- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (3 May 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753821966
- ISBN-13: 978-0753821961
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 392,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Relish
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'I was riveted from start to finish. What a fascinating, endearing, complex, contradictory man Soyer was, and what a life!' (Deborah Moggach )
'a masterly account not only of a Victorian chef but of a Victorian era.' (Martin Gilbert )
'A riveting book with all the elements of a Hollywood Oscar winner' (Clarissa Dickson Wright )
'The most admirable and attractive of all chefs has been given an equally admirable and attractive biography.' (A A Gill )
'engrossing biography... A sybarite and dandy with a social conscience and hustling entrepreneurial streak, Soyer was an intriguing, contradictory figure.' (FINANCIAL TIMES )
'Ruth Cowen has brought Alexis Soyer back to life with the kind of flourish he would have appreciated.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
'Chef Alexis Soyer was as famous as Dickens in his day... Cowen explores his amazing life and the reasons behind his obscurity.' (SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE )
'excellent, entertaining and vivid... colourful, compassionate, generous, inventive, indefatigable. Now at last [Soyer] has the biography he deserves.' (Joanna Simon SUNDAY TIMES )
'[Cowen] has crafted a filling dish... Cowen captures the curious combination of his astute commercial skills... and his selfless philanthropy' (SUNDAY EXPRESS )
'Ruth Cowen guides us elegantly through the turbulent, intoxicating life of this brilliant but flawed man' (Jill Turton www.askmario.co.uk )
'The story of [Soyer's] vigorous life is a potent one, and Cowen's comprehensive, sensitive recording of it is long overdue.' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
'Ruth Cowen's lively new biography... is a highly readable account of an important life.' (THE GUARDIAN )
'Ruth Cowen's excellent biography... is a riveting story... it's also a marvellous portrait of the early Victorian age.' (TIME OUT )
'[Soyer's] colourful life story - he was a bigamist, bankrupt and alcoholic - is told brilliantly by Ruth Cowen.' (SOLDIER MAGAZINE )
'Sparkling... If only all history were written like this.' (SUNDAY BUSINESS POST )
'This very well-written and researched book.. will serve for some time as the best record that we have on this great chef.' (MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY )
'Alexis Soyer deserves a biography of flair, passion and frivolity. Ruth Cowen has delivered just such a book.' (THE FIELD ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'a masterly account not only of a Victorian chef but of a Victorian era.' (Martin Gilbert )
'A riveting book with all the elements of a Hollywood Oscar winner' (Clarissa Dickson Wright )
'The most admirable and attractive of all chefs has been given an equally admirable and attractive biography.' (A A Gill )
'engrossing biography... A sybarite and dandy with a social conscience and hustling entrepreneurial streak, Soyer was an intriguing, contradictory figure.' (FINANCIAL TIMES )
'Ruth Cowen has brought Alexis Soyer back to life with the kind of flourish he would have appreciated.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
'Chef Alexis Soyer was as famous as Dickens in his day... Cowen explores his amazing life and the reasons behind his obscurity.' (SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE )
'excellent, entertaining and vivid... colourful, compassionate, generous, inventive, indefatigable. Now at last [Soyer] has the biography he deserves.' (Joanna Simon SUNDAY TIMES )
'[Cowen] has crafted a filling dish... Cowen captures the curious combination of his astute commercial skills... and his selfless philanthropy' (SUNDAY EXPRESS )
'Ruth Cowen guides us elegantly through the turbulent, intoxicating life of this brilliant but flawed man' (Jill Turton www.askmario.co.uk )
'The story of [Soyer's] vigorous life is a potent one, and Cowen's comprehensive, sensitive recording of it is long overdue.' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )
'Ruth Cowen's lively new biography... is a highly readable account of an important life.' (THE GUARDIAN )
'Ruth Cowen's excellent biography... is a riveting story... it's also a marvellous portrait of the early Victorian age.' (TIME OUT )
'[Soyer's] colourful life story - he was a bigamist, bankrupt and alcoholic - is told brilliantly by Ruth Cowen.' (SOLDIER MAGAZINE )
'Sparkling... If only all history were written like this.' (SUNDAY BUSINESS POST )
'This very well-written and researched book.. will serve for some time as the best record that we have on this great chef.' (MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY )
'Alexis Soyer deserves a biography of flair, passion and frivolity. Ruth Cowen has delivered just such a book.' (THE FIELD ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sunday Telegraph
'Ruth Cowen has brought Alexis Soyer back to life with the kind of flourish he would have appreciated.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I came across Ruth Cowen's hugely readable biography of the enterprising chef Alexis Soyer I was really surprised that I'd never encountered him before. It soon became clear from this wonderfully entertaing read that Soyer had led a hugely interesting life, as well as in the end an important one. He may have been a bit of a dandy who loved to hang out with important people, but he also used his cooking skills to great effect in the Crimea by combining them with some amazing life-saving inventions. And who couldn't like a man who thought nothing of turning out a dinner with one of the courses presented as a great ship under sail?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Quite simply one of the rare books that captures you from the very first chapter. You share the journey of Soyer rather than just read about it.
Refreshing indeed.
Refreshing indeed.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's hard to know where to start with this book because there's so much in it.The central character Alexis Soyer is an amazing man, and the book is full of fascinating facts,colourful minor characters,and charming, wise and sometimes very funny little asides from the Author.It's much more than the plod through the facts and the dates you get with some biographies.Ruth Cowen has obviously worked very hard digging up obscure research, but the book is the opposite of hard work to read.It's written in a very easy to read style, so it doesn't "overload" the facts-it's just constantly interesting with nice surprises on every page.I think it's fabulous.I bought it knowing nothing about the subject, but I'm now glad I did.I learned loads but it was thoroughly enjoyable too.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Feast of Entertainment
I am interested in food and food history and I expected to be educated by this book. I wasn't disappointed because Ruth Cowen gives a thoroughly researched and complete picture of... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Susan Creed
Can't fail to be entranced by this one...
One of the most colourful books out there and Soyer links together so many different aspects of British history, despite him being French! Read more
Published on 30 April 2007 by Mr. A. G. Williamson
A great read
This is an amazing book, full of detail. Soyer was a very interesting character who contributed so much to the history of cookery in England. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2006 by E. Kaltenthaler
Delicious
Alexis Soyer is vividly brought to life in Ruth Cowen's delicious biography. From the mouthwatering feasts at The Reform Club to the appalling conditions in the Crimea, I devoured... Read more
Published on 19 July 2006 by Susan Millgate
Relish
An extraordinary book! It was one of those reads where things I had heard of in the past all sort of came together.....and I learnt a lot too.
Published on 19 July 2006 by Mr. J. Alexander-Reece
A Forgotten Culinary Genius
The extraordinary and flamboyant figure of Alexis Soyer bestrides the pages of Ruth Cowen's biography, Relish, like a colossus. Read more
Published on 17 July 2006 by N. Chapman
Brilliant
I loved this book - the amazing life story, the wealth of period detail and all the wonderful foodie stuff, I was salivating from the first banquet onwards and finished it in a... Read more
Published on 12 July 2006 by Michael da Costa
Sexy Chef!
Loved this sumptuous tale of bad boy Victorian Chef Soyer. The writing is as rich as the food he loved and just as tasty. Read more
Published on 6 July 2006 by Mr. Timothy J. Cunningham
Brilliant
What a fascinating biography! It's hard to believe that Alexis Soyer is hardly known in this country but what better time to discover one of the first serious celebrity chefs. Read more
Published on 5 July 2006 by Sue Maroti
Thumping good read!
Not being generally a biography reader, nor a proactive book reviewer, I decided to add my say, since this book is a thoroughly riveting read which I couldn't put down (usually... Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2006 by D. Brown
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
