Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World [Paperback]

"Gina Mallet is right about absolutely everything. Part explanation, part memoir, part manifesto, "Last Chance to Eat explains where it all went wrong-and what we can do about it. An invaluable antidote to the dark forces who want to deprive us of the good stuff and an acknowledgment of the pleasures of a few simple, good things."
-Anthony Bourdain, author of "Kitchen Confidential
"Gina Mallet's engagingly written memoir is like notes from the trenches, detailing the loss of locally produced foods and distinctive flavors as the developed world made the shift to large-scale farming. A very entertaining, informative, and intelligent read."
-Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford, authors of "Hot Sour Salty Sweet and "Flatbreads and Flavors
"Interweaving warm memories of her own halcyon coming of gastronomic age with cool-eyed-and often chilling-scientific reportage, Gina Mallet has pulled off a tour de force, a must read for all who care deeply about food."
-Michael and Ariane Batterberry, Founding Editors of "Food Arts and "Food & Wine magazines
"An informative and enjoyable excursion through our changing world of food. While sometimes sobering, Gina Mallet will inspire us to use our common sense, to ignore some of the current wisdom and return to the pleasures of good eating that she remembers."
-John Putnam, maker of Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise Vermont Alpine Cheese, North Pomfret, Vermont
"In an environment where authors demonize foods, ingredients, restaurants and our very way of eating, Gina Mallet brings some pleasure back to eating, while serving up a healthy portion of skepticism about unscientific food scares."
-Jeff Stier, Associate Director, American Council on Science and Health
"{Mallet} is a wonderful raconteuse: vivid, shrewd, funny...But the greatest pleasure of this book is its joyous celebration of food and cooking, which should lure at least some families back to the dinner table and some chefs back to the classic sauces and dishes that are at the heat and soul of fine cuisine."
-"Los Angeles Times
"As Proust demonstrated, taste is a touchstone of memory. Mallet uses it to evoke a lost world of raw milk cheeses and rare roast beef, which sparks a provocative, depressing inquiry into the 'famine of quality' that afflicts food today."
-"Newsday
"Mallets's vivid description of her 1950s upbringing close to London's Harrods department store's famed food halls helps account for her acute recognition of today's desiccated appreciation for good food."
-"Booklist
"A well-crafted and engaging book; the reminiscences about food in Europe after the war provide a welcome personal touch. Recommended."
-"Library Journal
"Like an excellent dinner guest, Mallet lets her thoughts roam freely, yet always with focus and a dose of intriguing fact...This breadth of insight, mixed with Mallet's childhood memories, makes for a tasty treat."
-"Publishers Weekly

"From the Hardcover edition.

Food has never been more fashionable, yet fewer and fewer people really know what good food is. Drawing on a lifetime full of rich culinary experiences, Gina Mallet's irreverent memoir combines recollections of meals and their milieus with recipes and tasting tips.

In loving detail, Last Chance to Eat muses on the fates of foods that were once the stuff of feasts: light, fluffy eggs; rich cheeses; fresh meat; garden vegetables; and fish just hauled ashore.

Mallet's gastronomic adventures will appeal to any palate: from finding the perfect grilled cheese ('as delicate as any Escoffier recipe') to combing the bustling food department at post-war Harrods for the makings of 'an Elizabeth David meal'.

The search for taste often takes her far from the beaten path - to an underground 'chevaline' restaurant serving horsemeat steaks and to purveyors of contraband Epoisses, for instance - but the journey is always a delight.