As a longstanding Nigella fan it should have been a book that was a kitchen staple and I wondered for a bit why it hadn't been, which in turn was a reminder of the unique place cookbooks hold in a personal library, and how they hold memories.
In 1998 I was being paid £3.50 an hour (as a cook in a nursery) and my then boyfriend was a vegetarian, so the cookbooks I was buying were all about trying to expand a vegetarian repertoire beyond pasta bakes. Cookbooks were comparatively more expensive then too (taking inflation into account the average cover price was the equivalent of £50, and not nearly as much deep discounting) they were considered rather than impulse purchases.
My first, and very much loved, Nigella book was 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'. It came before baking was as fashionable as it is now, and at the time was a reminder that making time to be creative -in this case in the kitchen- is a precious and wonderful thing. Cooking is one way to impose a bit of order and control on a difficult day, and 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' added comfort and a bit of healthy self indulgence to that.
The tone of it also felt fresh, I've never been much of a fan of Nigella's TV persona, but on the page she's a different woman. Funnier, smarter, and all round better company. Everything felt like stuff I could and would make. I bought and used the following books with equal enthusiasm as they came out over the next few years (Nigella bites, Forever Summer, Feast, and Nigella's Christmas' are all favourites) and at some point was given 'How to Eat'.
I know I've used it, there's a beef and prune stew which I go back to over and again, and enough stains to show it's been off the shelf a few times, but it doesn't spark the memories that some of those others do, there's nothing tucked between the pages. It was only when I picked it up the other day that I realised how underused it had been. My loss.
Reading through it, the current wave of enthusiasm and love for this book makes perfect sense. It's a classic - it feels fresh in the way that classics do. It still reflects the way we shop, cook, and want to eat - wellness and clean eating fads aside (Nigella doesn't do that shit). The lack of pictures make it feel like it belongs to an older tradition, but the acknowledgment that people want very specific instructions is contemporary. Mostly though it's the love of good food that shines through it that makes this such a brilliant book, and god, am I grateful for the prompt to take a better look at it.
I see her name and picture everywhere, but have never watched her on tv or bought her cookbooks. I too am a vegetarian, and wondered if she offers vegetarian recipes. I'll look into her work more seriously. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThere are vegetarian recipes, but they're not a particular feature. She's definitely worth a look though, and this book particularly. It's good just to read, even if you don't cook so much from it. I would definitely read her, or listen to interviews, before watching her though, her early to personality was pitched as sex bomb and isn't everybody's cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI am relatively severe when it comes to buying and keeping cookbooks but this is one I could never part with. I bought it used in 2008, when I had just left university and moved out on my own, and used to read it for pleasure as often as I searched through it for a recipe. A true classic.
ReplyDeleteWhat I forget about her when I haven't picked up one of her books for a while is how enjoyable Nigella is to read. She's great when she's being interviewed as well, but the way she writes is amazing
DeleteHi Liz H. I'm really sorry, I went to hit publish on your comments (using my phone) and caught delete with my obviously sausage fingers instead, and can't retrieve them :-(
ReplyDeleteTwenty years? Goodness me, I had no idea it was so long ago that I bought the book. I must get it out and have another look at it. I think it is the only Nigella that I own but have bought most of them for my daughter at various times. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteConsensus seems to be that it's her best book by far, something I agree with now I've started looking at it properly again (though I still love Domestic Goddess more). Well worth getting back off the shelf even if just for a good read.
DeleteI've had a copy of this since it was first published in 1998 - in fact my copy is now beginning to fall apart. It is in my opinion the best book she has written - I do have a couple of others to compare it with. I also think it reflects her life as it was at that time. Although I don't use it that much nowadays, I still occasionally refer to it for some recipes which have become part of my repertoire.
ReplyDeleteThe later books are fine, but not a patch on the early ones. I liked feast and the Christmas one a lot, loved Nigella Bites and Domestic Goddess which I used a lot when they came out, and still have favourite recipes in them, but this one is something else. It really deserves it's classic status.
Delete3.50/hour. Argh. That was just before the minimum living wage came in, wasn't it? I was a student Over There then and well remember my horror at wages.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember the first job I got that paid £4 an hour and the relief that came with it, briefly. It was certainly a reminder of how relatively cheap books have become here. Especially cook books which are often cheaper than they were 20 years ago. I appreciate the buying power that gives me, but wonder what it means for the actual authors who must be getting an ever smaller cut of the action,
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