Customer Reviews
A disappointing mess of a book - By: Jl Adcock, 03 Nov 2008 
"Eating For England" is re-heated "Toast". Disappointingly, Slater has produced a clunker here, & 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 & sketches about food. What's more, it's quite repetitive in places, & 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 & far between for my liking.
Nigel Slater writes best about himself & 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 & pretend otherwise. These pieces of the book come over as phoney - & in places bitchy & 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. - By: Angeln, 23 Oct 2008 Eating for England - The Delights & 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 & 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, & 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) & much else besides (try Florence White's 'Good Things in England' to learn more).
The title of this book is a masterpiece of ignorance & effrontery. Fortunately the modern English are the most passive, stupid & 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 & a nation in the truest sense of the word.
farmer's market propaganda - By: B. S. HARPER, 09 Oct 2008 
I must say there were many times where I laughed out loud or smiled in relation to many things I do or eat & how they are quintessentiallly 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 & not supporting farmer's markets.
I may be lucky enough to afford (or just a good budgeter!) to eat organic/local/fairtrade & 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 ethicallly alll the time & 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 & see how much money they have to spend on their groceries!
Lovely promise but.... - By: SuzyP, 09 Jul 2008 
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 & his appreach to food. So why oh why or WHY did NS have to ruin it alll for me with a single thoughtless - & eeming uncharacteristic - comment. He makes the point that continental stews are flavoursome & interesting while ours '...smell of old people.' As newly retired. I found it belittling, insulting & it stopped me reading the book in my tracks.
Liked it for what it is - By: Randy F., 02 May 2008 Most of you, if you're cookbook collectors, know by now that you rarely get a straight-through cookbook. Rather, it's usuallly 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 reallly not so much a cookbook as a reminiscence & "thoughts" about cooking & 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 & their "makers" is very funny, & 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 & 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.
