This seems to be the year for amazing books about food.
So I knew about Tandoh as an awesome contestant on GBBO and then some end of year list mentioned she wrote a book about food and how we eat and the moralizing, gendered, condemnatory attitude towards food.
So obviously I bought it.
Tandoh, in her own way, writes the way I think. The exuberance she brings to food she also brings to language and writing. Not excess, but more than enough. She writes with the knowledge that, having said something is not enough if you can say it again in a new way and with more delight.
But she uses it like she advocates using spices: deliberately, mindfully, and in its place. The flavor of her prose is a taste, but it’s one that suits my palate.
Which says nothing of the content. Tandoh covers everything from the evolving classism of healthy to food on film to what even constitutes a recipe. It’s a wild ride and I loved every minute of it.