The English at Table
Language: English
Published by Social Affairs Unit, 2006
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: killarneybooks, Inagh, Clare, Irelandkillarneybooks
AbeBooks seller since April 20, 2017
Condition: Used - Near fine
£ 48.03
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Hardcover, 150 pages, glossy paper, b&w illustrations, NOT ex-library. A clean and bright copy, with firm binding and unmarked text; free of inscriptions and stamps. Untorn dust jacket shows moderate shelfwear, mild edgewear; price concealed on the front flap (jacket is not clipped). --- The modern English congratulate themselves that their food is rather good. It was not always so, they say, but the way we eat at home, the standard of our restaurants and the variety of foods available in our shops have been revolutionized. The national palate is, they claim, becoming more 'discerning'. It is all nonsense. Just look at what is eaten daily in homes, restaurants, offices, hospitals, schools, airports, planes, and on beaches and pavements. This daily food is not good - it is awful. The English food of old was dull and insular, but at least there was an abundance of butchers and fishmongers with locally produced food, and English women shopped at them and cooked thrice-daily meals, which their families sat down to eat together. There are more exotic ingredients in the shops, and there are a few good, expensive restaurants. There is also a plethora of second-rate industrial cheeses, meats and vegetables, and third-rate takeaways, fast-food outlets and formulaic 'Indians' and Chinese. And the institution of the family, so vital to the provision of good food and to the passing on of knowledge about it, has collapsed in an orgy of self-indulgent sexual and emotional relationships. With the decline in unified behaviour and values, people eat neither together as a family, nor off tables. Vegetarians reject whole classes of foods prizes by wiser civilisations; healthists reduce food to a mere tool in the pursuit of a few more years of miserable life on earth; environmentalists subject good eating to their dotty political cause; health-safety lobbyists stifle good food with their regulations. Worst of all, we see a refusal to make the daily effort necessary for good meals; the turning of eating into an excuse for showing off; and the relentless pursuit of novelty and celebrity. The bad old traits coexist with these new ones: the rejection of large numbers of ingredients or dishes on one spurious ground or another, squeamishness and insipidity, the fear of the unfamiliar, food treated as a special occasion. "The English at Table" documents the awfulness of English food and the shallowness of English food culture and media comment. It identifies the culprit as the ordinary English cook and diner, who is ignorant, lazy, fastidious and exhibitionist. The book is illustrated by "The Spectator's" cartoon editor, Michael Heath. -- Contents: A Revolution in English Food?; Drowning in Culinary Incompetence; Tendencies that Ruin English Food; Shopping: What the English Won't Buy and Cook; Rejection of Good Food; Restaurants and Restaurant Reviews; Home Cooking and Those Who Write About It; Food in Hospitals and Schools, on Planes and Picnics; Food Ideologues and Assorted Nutters; Conclusion: A Culture That Still Can't Cook.…
Seller Inventory # 007419
- Title
- The English at Table
- Author
- Digby Anderson; Charles Moore [foreword]
- Publisher
- Social Affairs Unit
- Publication year
- 2006
- Condition
- Near Fine
- Dust jacket
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1904863183
- ISBN 13
- 9781904863182
- Illustrator
- Michael Heath
rather good. It was not always so, they say, but the way we eat at home,
the standard of our restaurants and the variety of foods available in our
shops have been revolutionized. The national palate is, they claim,
becoming more 'discerning'.
It is all nonsense. Just look at what is eaten daily in homes,
restaurants, offices, hospitals, schools, airports, planes, and on beaches
and pavements. This daily food is not good - it is awful. The English food
of old was dull and insular, but at least there was an abundance of
butchers and fishmongers with locally produced food, and English women
shopped at them and cooked thrice-daily meals, which their families sat
down to eat together.
There are more exotic ingredients in the shops, and there are a few good,
expensive restaurants. There is also a plethora of second-rate industrial
cheeses, meats and vegetables, and third-rate takeaways, fast-food outlets
and formulaic 'Indians' and Chinese.
We now see a refusal to make the daily effort necessary for good meals, the
turning of eating into an excuse for showing off, and the relentless pusuit
of novelty and celebrity. The bad old traits coexist with these new ones.
The English at Table documents the awfulness of English food and the
shallowness of English food culture and media comment.
The English at Table is illustrated by The Spectator's cartoon editor,
Michael Heath.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
-- Fay Maschler, evening Standard
The English at Table is very funny. -- Diane Purkiss, Daily Telegraph
This book is extremely funny. Like all books that make you laugh
a lot, it is also extremely serious. -- Charles Moore
This book reads like it is written by a monster.
-- Leading English Food Publisher
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
killarneybooks
Inagh, Clare, Ireland
AbeBooks seller since April 20, 2017
Shipping rates from Ireland to U.S.A.
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Store description
All U.S.-bound orders are now shipped with UPS for reliable delivery. Additional customs or import fees are highly unlikely; however, please note buyers remain responsible for any duties or taxes that U.S. Customs may assess. -- Killarneybooks is a family-run bookshop based in the Republic of Ireland. We take pride in accurate listings, careful packaging, and prompt service - most orders ship within 24 hours. All books listed are in stock and ready for immediate dispatch - we are not dropshippers. Inquiries always welcome.…
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killarneybooks
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