Forgive the pun, but I absolutely ‘devoured’ Grace Dent’s memoir ‘Hungry’ - a delicious, culinary walk down memory lane, both for Grace and the reader.
Grace Dent grew up in Currock, a southern suburb of Carlisle, Cumbria. Food was a very important part of her life, she was forever hungry, but as a child the food served was pretty basic. She recalls the 70’s, when the appearance of a nice sterile tin of Fray Bentos Chicken Pie felt like progress! That was something that would change dramatically, as she moved away from her working class community, ( but never her roots) to become a journalist, author, and national newspaper restaurant critic, with appearances on TV’s Masterchef.
This is a beautifully written, nostalgic account, of a Cumbrian working class girl, ascending to the dizzying heights of the media scene in London. It’s humorous, it’s enlightening, and it’s also very moving - the family’s experience of living with, and trying to cope with, her Dad’s dementia, was soul baring, and as such, brought me to tears. Food is a real memory trigger, both good and bad, and we each have our own, but I will never again see a bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut without thinking of Grace’s dad. A wonderful memoir!
Grace Dent grew up in Currock, a southern suburb of Carlisle, Cumbria. Food was a very important part of her life, she was forever hungry, but as a child the food served was pretty basic. She recalls the 70’s, when the appearance of a nice sterile tin of Fray Bentos Chicken Pie felt like progress! That was something that would change dramatically, as she moved away from her working class community, ( but never her roots) to become a journalist, author, and national newspaper restaurant critic, with appearances on TV’s Masterchef.
This is a beautifully written, nostalgic account, of a Cumbrian working class girl, ascending to the dizzying heights of the media scene in London. It’s humorous, it’s enlightening, and it’s also very moving - the family’s experience of living with, and trying to cope with, her Dad’s dementia, was soul baring, and as such, brought me to tears. Food is a real memory trigger, both good and bad, and we each have our own, but I will never again see a bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut without thinking of Grace’s dad. A wonderful memoir!