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Top of the pile
75
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
63/100Critics
88/100Scholars
Author:
Ruby Tandoh
Publisher:
Vintage
Date:
July 12, 2022
In this culinary manifesto, "Great British Bake Off" alum and former "Guardian" columnist Ruby Tandoh will help you fall back in love with foodâfrom recipes to straight-talking, sympathetic advice on mental health and body image.
What The Reviewers Say
... a book about food that’s acutely not prescriptive nor reductive. There’s a starring role for Greggs Steak Bakes and Creme Eggs, but also pulses and tinned tomatoes. All edible life is here, even (eek) the question of why we don’t eat our dead pets. The author was, she mentions, a student of philosophy.
The appeal of the book lies in Tandoh’s openness, in her charming and sympathetic voice. She tells of her family’s relationship to food and the conflicting feelings she had as a child towards that of her Ghanaian inheritance (relatable for any child of an immigrant whose lunchbox was the source of ridicule in school), laments contemporary food writing’s diet-culture and the gentrification of food by the middle-class, and emphasises the importance of feeding your heart, mind and body.
... a series of essays with a personal touch that takes readers on a meditative journey, challenging notions embedded in diet culture and defying the food police. She explores the fine balance between food as a source of physical and emotional pleasure, nourishment, joy, and more.
The combination of Tandoh’s earnest, compassionate tone and lyrical prose produces a text that is readable and informative. Her analysis of the intersecting systems of oppression that affect our ability to enjoy our food is trenchant and original yet occasionally overwritten and meandering. Her call for greater freedom in self-care is particularly relevant within a tumultuous global culture still struggling with the pandemic and myriad other concerns.
