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How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food

By: Nigella Lawson
Narrated by: Nigella Lawson, Jeanette Winterson
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Summary

Relax and relish Nigella Lawson's delicious prose in her first, revelatory cookery book, published as a reading edition in Vintage Classics for the first time to celebrate twenty years of How to Eat.

With an introduction by Jeanette Winterson.

When Nigella Lawson’s first book, How to Eat, was published in 1998, two things were immediately clear: that this fresh and fiercely intelligent voice would revolutionise cookery writing, and that How to Eat was an instant classic of the genre.

Here was a versatile culinary bible, through which a generation discovered how to feel at home in the kitchen and found the confidence to experiment and adapt recipes to their own needs. This was the book to reach for when hastily organising a last-minute supper with friends, when planning a luxurious weekend lunch or contemplating a store-cupboard meal for one, or when trying to tempt a fussy toddler. This was a book about home cooking for busy lives.

The chief revelation was the writing. Rather than a set of intimidating instructions, Nigella’s recipes provide inspiration. She has a gift for finding the right word to spark the reader’s imagination, evoking the taste of the ingredients, the simple, sensual pleasures of the practical process, the deep reward of the finished dish. Passionate, trenchant, convivial and wise, Nigella’s prose demands to be savoured, and ensures that the joy and value of How to Eat will endure for decades to come.

©2014 Nigella Lawson (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks
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Critic reviews

"How to eat, how to cook, how to write: I want two copies of this book, one to reference in the kitchen and one to read in bed." (Yotam Ottolenghi)

What listeners say about How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food

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Fantastic!

This is great. ‘How to Eat’ is a well-worn cookbook on my shelves and it’s a treat to hear Nigella reading the recipes and making me appreciate them all over again. I’m on my second listen and listening to it overnight, so that when I wake in these troubling times I’m instantly soothed with talk of comforting food.

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  • Overall
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It shouldn’t work but it does!

I read cook books in bed. Now I can listen. Nigella could make beans on toast sound interesting.

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11 people found this helpful

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Great for a beginner, no matter what the budget!

I am only into chapter 4 but I am already cooking and tasting really great, budget consious food. I would recommend this book to any beginner or any age and budget. The recipes are easy to follow and she is concerned about the reader being able to follow it easily and to get it right first time.

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1 person found this helpful

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Wonderful!

I was terrified this would be read by someone other than Nigella, and happy to learn that it is read by her. It’s hours and hours and hours of Nigella talking about food, and it’s wonderful.

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5 people found this helpful

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Only Nigella could make this work

Firstly, don't be put off by the sample. At the time of writing, Audible only gives you the Introduction to the book, voiced by Jeanette Winterson. Though I love Jeanette, I would have preferred to hear narration from Nigella - just so I knew before buying that I could listen to her for 19 hours and that I'd enjoy listening to a cookbook. Took a punt anyway, and yes I can. Nigella is a soothing and calm narrator, perfect to listen to on my commute home. Before buying I wasn't convinced 'cookbooks' (for lack of a better word) could be effectively done in audio. But by virtue of How to Eat not being like a traditional cookbook and also by Nigella being such a strong and distinctive narrator, this works. Really well. If it was anyone else narrating this, I don't think it would have been as engaging. Great story, perfect casting. And yes I mean story, because it's less about the recipes (which seem solid and not overly fussy) but more about a genuine deep love of food and her stories attached to these recipes and ingredients. Only annoyance is the lack of chapter titles down the side navigation. It gets really confusing to remember where a recipe was when the chapters are only shown as numbers.

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49 people found this helpful

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Perfect in every way

I have this book and love it. But I hadn't used it for ages and then I saw this download and I knew I had to have it. I just love it. And the author reading it is so good. I think How to Eat is just about the best cookery book I own - and I own a lot. It has been a joy to hear it and I have dug out my copy and am using it all over again. Also, at 20 hours, it is great value.

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2 people found this helpful

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Audio Cook Books don't work for me.

Wasn't sure how I'd get on with an audio cook book and frankly I didn't. The lack of titled chapters meant I had to scroll through several to find a particular recipe. Also realise that I like pouring over written recipes and find visuals of the final dish or stages of preparation reassuring. Nigella is as ever engaging and easy to listen to.

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