Today I’m starting my 2021 book blog reviews with a mini review for the book I started in 2020 and finished on New Years Day. Thanks to Mudlark Books for a copy of this book via the Readers First website.
Synopsis:
From Frazzles to Foie Gras: a memoir of wanting more.
From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better.
Hungry traces Grace’s story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of the much-loved voices on the British food scene. It’s also everyone’s story – from treats with your nan, to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, to the exquisite joy of cheaply-made apple crumble with custard. It’s the high-point of a chip butty covered in vinegar and too much salt in the school canteen, on an otherwise grey day of double-Maths and cross country running. It’s the real story of how we have all lived, laughed, and eaten over the past 40 years.
Warm, funny and joyous, Hungry is also about love and loss, the central role that food plays in all our lives, and how a Cadbury’s Fruit ‘n’ Nut in a hospital vending machine can brighten the toughest situation.
My thoughts:
I must admit that I haven’t read any of Grace Dent’s food columns but I have enjoyed watching her on Masterchef. After reading the opening chapters of the book on Readers First, I knew that I would enjoy reading this book.
My favourite part of the book was when Grace was growing up. I grew up in Yorkshire in the same era as Grace grew up in Carlisle, and so many of her food stories from this time reminded me of my own childhood. I remember eating Crispy Pancakes and shopping in our new huge Asda, and must admit that I still look for the yellow reduced stickers now.
I loved hearing about how Grace developed her taste for new foods when living and working in London. When I look at the meals that we now eat at home compared to the meals of my childhood and that of my mum’s generation, there has been a huge change in the variety of meals eaten across the UK.
Grace has lived a busy and interesting life, and I enjoyed reading about how her career progressed as her tastes in food evolved. A fascinating book I’m happy to recommend.
Author Bio (From Amazon):
Grace Dent is a broadcaster, author and columnist. She is restaurant critic for the Guardian and one of Britain’s best-known voices in food. She has been a regular face on MasterChef – in all its formats – since 2013. Grace currently presents the multi-award-winning show The Untold on BBC Radio 4 and What We Were Watching for BBC Four. She is a familiar face on shows such as Have I Got News For You, Pointless and Great British Menu. Grace has published nine books for young adults and for several years wrote ‘Grace and Flavour’ for the London Evening Standard as well as a popular Independent column.
