The Pedant In The Kitchen - Hardcover

Barnes, Julian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1843542390 ISBN 13: 9781843542391

Publisher: Guardian Books, 2003

Synopsis

The Pedant's ambition is simple. He wants to cook tasty, nutritious food; he wants not to poison his friends; and he wants to expand, slowly and with pleasure, his culinary repertoire. A stern critic of himself and others, he knows he is never going to invent his own recipes (although he might, in a burst of enthusiasm, increase the quantity of a favourite ingredient). Rather, he is a recipe-bound follower of the instructions of others. It is in his interrogations of these recipes, and of those who create them, that the Pedant's true pedantry emerges. How big, exactly, is a 'lump'? Is a 'slug' larger than a 'gout'? When does a 'drizzle' become a downpour? And what is the difference between slicing and chopping?This book is a witty and practical account of Julian Barnes' search for gastronomic precision. It is a quest that leaves him seduced by Jane Grigson, infuriated by Nigel Slater, and reassured by Mrs Beeton's Victorian virtues. The Pedant in the Kitchen is perfect comfort for anyone who has ever been defeated by a cookbook and is something that none of Julian Barnes' legion of admirers will want to miss.

About this title

Review:

‘Fizzing with decades of pent-up frustration and creative rebellion, this is a tiny masterpiece of observational wit’ -- The Herald (Glasgow)

‘My only complaint about this book is that it is too small; there is not enough of it’ -- Publishing News

‘Precise, humorous and informative...Barnes has created a curiously palatable little book’ -- Evening Standard

‘This a hob-side classic’ -- Scotland on Sunday

Book Description:

'The funniest piece of food writing - my own theoretical metier - that you will ever read'. Giles Coren, The Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Guardian Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1843542390
• ISBN 13: 9781843542391
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96