Breakfast: Small Fires by Rebecca May Johnson
Start your day with a healthy dose of domestic politics, linguistics and bodily autonomy. Johnson’s memoir blends humorous anecdotes with astute social commentary. She approaches the kitchen with the discipline of a scientific researcher and analyses recipe texts with the level of detail usually reserved for classic literature. As energising and refreshing as your morning coffee, Small Fires reframes the kitchen as a space for revolutionary discovery and is sure to make you think twice about your own culinary habits.
Lunch: Taste by Stanley Tucci
Possibly the most talked about food memoir in recent years, Taste certainly lives up to the hype. It’s the perfect book to dip into at lunchtime when you need a moment’s escapism – and might even give you the inspiration for that night’s dinner (the answer is always pasta). Tucci treats readers to a seat at the metaphorical ‘chef’s table’ as he recalls his life’s most memorable meals, shares glitzy snapshots from his Hollywood career alongside poignant family moments and proclaims his unwavering love of pasta.
Tea & Cake: Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Readers in need of a mid-afternoon pick-me-up should grab a cup of tea – preferably with a big slice of cake – and settle down with a copy of Heartburn. The novel follows Rachel, a cookbook writer who discovers while seven months pregnant that her husband is in love with another woman, and the food that helps her process the betrayal (and seek revenge). A crazy, confessional anti-romance sprinkled with recipes for key lime pie, Swiss potatoes and bacon hash, Heartburn is bittersweet and deliciously funny.
Dinner: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Something hearty (and truly heartfelt)for the main event. In Zauner’s beautifully written memoir, life is intrinsically linked with food: relationships defined by shared meals, care packages sent silently during conflict, clandestine midnight feasts in Seoul, solitary mealtimes during periods of intense grief, before an eventual, joyous understanding of food as a form of self-care. The mother-daughter bond at the centre of the narrative is complex and vitriolic, but food acts as an ever-present symbol of love and, later, the means by which Zauner honours her mother and connects with her Korean roots.
Late-Night Snack: Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger
Still hungry for more? Night owls, insomniacs and insatiable bookworms, grab a copy of Midnight Chicken for the ultimate late-night comfort read. An emotional rollercoaster of a book, Risbridger’s collection of recipes ‘worth living for’ will make you laugh, cry and crave a midnight feast of your own. It’s filled with beautiful illustrations and wise words on topics as diverse as mental health, self-worth, ambition, guilt, loss and the power of butter. (The salted caramel brown butter brownies are phenomenal!)
By Ellie Lavender