My love of cookery (and how Nigel Slater won my heart)

On the weekend, I spend a lovely time away with my girlfriends in Leicester. We play badminton on the back lawn, go out for brightly coloured curry and play a game or two sardines. We even watch Simon Pegg's Paul - the only downside to our weekend away (I'll have to blog about that another time - I think I still may be too traumatised).

As we are washing mugs after copious cups of tea on Sunday, I spot a copy of Nigel Slater's "The Kitchen Diaries." Hmm. What's this?

Now I have to admit, I love cookbooks and utensils and cooking vessels of all varieties. I really must be kept away from all kitchen shops (especially Jamie Oliver's Recipease which is very lovely and very very expensive). This also extends to cookery programs. I'm obsessed with Masterchef Australia (it really is brilliant and ALL the contestants are lovely and so kind to each other. That way it's all about the food instead of a programme of constant bitching). I even made my mom watch back to back "The Next Iron Chef" episiodes on the Food Network on New Years Day - the whole 8 hour marathon. So whenever I see a cookbook, I have to have to take a look.


Flipping through "The Kitchen Diaries", you quickly realise this is not just a cookbook but a year in the life of Nigel Slater. Each day he writes what he eats. Sometimes the food he speaks about makes it into recipe format, other times he merely writes a few lines beside a date. There's even mention of a delivered pizza and another day, it's a salad that goes wrong.

I barely glance through it and I know I have to buy it. This will be my first Nigel Slater book (and though I'm ashamed to admit it, I don't even realise the breadth of what he's done until I start to write this post). As soon as I get off the train in St. Pancras on Sunday, I head into Foyles and buy it for much more than an Amazon purchase would have been. But who cares? I need it. Now.

I've only just started reading it (beginning with August of course) but I itch to go back to it every night. What will the next day bring? What food and flowers and sunshine can I expect this month? It's so refreshing to see that every day isn't a feast. It's OK to sometimes have some bread and olives and oil (or get a takeaway). And it's so personal. Food isn't only about what's in the fridge but is can be dictated by your mood, or who you're with, or even what the weather is like.

Next step, of course, is to start cooking alongside this glorious tome. When I do, I'll let you know how it goes.

If you want to feel like you're cooking alongside Nigel Slater too, then you can get your very own copy at your local library or bookshop (who both need the business frankly). If you're more of a "buy on the Internet" type, you can also buy it from Amazon.