this book before delivering it to one of my numbskull relatives as a birthday present. After seeing the response here to this curious choice of words I'm reminded that no-one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the public.

It's an easy enough volume to follow. The layout is good, the writing merry and informal (if slightly knowing in the unappealing sense of the word 'clever'). There is even an interesting culinary suggestion or two.

Unfortunately nothing is value-free, and with Jamie Mockney under contract to sell us the fake barrow-boy-next-door line I'm afraid Nigel (change of name Nige?) Slater has still to win me over. Cookery's cultural implications, the idea of its saying something about the nation at large, is obviously dear to people's hearts.

But Britain is not a nation. It is a bureaucratic manoeuvre. In any event things like puddings are an ENGLISH speciality. So too Syllabub (very popular with the Elizabethans, who if nothing else knew who they were) and much else besides (try Florence White's 'Good Things in England' to learn more).

The title of this book is a masterpiece of ignorance and effrontery. Fortunately the modern English are the most passive, stupid and easily exploited people in Europe. They will buy it in droves. I just wonder how much faith we should place in the judgement of someone who doesn't know the difference between an administrative convenience and a nation in the truest sense of the word.

farmer's market propaganda (0/0 people found this helpful)

I must say there were many times where I laughed out loud or smiled in relation to many things I do or eat and how they are quintessentially British. I also learned that I AM the 'oh-i-never-measure-anything cook.' The experience of reading this lovely book, however has been marred by every other page judging people for not going to local greengrocers and not supporting farmer's markets.

I may be lucky enough to afford (or just a good budgeter!) to eat organic/local/fairtrade and have time to shop 3 times a week instead of one big one (I'm a student) but I know of too many people who simply don't have the time, energy OR money to buy ethically all the time and they shouldn't be made to feel bad for this. I want Nigel, Hugh AND Jamie (3 men I love very much) to spend a week in a council estate with a family of 5 and see how much money they have to spend on their groceries!

Lovely promise but.... (0/0 people found this helpful)

I had looked forward to this for some time. I have been a fan on NS on TV since he first appeared. I like his style, his taste and his appreach to food. So why oh why or WHY did NS have to ruin it all for me with a single thoughtless - and eeming uncharacteristic - comment. He makes the point that continental stews are flavoursome and interesting while ours '...smell of old people.' As newly retired. I found it belittling, insulting and it stopped me reading the book in my tracks.

Liked it for what it is (23/24 people found this helpful)

Most of you, if you're cookbook collectors, know by now that you rarely get a straight-through cookbook. Rather, it's usually a melange of "where this recipe came from" coupled with some history and/or the author's comments. Such, even more so, is the case with EATING FOR ENGLAND.

This is really not so much a cookbook as a reminiscence and "thoughts" about cooking and England. I was immediately reminded of the novel "Barring Some Unforeseen Accident" in that the author incorporates an actual cookbook within the novel (not anything you're going to want to make, by the way). The way that author pokes fun at cookbooks and their "makers" is very funny, and if you've read enough of these, you'll see what I mean.

My only real complaint with the book is that if you're under thirty, you might not remember or warm to some of the recipes and rembrances that are in this wonderful read. Other than that, have at it.

One thing is for certain, Nigel Slater is passionate about food--and England--and this makes for a very entertaining read. If you're English, you'll understand ninety percent of this book. If you're not, you'll get an education. Either way, the fodder inside is as tasty as the cover looks. I would also recommend any of Delia's books, or FRUGAL FOOD for those looking to save a bit or two.

Similar Products

Week in Week Out

The Uncommon Reader

Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger

Real Fast Food

The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen