Nigel Slater, Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger Review

Overall Rating

Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger by Nigel Slater is a beautifully evocative book, remembering milestones of childhood with affectionate experiences of food from his cookery lessons and family rituals with food.

I found myself, although several generations younger than the author, agreeing with his opinion on the hierarchy of sweets for example, and sighing as he vividly describes the excitement of eating your favourite dinner. Sad in parts, especially his fractious relationship with his father. It is also a glorious celebration of the feelings and emotions that food can evoke. A truly passionate book that shows Slater's real love of unfussy and uncomplicated food that everyone can appreciate.

You would think that such a book would be of no interest to anyone but Slater himself, but I found it encouraged me to examine my own childhood relationship with food, and how the simple smell of a certain dish cooking will forever remind me of someone who is no longer with me.

Beautifully written and highly recommended.