Eating for Britain: A Journey into the Heart (and Belly) of the Nation

by Simon Majumdar

'Who are these people? Look at what they eat.' Simon Majumdar travels the country to find out what British food - from Arbroath Smokies to Welsh rarebit to chicken tikka masala - reveals about British identity. Exploring the history of British food, he celebrates the wealth of fare on offer today, and meets the people all over the country - the farmers, the fishermen, the brewers, bakers and cheese makers - who have given the British reason to love their food again. Join Simon as he becomes a judge at the Great British Pie Competition (where, to his sorrow, he ends up judging vegetarian pies), as he learns to make Balti with a true Brummie, hunts for grouse, and sees seaside rock being made in Blackpool. EATING FOR BRITAIN is an impassioned and hilarious journey into the meaning of eating British.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Foodie, Food and Drink

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book pairs well with several shows available on Britbox: Marco's Great British Feast, Supermarket Secrets, and Home Away from Home (where the home-swappers' arranged outings sometimes involve learning about the production of local food products, such as Bakewell puddings and potted shrimps). Notice that I didn't mention the Great British Baking Show (and not just because it's not available on Britbox). Majumdar's great love is meat, so few baked goods or, indeed, any other food groups make much of an appearance here. There are 36 chapters about food (plus several about drinks), each focused on a particular food or dish, of which only 11 aren't about meat: Staffordshire Oatcakes, Tea and Biscuits, Yorkshire Parkin, Welch Cakes and Pikelets, Lancashire Cheese, Brown's Hotel, Clotted Cream, Steamed Puddings, Trifle, Eccles Cake, and Bakewell Pudding. Indeed, while writing the book, Majumdar is asked to be a judge at a town's pie competition, only to be sorely disappointed when he's assigned to judge vegetarian pies.

So it might seem like there was not much here to appeal to an American who describes her eating style as "reluctant carnivore" and who has even less interest in organ meats than she does in meat in general. However, this book did still make me want to go to the UK and eat things, even if it's not eels or haggis. I added a few restaurants to my "England next time" list (let's hope they survive the pandemic!) and I'll also plan to keep an eye out for the UK foodstuffs that fortunately still appear in the EU PGI/PDO (Protected Geographical Indication/Protected Designation of Origin) listing despite Brexit:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farmin...

Finally, I will say that Majumdar is an ideal author for such a book, based on 1) his appreciation for Britain's traditional meat-centric cuisine, 2) his understanding of the food industry and appreciation of care and expertise in food preparation, and 3) his half-Welsh, half-Indian heritage. I've just requested "Eat My Globe" from the library, with the expectation that it will probably contain descriptions of even more gruesome animal products--but will hopefully still be worth my while overall, as this one was. :)

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took the book to read at lunch today, being about 3/4 finished. Afterwards, I stopped at a shop, where it seems I left the book. Maybe I'll ask about it next time I'm there ... or maybe not. Frankly, I wasn't really getting into the episodes, plowing on through via inertia mostly. Three stars a bit generous, but I've decided not to ding him for his occasional gratuitous anti-American digs (funny really as he lives here voluntarily).

At least now I know what potted shrimps are ... I think?

[Safron Mitchelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A journey around Britain searching out some classic dishes, also going into the origins of food, some of which I know, some came as a total surprise. It's also made me want to search out a few of the places mentioned, so well done Simon Majumdar, I shall be travelling to Glasgow soon to sample the authentic Chicken Tikka Masala.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for any foodie.

[Dave Shichman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, I learned a tremendous amount about British food, and Simon is a great writer.