Hungry by Grace Dent

In my opinion...

When I was invited to read a copy of this book, it was like being granted a wish by a fairy godmother.

I have followed Grace ( I like to think she’d be my friend, so I’m sticking to calling her Grace) both in her columns /reviews in the Guardian and also on Masterchef.

Her Northern tones have always reassured me that she would tell it like it is, yet during some of her lockdown articles I was also touched by her sensitive, laced with humour, articles about her mother.

I couldn’t wait to start reading the book, and immediately fell down an Alice in Wonderland type hole into memories that had been long buried- those sweets, the school dinners, the music. I was there too, Grace, not quite as far North as you- but sharing the same experiences!

I remember always devouring her columns back in the day when she wrote for the London Evening Standard, and this biography continues what I have always loved about her writing. She is self-analytical and honest about her journalistic career, witty in her observations but then shows such a human compassionate side in dealings with her family. I suspect there is still a great deal more to Grace than we get to see.

I’m not a huge fan of biographies, but I recommend this one- and if there’s one restaurant critic I’d love to go out for dinner with, it’s my new friend, Grace!

Want to know more?

From Frazzles to Foie Gras: a memoir of wanting more.

From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better.

Hungry traces Grace’s story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of the much-loved voices on the British food scene. It’s also everyone’s story – from treats with your nan, to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, to the exquisite joy of cheaply-made apple crumble with custard. It’s the high-point of a chip butty covered in vinegar and too much salt in the school canteen, on an otherwise grey day of double-Maths and cross country running. It’s the real story of how we have all lived, laughed, and eaten over the past 40 years. Warm, funny and joyous, Hungry is also about love and loss, the central role that food plays in all our lives, and how a Cadbury’s Fruit ‘n’ Nut in a hospital vending machine can brighten the toughest situation.

My rating....

A delicious 5 glasses

Thank you HarperCollins UK & NetGalley for my greatly appreciated copy