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Kevin Jackson

Fast: A Take-Away Journey Through London Paperback – 13 April 2006

by Kevin Jackson (Author)

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From a Gloucester Road chippie to a Wimpy Bar at the end of the Northern Line, via curry houses in Brick Lane and juice bars in Canary Warf, Pret-sandwich connoisseur Kevin Jackson samples the best - and worst - of what Londoners are eating on the hoof. Alongside musings on the saveloy, the origins of the British hot dog, the erotic allure of a McFlurry, and how Kebab-gate did for Gazza's career, we meet fellow-guzzlers, as well as the people behind the counter as they spin their thin discs of dough, load potato skins, and slap sausages into buns. If your taste-buds tingle at the distant chime of the ice-cream van or you feel a stab of nostalgia at the sight of a little wooden fork, this is the book for you.

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...a droll and eye-opening tour of informal eating in the capital... Jackson turns Michelin-starred prose onto KFC-level urban raw material -- x

Elegantly written, and often very funny, it's as much social document as it is gastronomic adventure. -- Tom Parker Bowles, Mail on Sunday

Great pictures make you want to eat greasy chicken out of a cardboard box, like, right now. -- The Guardian

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Portobello Books Ltd (13 April 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846270294
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846270291
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 520.7 x 431.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 2,381,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 2,340 in Restaurants, Bars & Cafés for Travelers
- 7,507 in Food & Travel Writing
- 38,955 in Specialty Travel

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Eugene Doherty

Fast but not furious

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 1 April 2012

Verified Purchase

I am always interested in other people's lives but I never want to actually talk to them myself so this book is perfect for me as Mr Jackson does the hard work and I can enjoy the journey vicariously. As the name suggests it is about fast food in London, both what we have now and what we've lost and the people who work in and eat in various fast food eateries. But along the way there are various digressions about related topics on the history of coffee in England, the rise and fall of Lyons (I knew they had invented the commercial business computer but had no idea their portfolio of other interests was so extensive) and similar.

If you have read some of Kevin Jackson's other books you'll know that he doesn't skimp on his research and for all he wears his erudition lightly here, this book is no exception, with an extensive reference list

I've seen reviews elsewhere that suggest there is too much of the same thing through the book, but like the best fast food this isn't a book to be wolfed down in one sitting, but rather is to be enjoyed in small doses to allow the writing to be digested properly.

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Sassy Brit

America had Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Burger King; we had Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele and the Wimpy.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 17 November 2006

And that just about sums up the theme of this book, and what us unfortunate Britons had (and in some cases still have) to put up with, by the way of fast food joints, that is. I'm going to leave Cliff Richard out of this, as his 65th birthday has been and gone and we don't want any sudden mishaps. To make up for it, I could burst into tune with Mr Steele's 'Half a Sixpence' song, but then, apart from being just as dangerous, that would be admitting I watched that sort of crap, and even worse, I'm that old!

And boy, did parts of this book make me feel old. I found myself feeling very nostalgic towards the disappearance of the Wimpy, only to be told by Mr Jackson, they are still around, "you just don't notice them so much". True. True. Mr Jackson also blatantly points out the frightening fact that we are OLD enough to remember when grease ridden food was not a sin to eat and actually preferred, in comparison to their low-fibre, healthier options of their competitors. I mean, who's heard of Prousts anyway? I don't even know if I spelt that right.

I love the personal comments these chaps made; Richard's take on photographing sushi -- 'It's an absolute bas!ard to photograph adequately', and Kevin's portrayal of his interviewees as 'willing victims'.

What I really enjoyed, however, were hearing the tales from people they met; traders, shop owners, lunchers etc. It's amazing, (when confronted with two men, a notepad and a camera), how much people will let rip; unless, of course, you happen to be the customers and workers from Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC in the Piccadilly Circus area. You resistant camera shy little fellows, you know who you are.

Spookily enough, I wondered if the Travolta/Samuel L Jackson* world famous fast-food-in-Europe dialogue from Pulp Fiction would be mentioned. Even spookier is this particular article shares the same page as the possible illegal immigrants and dole fiddlers of a well known area in London, named after a circus. I must be psychic.

Together, Kevin Jackson and Richard Heeps capture the mood, atmosphere and sometimes the history of London's fast food and their outlets, with an interesting and original slant. You just could not make up the pleasant (and not so pleasant) staff and customer responses to being interviewed or photographed by the devilish (and highly engaging) duo! The hungry pair, who, as far as I can see, are mooching around the food halls, and streets of London, taking full advantage of free meals and taking photo's of pretty girls! Okay, that's not quite true, there are a lot of artistic photos of food in this book, to tempt to you to suddenly dine out - the fast food way. Avoiding certain areas, of course, and those foods which were b@stards.

This is a great book for foodie fans. As you can tell, I found it a feast for the eyes in more ways than one. Hey, would you like to come and meet me and sample some of my wares?

*No relation - I'm sure Kevin would have said when he's not busy eating.

Sassy Brit
Alternative-Read.com
November 2006

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Fast: A Take-Away Journey Through London Paperback – 13 April 2006

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