In Kitchen Person, unfussy eater Rachel Cooke chronicles several food upheavals since then: new TV cooks, Brexit, viral recipes, the home delivery phenomenon, and the global pandemic. She journeys from her childhood in Sheffield with Henderson’s relish and Granny’s lamb chops, to a job interviewing top chefs and eating in fancy restaurants, to learning to shop and cook well herself, all the time growing more knowledgeable and opinionated about food.

‘This wickedly delicious tale uncovers the secret, gustatory history of the Kremlin and will leave you begging for seconds’ DOUGLAS SMITH, AUTHOR OF RASPUTIN: FAITH, POWER, AND THE TWILIGHT OF THE ROMANOVS

What’s Cooking in the Kremlin is a tale of feast and famine told from the kitchen, the narrative of one of the most complex, troubling and fascinating nations on earth.

We will travel through Putin’s Russia with acclaimed author Witold Szablowski as he learns the story of the chef who was shot alongside the Romonovs, and the Ukrainian woman who survived the Great Famine created by Stalin and still weeps with guilt; the soldiers on the Eastern front who roasted snails and made nettle soup as they fought back Hitler’s army; the woman who cooked for Yuri Gagarin and the cosmonauts; and the man who ran the Kremlin kitchen during the years of plenty under Brezhnev. We will hear from the women who fed the firefighters at Chernobyl, and the story of the Crimean Tatars, who returned to their homeland after decades of exile, only to flee once Russia invaded Crimea again, in 2014.

In tracking down these remarkable stories and voices, Witold Szablowski has written an account of modern Russia unlike any other – a book that reminds us of the human stories behind the history.

‘One of the funniest comedians in the world, Ed is only serious about one thing – dinners.’
NISH KUMAR

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The hilarious memoir from comedian, Off Menu host and Great British Menu judge, Ed Gamble.

From a young age, Ed Gamble’s immaculate bibs and extremely dirty nappies hinted at his capacious appetite. Before he could walk, Ed already knew that he preferred poached salmon to puree, that celery was a calorie-sapping waste of time, and that mashed potatoes should be made with lashings of butter.

Whilst he might ordinarily have been upset by the calls of ‘precocious little sh*t’ coming from his family, he was too busy stuffing his gob and staging rebellions against the patronising list of misery that is a children’s menu.

In Glutton, Ed shares a relatable buffet of experiences and stories from a life lived through food. From the trials of being a diabetic with a sweet tooth to his teenage battles with obesity, to the joy of cooking and the power of food to bring us together, this is a wonderful, hilarious and heart-warming memoir of a delightful obsession.

‘A lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.’ Stuart Maconie

Step inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain’s national dish.

There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with vinegar and the scent of frying. Following the irresistible lure, Daniel Gray ponders the magic of chippies and the delights they have sprinkled among us for the last 150 years as he investigates the social – and sociable – history of fish and chips.

Travelling to chippies from Dundee to Devon via South Shields, Oldham, Bradford, Bethnal Green, the Rhondda Valley and more – Daniel Gray explores our fish-and-chip nation to show how chippies have helped emancipate women, promote equality for immigrants and shape local and national identity.

Whether you were raised eating scraps of Wolverhampton’s orange chips, London’s ‘wallies’ or Hull’s chip spice – even if you think you know whether tea, Vimto or dandelion and burdock is the best accompaniment – this mouth-watering book is as much about who we are as what we eat.

‘How lucky we are to have Grace Dent . . . evocative and beautiful.’
EVENING STANDARD

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Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle?
Or how a big bowl of pasta can be just what we need after a tough day?
Oh, and what is it about butter that seems to make everything just that little bit better . . . ?

The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, steeped in nostalgia and topped with a healthy dollop of guilty pleasure. In Comfort Eating, Grace Dent throws open her kitchen cupboards to reveal why we hold these secret snacks and naughty nibbles so dear to our hearts.

Exploring her go-to comfort foods through a series of joyous encounters, Grace reflects on the memories they uncover and pays tribute to her parents, the people who taught her what comfort eating truly means. Along the way, she catches up with some famous friends to chat about their own favourites – from Jo Brand’s fried bread sandwich and Russell T. Davies’ ‘butterpepperrice’ to Scarlett Moffat’s crushed-Wotsits-topped beans on toast and many, many more . . .

So grab a plate and pull up a chair: unfussy, honest and filled to the brim with heartwarming stories and comfort food tales, Comfort Eating is the perfect treat for food lovers everywhere.

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‘The restaurant critic’s exploration of the delicious things we snack on is shot through with nostalgia for childhood, family and home . . . Funny and poignant . . . her humour [is] tweezer-sharp and the writing as strong as a Christmas stilton.’
NELL FRIZELL, GUARDIAN

Economic thinking – about globalisation, climate change, immigration, austerity, automation and much more – in its most digestible form

For decades, a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics. But this is bland and unhealthy – like British food in the 1980s, when bestselling author and economist Ha-Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea. Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a more interesting and balanced diet, so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives.

In Edible Economics, Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world. He uses histories behind familiar food items – where they come from, how they are cooked and consumed, what they mean to different cultures – to explore economic theory. For Chang, chocolate is a life-long addiction, but more exciting are the insights it offers into post-industrial knowledge economies; and while okra makes Southern gumbo heart-meltingly smooth, it also speaks of capitalism’s entangled relationship with freedom and unfreedom. Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and egg toast, Gambas al Ajillo and Korean dotori mook, Ha-Joon Chang serves up an easy-to-digest feast of bold ideas.

Myth-busting, witty and thought-provoking, Edible Economics shows that getting to grips with the economy is like learning a recipe: if we understand it, we can change it – and, with it, the world.

‘A lively guide through the thorny challenges of rural life in an urban world. Essential reading for both incomer and local. Anna Jones is insightful but above all sensitive: we walk in everybody’s shoes’ – Tom Heap

‘This book, by farmer’s daughter and now-journalist and media presenter Anna Jones, is one of the most enjoyable and interesting books I have read this year’ – Mark Avery

This book is a call to action. It warns that unless we learn to accept and respect our social, cultural and political differences as town and country people, we are never going to solve the chronic problems in our food system and environment.

As we stare down the barrel of climate change, only farmers – who manage two thirds of the UK’s landscape – working together with conservation groups can create a healthier food system and bring back nature in diverse abundance. But this fledgling progress is hindered and hamstrung by simplistic debates that still stoke conflict between conservative rural communities and the liberal green movement.

Each chapter, from Family and Politics to Animal Welfare and the Environment, explores a different aspect of the urban/rural disconnect, weaving case studies and research with Anna’s personal stories of growing up on a small, upland farm. There is a simple theme and a strong message running throughout the book – a plea to respect our differences, recognise each other’s strengths and work together to heal the land.