All Consuming - by Ruby Tandoh (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Hype restaurants. Allrecipes. The Great British Bake Off. Food dominates our every waking minute. In this dazzling cultural history, acclaimed food writer Ruby Tandoh traces the story of how--and why--we've all became foodies.

"Who isn't a food person these days? ... Foodie-ism has become more than just a subculture, it is the culture."

How, in the space of a few decades, has food gone from "fact of life" to "national past time"; something to be thought about--and talked about--24/7?

In this startlingly original, deeply irreverent cultural history, Ruby Tandoh traces how our culinary tastes have been transformed; how they've been pulled into supermarket aisles and seduced by Michelin stars, transfixed by Top Chefs and shaped by fads. All Consuming is a deep dive into the social, economic, cultural, legislative, and demographic forces that have reshaped our relationship with food.

From the rise of the food writer to the dream of the modern dinner party; from the unlikely adoption of bubble tea to the advent of the TikTok restaurant critic, in these essays, Tandoh questions how our tastes have been shaped--and how much they are, in fact, our own.

Review Quotes

"All Consuming is extraordinary. In masterful prose, Tandoh shows us who we are, where we've been, and where we're going through what we eat--and also what we say we're eating, and what we'd like to eat, and what we refuse to eat, alongside everything in between. But All Consuming is just that--all of it--in the expansiveness of Tandoh's vision, through the humor and knowingness of her craft. Ruby Tandoh is a genius and All Consuming is everything." --BRYAN WASHINGTON, author of Family Meal

"Ruby Tandoh's sharp, insightful investigation into our evolving mass food cultures--the influences and drivers, weird excesses and absurdities--is a fascinating, sometimes shocking, eye-opener that is also brilliantly funny." --CLAUDIA RODEN, author of Claudia Roden's Mediterranean

"I loved this book. Witty and profound, informative and original, no one could write with more insight than Ruby on the question of our appetites, and what it is that we are really searching for when we google what to make for dinner." --BEE WILSON, author of Consider the Fork

"Ruby Tandoh is a charming, knowledgeable tour guide through the culinary traditions so deeply embedded in our culture that most of us hardly bother to think about them. Her voice is lively and her research thorough, calling to mind that one extra cool history teacher we all wanted to impress." --RAX KING, author of Sloppy

"A brilliant and engrossing investigation of what really shapes our desires when it comes to food. By following the shifting currents of restaurant criticism, the explosive rise of bubble tea, and the 'delusion economy' of wellness drinks, Ruby Tandoh offers a sharp riposte to culinary romanticism." --FUCHSIA DUNLOP, author of Invitation to a Banquet

About the Author

RUBY TANDOH is an author and journalist who has written for The New Yorker, The Guardian, Vittles, and Elle. A finalist on The Great British Bake Off in 2013, she has also written Eat Up!, a book about the pleasure of eating, as well as three cookery books, Crumb, Flavour, and Cook As You Are.