Culinary Memoir

Why are gravy stains on your shirt at the dinner table to be admired? Does bacon improve everything? And is gin really the devil's work? In this rollicking collection of his hilarious columns, the award-winning writer and Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner answers these vital questions and many, many more. They are glorious dispatches, seasoned in equal measure with both enthusiasm and bile, from decades at the very frontline of eating.

Embark on a journey in of Slice of Life, and relish in stories that will make you laugh, cry, and hunger for more. From the aroma of freshly baked fruitcakes that wafts through the air to the friendly smiles exchanged over a perfectly brewed cup of coffee, each remembrance in Slice of Life is a reminder that the best stories are often shared over delicious treats.

Phyllis Grant's Everything Is Under Control is a memoir about appetite as it comes, goes, and refocuses its object of desire. Grant's story follows the sometimes smooth, sometimes jagged, always revealing contours of her life: from her days as a dancer struggling to find her place at Julliard, to her experiences in and out of four-star kitchens in New York City, to falling in love with her future husband and leaving the city after 9/11 for California, where her children are born.

Why do we call mixed alcohol drinks "cocktails"? How do they get their exotic names — names like the Singapore Sling, Screw Driver, the Alamagoozlum, the Angel’s Kiss, the Hanky Panky, the Harvey Wallbanger, Sex on the Beach, the Monkey Gland, the Brass Monkey, the Margarita, the Japalac, the Lion’s Tail, and many, many more?

Il suo nome era Salvatore Chiappa, tortaio, ma soprattutto livornese. Tutti lo conoscevano come "Gagarin". Da cosa venisse il soprannome con cui la gente di Livorno e, conseguentemente e per traslato, del mondo intero, lo identificava è cosa interessante ma del tutto ignota.

Meet Sarah Jane, a woman with a reputation for culinary catastrophe, who tries to keep her family fed in challenging circumstances in rural France. Frugal living was not part of the plan when they arrived from Australia to undertake the renovation of a quaint cottage in the Charente. However, when life threw them a curveball, the challenge was set: How to survive in France with very little money and two Australian cattle dogs.

Apple Crumble is the third in a series of charming food memories that describe the life and relationships of bestselling author Marjory Harris. In 1960s London, Marjory is a young and ambitious newlywed struggling to maintain her marriage. Highlights are high tea with her landlady's parrot and mingling with celebrities in the heyday of swinging London.

Se all'asilo giochi col Dolce Forno e non con le macchinine il tuo destino è diventare chef. Marcello Trentini è cuoco da più di vent'anni, ha ancora tutti i capelli in testa e non è obeso: alla sua età molti dei suoi maestri erano messi peggio.

La storia italiana del nostro protagonista comincia vent’anni fa a Torino, dove la gente della notte arrivava nel suo bugigattolo per mangiare il kebab più buono della città.