Eat Up!: Food, Appetite, and Eating What You Want by Ruby Tandoh

The bestselling debut essay collection from a major new voice in food writing, Great British Bake Off alum and former Guardian columnist, Ruby Tandoh.

“Food shouldn’t be a bad boyfriend, dragging you down or holding you to ransom. It should nourish your body as much as it fuels your mind; it should pump life through your veins; it should waltz in sync with your mood and your appetite, sometimes blissful, often mundane, always a part of you.”

In this tour de force of a culinary manifesto, Ruby Tandoh implores us to enjoy and appreciate food in all of its many forms. Food is, after all, what nourishes our bodies, helps us commemorate important milestones, cheers us up when we're down, expands our minds, and connects us with the people we love. But too often, it’s a source of anxiety and unhappiness. With Eat Up!, Tandoh celebrates one of life’s greatest pleasures, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Julia Child to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, flavor memories to jellied eels. She takes on the wellness industry and fad diets, and rejects the snobbery surrounding “good” and “bad” food, in wide-ranging essays that will reshape the way you think about eating. Filled with straight-talking, sympathetic advice on everything from mental health to body image, and including a selection of great recipes, this is a book to help you fall back in love with food.

"A simultaneously challenging and forgiving manifesto, one that combines memoir, research and recipes in a call for us all to be skeptical of fads, inviting of others, and gently confident with ourselves and our tastes." —Salon

"A colorful, thoughtful collection that reads like memoir-meets–food science, perfect for foodies and anyone looking to examine their relationship with food and celebrate the joy of eating." —Library Journal (starred review)

“[Tandoh] looks at food as a 'whole picture,' sharing facts and culinary studies that will uplift readers—from waxing poetic about the liberating joys of baking to citing studies that correlate the pleasure humans derive from food to its nutritional power. . . . Home cooks will appreciate the handful of recipes sprinkled throughout, such as a sweet potato and smoky butternut squash stew with chickpea dumplings.” —Publishers Weekly

"Part memoir, occasional cookbook, and mostly manifesto, this book . . . will have those ready to tackle the problems of Western food culture nodding 'Yes!' as Tandoh challenges the status quo." —Booklist

Publisher: Vintage Books