All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now

by Ruby Tandoh

Hype restaurants. Allrecipes. The Great British Bake Off. Food dominates our every waking minute. In this dazzling cultural history, acclaimed food writer Ruby Tandoh traces the story of how—and why—we’ve all became foodies.

“Who isn’t a food person these days? … Foodie-ism has become more than just a subculture, it is the culture.”

How, in the space of a few decades, has food gone from “fact of life” to “national past time”; something to be thought about—and talked about—24/7? 

In this startlingly original, deeply irreverent cultural history, Ruby Tandoh traces how our culinary tastes have been transformed; how they’ve been pulled into supermarket aisles and seduced by Michelin stars, transfixed by Top Chefs and shaped by fads. All Consuming is a deep dive into the social, economic, cultural, legislative, and demographic forces that have reshaped our relationship with food.

From the rise of the food writer to the dream of the modern dinner party; from the unlikely adoption of bubble tea to the advent of the TikTok restaurant critic, in these essays, Tandoh questions how our tastes have been shaped—and how much they are, in fact, our own.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, History, Audiobook, Essays, Cooking, Pop Culture

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2025

About the author

RUBY TANDOH is an author and journalist who has written for The New Yorker, The Guardian, Vittles and Elle. A finalist on The Great British Bake Off in 2013, she has written Eat Up!, a book about the pleasure of eating, as well as three cookery books, Crumb, Flavour, and Cook As You Are. She is also the author of All Consuming, a book about the highs and lows of modern food culture – out now.

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a child of the sixties and seventies and growing up in family that grew their veg, baked, bottled, pickled , preserved - out of necessity rather than fad or fashion , I've always loved food, sharing food and talking about food with family and friends. I don't think we'd had called ourselves foodies - just an innate desire to find pleasure from food.

Over the years food has changed, the veggies grown in the garden have changed and the dialogue has changed...the world of consuming food, buying food, connecting to food has dramatically moved on... ( but I guess it always has over the decades/centuries)

What drew me to this book ... a feeling of needing to connect and understand the paths that eating and drinking has taken.... I am an older demographic and I have had bubble tea, eaten a variety of 'street food"( good and very bad) and for a short period tried to engage with insta reels..but still have felt bewildered and a bit isolated or maybe left out of what is happening ...or does it not even matter when things disappear in the flick of a influencer's eyes or tastebuds?? But trying to understand the changes occurring is fascinating ( is it needed is another question - especially if you don't live in a metropolis?)

Ruby Tandoh's ' All Consuming' is a brilliant read- a very personal discourse on the world of food and its evolution in relation to certain aspects.
This is a book that is written from the heart; it's informative; it opens questions; it broadens understanding and also leaves you wondering whether the connection to food and its origins and the fashionable ever-evolving love of food is getting wider and wider.

The range of exploration and questioning ranges from cookery bookies, online recipes, the dinner party, food critics, the world of fizzy drinks, the world of Viennettas and Magnums and even the good old Wimpy.

Ruby's style is instantly engaging and this book was devoured ( no pun intended) over a few days- it could be a book to dip into and then come back to- each theme stands alone. I was hooked and the flow and pace had me hooked.

There is a wonderful sense of curiosity and exploration in the prose- sometimes tongue in cheek, sometimes a sense of annoyance, sometimes just a beautiful acknowledgement that good food is good food regardless of it being home made, supermarket purchased or eaten after queuing for an age.

There are many other themes that could have been explored that open up the discourse further and wider . This is primarily an anglophile or English speaking/focus - UK/USA exploration as how to food is consumed and has developed- it would be intriguing to know what has happened / is happening in other cultures but in an ever increasingly homogenised - phone addicted world the stories may well ( albeit sadly) end up with similar outcomes in future years .- one big global feast! The impact of food consumerism and climate change is another chapter in the making for all of us.

But " All Consuming" is fantastic read - for food lovers ( not just foodies) and is highly recommended. I dare you not to learn at least three or facts to share at your next "dinner party "!!

Thank you to net galley and serpent's tail for the advance copy

[Ygraine]

reads like some of my favourite long afternoon conversations w beloved friends who know a great deal more than i do abt a great many v interesting things; no truer pleasure in the world to me than listening to someone who wears their knowledge so comfortably.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am from cookbooks without pictures, Julia Child, Alice Waters, MFK Fisher and Gourmet Magazine. Ruby Tandoh is from the internet, glossy food photos, Instagram and influencers. While it is easy to write off the new food culture as over the top, the author has an interesting perspective and often delivers her thoughts with humor. Cynical at times this is a book to read if you feel you need an update on the food world.
I love good food writing. This book was more about ideas than great writing. I think All Consuming is geared to a new audience...I still miss Gourmet Magazine.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly fascinating look at how our food culture got to be so *gestures wildly*. As an avid cookbook collector, I was obviously paying extra close attention to those chapters.

[Lina Serrano · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I started this book excited to learn about our relationship with food, I didn’t realize I’d stop at 25% through the book.

All Consuming focuses on how the different forms of media we’ve interacted with have formed our relationship with food and taste. Coming off another informational book, I was very excited to read all about the little details that draw us into the recipes we choose. Instead:

1. We get a book with a lot of internet slang which, I like, but will really date the book in 1-3 years. So many terms go in and out of style, and i doubt many people will remember Kieth Lee in 5 years, much less 10 years from now.
2. I was very confused as to whether we were discussing food media in the UK or US for a lot of the time, and it consistently switched between the two, and without enough explanation of the food culture on either side of the world.
3. We jump around to different time periods so often, it was difficult to keep track of when our tastes for presentation changed and into what.

Overall, I ended up wondering who this book is really for. With the constant 2020-25 terminology mixed in with the grandiose verbiage, it really just feels like it’s made for some millennial food critic wannabe. Nonetheless, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Lucy Ellis-Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Consuming, by Ruby Tandoh is extremely readable; the words just flow across the page, making it such a compelling read. It’s clearly very well researched and absolutely fascinating. I loved learning about how recipe sourcing has evolved over the years, along with the shifts in our eating habits and food trends. There's a brilliant analysis of food history, recipe books, food critics, influencers, TikTok trends, and so much more.

I kept stopping to tell my husband all the interesting facts I was learning! It really made me think about what we eat, why we eat it, and how that’s changed over time. I found myself smiling at the start of lots of chapters as familiar foods and themes were explored. It’s also well structured, and I was really pleased to see suggested further reading and recipe books in the epilogue.  I’ve really enjoyed this book and now want to read more by Ruby Tandoh. Fully recommend! I received an advance review copy and this is my honest review.

[Kate Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Ruby Tandoh's previous book so was intrigued by this one - unfortunately I was left really disappointed.
I found it to be a bit all over the place - I was unsure what the actual purpose and point to the book was, and what I was supposed to get from it.

There were definitely some bits that were more interesting, but a lot of the book was just meh.
Still unsure of what Ruby Tandoh was trying to do with this book.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit devastated there is no more new Ruby Tandoh for me to read. I love her writing, would happily buy and read her shopping list.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I vaguely remember Ryby Tandoh on the Great British Bake Off, and she is so much more than a (talented) baker - this book was a little gem. It's so well-researched and so interesting, well-written...

I have read a lot of food books recently and the recent ones are often focused on either learning about cooking, trying new (to the writer) food, or chasing food memories from the author's childhood. What Ruby Tandoh does here is radically different - it's essays about food, but also about food in 2025, about TikTok food reviewers, about the constant trends (the cronuts, the matcha, the bubble tea...), about what it means to think about food in the age of the internet. There's a whole chapter on how cookbooks have changed since the internet started - how you are more likely to search for "mushroom tomato wine sauce chicken" than for "poulet chasseur", how Allrecipes started and how many people use it... There's a chapter on ice cream, and one on bubble tea and how it became so popular in the West, after being a popular drink in Asia.

It reminded me of Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror in its format and commentary. I learned a lot about food and I found it so enjoyable.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

[Helen Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this, I love following Ruby Tandoh and her first book Eat Up! has stayed with me, and I've always taught extracts from it! I found this a little less personal than Eat Up and read more like a series of long form, incredibly well researched, essays on food culture in the UK. I actually think, at times, Ruby's voice got a bit lost amongst all the research and reading she did for this. Reading it, at times, felt like drinking an oolong boba tea infused with spelt milk and chrysanthemum bubbles with 30% ice and 30% sugar and maybe Id be interested to have less off all that and more of the actual tea.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. And this is a happy 4 because it reminded me in places of Because, Internet by Gretchen Mccolluch in the way that Tandoh explores and rejoices in internet culture; how it has changed the way we eat, how recipes are developed, how it's both incredibly democratic and scary all at the same time!

[Laura Birnbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit like reading jia tolentino - the observations are interesting in passing, but not sharp enough to leave an impression

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was not expecting this to be so captivating from start to finish

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the bubble tea cover.

Maybe 2.5 stars… the book did get better as it progressed. The “tonic waters” chapter was of particular interest to me.
Though I agreed with most of her observations, I found myself wondering “sooo?”

[Izzie Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel like she wrote this specifically for me

[Izzy Maw · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable & easy read, I even went to central to get a bubble tea and I don't even like it that much

[Anika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book left me wondering what was the point? I felt the author had an overall idea of what she wanted to accomplish with the book but never truly dug into the thesis. Most of the book was about British food which makes sense as the author is British, but she would sprinkle US things in there that made it feel disjointed. I feel she should’ve either committed to only British food or committed to fully British/US.

Overall, the book had a bit of a pessimistic undertone which I didn’t quite enjoy.

Beautiful cover though!!!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - i listened to this on my runs and im not usually an audiobook person but i enjoyed hearing ruby read it! im not sure i followed the flow of this necessarily (maybe bc of how i listened to it) but enjoyed the chapters individually and her thoughts on the world of food

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Consuming is a book about the history of how we choose what to eat, as Ruby Tandoh investigates how over the past century many forces have changed what influences what we eat, especially in Britain and the US. The sections explore things like the changing face of recipes and cookbooks, the role of the critic before and into the social media age, and how trends like bubble tea and burgers took off in the UK.

If you have any interest in food culture in the UK (and the US), this book provides an interesting look into what influences our food choices, whether that is through celebrities, critics, recipes, supermarkets, or more. As someone who enjoys watching videos online of people trying different food, I liked this chance to reflect on what some of the food trends mean, and look into the history of certain areas. I particularly liked the part where Tandoh picks out some big name cookbooks in the UK and discusses what they say about cookbook and recipe culture.

I found myself wanting to share her thoughts with other people (I particularly liked her point about how if you start queuing for some hyped food, you cannot actually queue ironically, you are just part of that hyped queue) and the book covers something I've not seen other books or videos discuss, making it feel original and fresh. The book is an exploration rather than arguing a particular point and I like the space it offers to think about why we choose food, as well as a lot of suggested follow up reading if you want to keep exploring.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished while eating a fried panettone mincemeat sandwich from a Nigel Slater book, which felt appropriate.

[Courtney Townill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to All Consuming felt like having a smart chat with a friend who is just as chronically online and confused as you.

These essays felt well researched and uniquely sparked by Ruby Tandoh’s observations about how confusing the food landscape is right now. Why are people swarming in droves to simple strawberries bathed in chocolate? Why is there a rise in aspirational trad wife cooking? How did Keith Lee, a man who admittedly knows little about food, become more popular than any food critic in the papers? Would bubble tea be as popular as it is now without social media?

I feel like this will have an impact on the way I interact with food content and think about the way things rise in popularity. Enjoyed this so much!

*thank you to the publisher for a free audiobook copy for review.

[Astrid Krueger · Rating 3 out of 5]

this should have been so squarely in my alley but felt like just a bunch of observations of online behaviour but w/out analysis. I liked the supermarket chapter!

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been doing a lot of reading about food lately. I started in what I think is likely the usual place, with Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, and the like. So, I've heard a lot of messaging about whole, local, organically-grown foods. I think all of that is great in theory, but it would require a major shift in my lifestyle to adhere to that worldview. And frankly, I'm not sure I want to. I like fast food. I like trying the latest weird potato chip flavor meticulously engineered by thousands of dollars of marketing and food science.

So, I was excited to read a book that talks about these things. I wanted to hear about viral food trends and how tastes have been shaped throughout history. I was looking forward to reading a book that considers the modern state of food instead of only looking back to the (possibly imaginary) past.

Unfortunately, I feel this book lacks a thesis. The author says a lot of things, and some of it is even interesting, but I feel it lacks cohesion. I am sure it doesn't help that I listened to the audiobook rather than reading it conventionally, but the book felt disorganized. The author made throwaway references to particular people or food items in earlier chapters, and then took the time to explain who/what those people/things were later. If the reader likely wouldn't recognize those names, why reference them out of context? If the reader was meant to understand the reference, why take the time to explain them later?

I guess I just don't know who the target audience is. I feel like it needs to be someone already deeply entrenched in food culture and online culture and online food culture, but is only interested in some light background information on the state of things. Otherwise, I'm not sure there's much of a point.

[Emily Borst · Rating 4 out of 5]

especially enjoyed the phrase “architecturally significant frankfurter”

[Charlotte Chan]

What an interesting book, I think Abigale Lim would like this

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell Ruby tandoh was big on Twitter because this book is full of absurdly funny quips. It does have a slightly scattershot vibe and I think would have been better marketed as a collection of essays rather than one coherent argument about the way we eat now, but enjoyable nonetheless. My main takeaway is that it’s time for obscenely ambitious, Martha Stewart-style dinner parties to come back into fashion - 100 lobsters! Omelette brunch for 50! Yes!

[Charlotte Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to explore different aspects of food culture. After reading I realized how much I'm caught up in the commercialization of food. Also shoutout for mentioning that California had boba before the UK!

[Julie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love food, you will enjoy this book. I especially liked the chapter on bubble tea.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether I've had an original craving in my life."

A fun romp through the wild world of contemporary food culture; I wish that these essays were longer and less numerous -- several seemed to cut off abruptly when things were just starting to heat up.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, unorthodox essays from British Bakeoff alum Tandoh about contemporary food culture. I love reading or listening to people think about topics they’re passionate about, and this was a great example.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

I haven't read any of Tandoh's other works yet. But I did watch her season on GBBO. If you're looking for more of that, this isn't it. What this is is a close look at how the food landscape has changed over the years and what is driving that change. It's serious and funny all at the same time and I can definitely say that I enjoy Tandoh's style of writing.

While I did find her views to be a bit contrarian for the sake of being contrary at times (almost every chapter had her looking down on a fad, going to partake in that fad, and fully realizing that she was there despite her feelings on it). I get it - there's certain things you just roll your eyes at and want to try anyway, I just wish there were more uplifting thoughts about where are food trends are headed. But maybe there isn't a lot to find in the crush.

The chapters covered a myriad of different fads and changes over time (and it was European-centric although the United States slipped in as well). From Americanized burger-joints, automats, to tik-tok fads and food reviews, the evolution of food is well covered. I especially loved the chapter on bubble tea as I can recall just a few years ago when they were seemingly everywhere. They seem here to stay (although maybe not quite as many locations) and while I don't partake as often (the calories!!), I do love a good bubble tea.

Overall this was an interesting book. I have one of her others on my to-read list and I will definitely look forward to it.

Review by M. Reynard 2025