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Book Description
The food of England redefined - a beautifully written, impassioned plea for us to trace its roots, celebrate its continuity and address its future
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The map of England bears names which used to resonate through kitchens in the land: Colchester, Cheddar, Hereford, Swaledale, Bath, Lincoln, York, Wensleydale - the list goes on. England has more breeds of livestock, fruit cultivars and vegetable seeds to its credit than any other country in the world. Sussex, for example, was known for its cockles, herrings, truffles, seakale, cabbage, alongside its middlehorn beef, Southdown mutton and Tipper beer. We tend to think that our native food has disappeared off the map completely - and in some cases it is undoubtedly endangered. But Marwood Yeatman shines a light on what remains, and highlights what could endure. His quest to find the 'last food' in England leads to his discovery of the last domestic faggot oven in use; the undertaker-cum-butcher who roasts his own oxen; the fisherman who regularly takes his life in his hands to catch oysters; green top milk being made deep in the forest; crayfish facing extinction; four types of English butter. This book is a wonderful voyage of discovery - an invitation to cook without recipes, travel without guides, and find history without museums. Take time to read about our fertile food heritage and the map of England will never look the same again.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An elegy to English food,
By Ned Clarence-Smith (Austria) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Last Food of England (Hardcover)
This is a beautiful book, elegantly written but also with passion and erudition. I chose it because I was feeling a loss. I have lived outside the UK for many years now, and every time the topic of cooking has come up English cooking has been the subject of ridicule. And yet I remembered eating quite well when I was young. I felt there had to be good food in Britain, and I set out to look for it. Originally, I had been searching for a book of English recipes, but Mr. Yeatman reminds us forcefully that good food is as much a question of how the original source is reared and prepared as of how it is cooked. Every chapter gives some recipes but their real focus is the various English breeds, strains and cultivars still existing and the preparation they require before they even enter the kitchen.I also found the book tremendously attractive because it is a paean of praise to all those unknown, humble folk who have maintained the art of English food preparation and cooking, through thick and mostly thin. Mr. Yeatman has delved into the remotest corners of England to track down preparers of traditional foods. Inevitably, the book is also an act of mourning for all that has been lost over the years, and continues to be lost as the older generation with the knowledge progressively dies out. But the book is not all pessimism. Mr. Yeatman's witty style does not allow us to keep black thoughts for long, and he does give us reasons to hope that English food can be brought back from the brink. The book comes with some lovely photos taken by his wife of livestock and people showing off their wares. The number of old people in the latter category makes one fear the worst, the presence of some young 'uns gives us reason to hope. Mr. Yeatman discusses the reasons for the parlous state of English food, and his main culprits are rapacious supermarkets offering quality-less food, ridiculously bureaucratic government authorities asphyxiating the small producers in red tape, and possibly Brussels and the other side of the Channel generally, symbolized by the metric system. It is here that I find a weakness in the book. The reasons for the downward spiral in English food are surely more complex, and ranting on about supermarkets and their "running dogs" will not fix the problem. They are probably more a symptom of the disease than the cause, which I would see as excessive urbanization and its natural extension, globalization, as well as - dare I say it? - a general indifference in people the world over to really good food; as long as it's warm, fills you up, and doesn't give you stomach cramps, it's OK. The list of food that Mr. Yeatman covers is to my untrained eye very comprehensive, but I was surprised to see that he does not mention beer-making. To the objection that beer is not food, I would point out that the book goes over the making of cider and perry so why not beer? It seems the most English of English beverages. Finally, I hope that before the next edition of the book (one of many, I'm sure), someone carefully reads through the text and gets rid of the quite frequent typographical errors. All in all, a great read and I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone - English or otherwise - who has an interest in food.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes HFW look a bit like a caricature..,
By
This review is from: The Last Food of England (Hardcover)
Last Food of England is the best general food book I've ever read. It is filled with learning; is funny, generous, and generally life-affirming. There's a lot of me-tooism about provenance and sourcing and food miles; Yeatman writes, instead, from decades of personal experience and discovery rather than as some chef with a sharp eye for band-wagon jumping. I thoroughly, thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in food, and history, and the countryside.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
English food starts here,
By
This review is from: The Last Food of England (Hardcover)
Marwood Yeatman's "The Last Food of England" is a fountain of lore and wisdom that must have taken decades to amass. It radiates an exacting enjoyment of food which has to be searched for and learned about and which was once merely part of life. Yeatman discovers the traditional ways and skills that still today can be found in the small market towns of England. He uncovers native genius that requires no help from abroad. A rich and strange vocabulary reminds us of our neglect and what we are in danger of losing. The food is vital and fundamental, as are the recipes. This work of reference on the English identity in food is written with a passion that recalls William Cobbett and makes us realize that more than food is at stake. This is a work for the long term.Anya Yeatman's beautiful, simple photographs evoke and reinforce brilliantly. The book is a beautiful object down to the colour of the chapter headings and details,
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