Full English by Tom Parker Bowles - a review

Whilst hanging around the Nottingham branch of Waterstone’s bookshop I saw Tom Parker Bowles’ paperback book ‘Full English – a journey through the British and their food’ on sale. I couldn’t really justify buying the book with my wallet being as empty as it at the moment but had a flick through and decided that I would try and get it through my local library on loan for nothing.

The library service took about a week to get the book for me and I found it very entertainingly written, historically fascinating food-wise and pretty much un-put-downable. The book covers much more than this but I really enjoyed reading about the cooking standards of the best fish and chips, the author’s love of Bury prime black pudding, home cured Wiltshire bacon and the passionate makers of Jamie Montgomery’s unpasteurised Cheddar cheese.

Tom Parker Bowles covers The West, The North, The Midlands, The East, London and a finishes off with Full English. There are also regional recipes for: pigeons in cider with apples; brawn, cheese toast or English rabbit; apple and rhubarb crumble; Lancashire hotpot; potted shrimps; battered tripe; Winnie’s Eccles cakes; mutton and spinach; real pork scratchings; balti chicken and mushroom; dressed crab; Kentish huffkins; roast bone marrow and parsley salad’ steak and kidney and oyster pudding; eel pie; devilled kidneys; kedgeree and snipe on toast as well as others.

He also talks about the TV show where Heston Blumenthal went into the Little Chef at Popham to change the image and food fare for the better. I, upon reading this next bit, actually got teary when, after all the change of décor and complete revamp of menu, the waitress asked one couple as they left the premises, ‘Did you enjoy your lunch?’ Beaming, they replied ‘Can’t you see the satisfaction on our faces?’

I would say the same of this book. Highly recommended and a very full and satisfying read. I loved reading too about all the colourful characters that pepper his journey. Thank you