Nonfiction about food(besides Hungry.)

[ThreeApplesHigh]

I've just finished Hungry and though I didn't especially care for it, though I enjoyed some parts, it's made me remember how much I love nonfiction about food.

I'd appreciate any recommendations on the subject. Anything from memoirs to the food culture of a particular country, the history of a particular food or anything in between.

TIA

First Bite by Bee Wilson has lots of interesting things to say

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl.

I came on to recommend First Bite too! Very interesting book.

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David.

I heard the new Stanley Tucci is good and I want to read it

Toast by Nigel Slater
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden

It's a bit niche but I personally find the piece about funeral food in Feast by Nigella Lawson beautiful and moving in a raw way. There's one person for whom I would like to read it at their funeral.

The reviews for Stanley Tucci are great but I haven't read it yet. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat is brilliant. Not a story about food history but the first half of the book about how to balance flavour is still fascinating. The other half is recipes to take what you've learned and practice it and as a salad hater I have to admit, her salad dressings have changed my mind. If you have Netflix watch the show. Her enthusiasm was infectious and made me buy the book.

What She Ate by Laura Shapiro.

Eating for England, v nostalgic.

Cod - can’t remember who it’s by sorry
food in England by Dorothy Hartley

Julie and Julia is great. About a blogger who set out to cook every Julia Child recipe.

Also if you're into your history then Clarissa Dickson-Wrights book on the History of English Food is brilliant!

Also Penguin have done a volume of food excerpts from the diaries of Samuel Pepys.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn- it's an American's account of studying at Le Cordon Bleu.

The man who ate everything - collection of Jeffrey Steingarten's food columns. Really good.

I was going to suggest salt, fat, acid, heat too.

it’s not a book, but the serious eats website has lots of food history/personal reflections on food etc articles on it.

Where Did It All Go Right? by Andrew Collins is strictly speaking a childhood memoir, but there's a lot of food talk in every chapter.

Glad I'm not the only one who likes it @SoggyPaper

My DH's best friend came to visit a few months ago and watched me throw a fistful of salt into boiling potatoes. His immediate reaction was "have you read salt, fat, acid, heat? Me too"

Tender to the Bone -Ruth Reichl
Anthony Bourdain (though it's a bit self consciously macho)
AA Gill, Sweet, Sour, Salty and Bitter

One More Croissant For The Road by Felicity Cloake, the well known food writer makes a culinary tour of France by bike. Chatty and jolly style, read it if you can't get to France this summer. 🥐 🥐 🥐 🦪 🦪 🦪 🥐 🥐 🥐 🦞 🦞 🦞

Another vote for Toast by the wonderful Nige!

The land where lemons grow by Helena Attlee

Thank you all for the suggestions. They all sound great.

I'm currently reading Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown by Sophie White. She writes for the Irish Independent and had a breakdown after taking ecstasy at a festival. It's an autobiography with recipes but it's a bit bleak so far I have to say.

As PP have said, Ruth Reichl: anything of hers, but especially her first memoir Tender at the Bone. One of my favorite books of all time.

Not a book rec but you might like the podcast/radio program The Food Chain.

In the Kitchen - lovely little book of essays about food and cooking.

Honey from a Weed by Patience Gray. Classic of the genre, great if you’re interested in cultural history of food across the Mediterranean.