Wednesday, December 19, 2007

One for the Literary Larder ...

If you're wondering what to buy for the beloved foodie in your life this Christmas, might I be so bold as to suggest Nigel Slater's latest book ‘Eating for England’ (Fourth Estate £16.99). Ooh, I love Nigel! As I said in Venue, circa issue 794:

Marmite, Oxo cubes and Branston Pickle: as intrinsic to our national cultural heritage as rain, the royal family and ... Nigel Slater. This gentle wordsmith - the Alan Bennett of the food world, regularly showcased by the Observer Food Monthly, a raft of cookery books and the occasional TV appearance (when, that is, the celebrity chef bullies allow him to get a word in) - is slowly becoming a much-loved national icon. And if anything is going to give him the final hefty shove up the ladder to confirmed British Institution status, it’s going to be this book.

Fans of the author’s kitchen-based musings love Slater for his indefatigable passion for all forms of good taste. Meanwhile, those who gobbled up his acclaimed 2004 autobiography ‘Toast’ will already be familiar with his self-deprecating wit, bittersweet honesty and penchant for bone dry, knife-sharp, beautifully presented observations on the human condition. But it’s possible that ‘Eating for England’ will attract a whole new raft of admirers altogether. Annoying though those ‘if you like that, you’ll like this’ lists can be, it isn’t too much of a stretch to imagine Slater sharing column inches with the likes of Anne Tyler, Nick Hornby and Larry Grayson. Larry Grayson? Indeed! For the essays that make up this easy-to-digest collection of thoughts and ideas loosely bound by the theme of ‘The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table’ also combine to celebrate the delights and eccentricities of Camp ideology. What is a pink wafer biscuit, a ‘proper’ High Tea or an exercise in correct scone dressing if not camp? Slater snuggly inhabits the zone between his beloved base subject matter and its not-too-distant cousin, ‘Taking the Piss Out of the Stuffy Middle Class British at Table’ (‘Dick and Other Delights’? Ooh Nigel, shut that door!). But moments of almost austere clarity, too, keep things on an even keel: ‘Feeding the Elderly’, for example, is a heartbreakingly tender account of the reality of another Great British Institution (the death camps to which we so easily surrender our elderly relatives when they become ‘too much trouble’) while ‘Sharing the Bill - the Weasel at the Table’ sums up British ‘manners’ more succinctly than a whole brigade of sociologists could ever manage to do.

Yes, there’s the occasional heavy handed flurry of over-earnest seasoning, and some may find the glaze of whimsy way too sweet. But enjoy ‘Eating for England’ as a cosy, nibble-by-nibble winter suppertime treat, and it’s a veritable banquet. The same could be said, of course, for Marmite.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could not agree more - this is a smashing book, and not only for people who cook. I wonder what are your thoughts on his 'Kitchen Diaries'? And do you I wonder use Nigel as inspiration ever for your own writing?

Also can we take this post to mean that you are now completely over your glums? Like Emmaline I would like to know more about your feelings on that trip that led to your depletion! Very best of seasonal greetings to you and all who read here.

Anonymous said...

Hello from sunny California! Your Nigel Slater piece made me crave a return trip to England. I was wondering if you have any other book reviews you'd like to share with us? We don't get Venue over here, and as I read a lot I really appreciate reviews of the kind that don't tend to appear in the mainstream review pages. Your review style is personal and informative at the same time. Keep up the good work!