Comfort Eating by Grace Dent #ComfortEating @gracedent @FaberBooks @guardian #BookReview

 

Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle?
Or how a big bowl of pasta can be just what we need after a tough day?
Oh, and what is it about butter that seems to make everything just that little bit better . . . ?

The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, steeped in nostalgia and topped with a healthy dollop of guilty pleasure. In Comfort Eating, Grace Dent throws open her kitchen cupboards to reveal why we hold these secret snacks and naughty nibbles so dear to our hearts.

Exploring her go-to comfort foods through a series of joyous encounters, Grace reflects on the memories they uncover and pays tribute to her parents, the people who taught her what comfort eating truly means. Along the way, she catches up with some famous friends to chat about their own favourites – from Jo Brand's fried bread sandwich and Russell T. Davies' 'butterpepperrice' to Scarlett Moffat's crushed-Wotsits-topped beans on toast and many, many more . . .

So grab a plate and pull up a chair: unfussy, honest and filled to the brim with heartwarming stories and comfort food tales, Comfort Eating is the perfect treat for food lovers everywhere.

Comfort Eating : The Joy of Secret Snacks and Naughty Nibbles by Grace Dent was published in paperback on 10 October 2024 by Guardian Faber Publishing.  My copy was a Christmas present from my husband. 

I adore Grace Dent!  She's one of those women that I'd love to go out for a drink with. She's sassy, bright, funny, down to earth and totally Northern and I just want to be her friend! 

This book; Comfort Eating, is inspired by her award-winning podcast of the same name. During the podcast, she welcomes guests into her home and they bring along their all time favourite secret snack or naughty nibble. It's such a fabulous podcast, sometimes it can get really emotional, but it is always hilarious in parts. 

In the book, Grace details her own secret snacks; the food that she reaches for when she's home alone, where she's not having to be 'Grace Dent Food Critic'. It's food for comfort, food that reminds her of her loved one, food that brings joy. 

The book features six main ingredients. I don't think anyone could argue that these are not comfort foods, just thinking about some of them, makes my stomach grumble. There's cheese, butter, pasta, bread, potatoes and sweet treats and each one is accompanied by a celebrity endorsed naughty nibble. 

This is not just a book about food though. It's also a memoir, where Grace talks candidly about her childhood and her parents. Her love for her late parents shines though in her writing. It is a book that deals with grief, but also with love and I absolutely devoured it. 

A truly wonderful read, highly recommended by me. 

Grace Dent is a popular columnist, author and broadcaster. She's a regular contributor to the Guardian, 'Grace Dent TV-OD' and a G2 columnist. Grace's Marie Claire column 'Graceland' appears monthly.

Grace has written eleven bestselling novels for young adults, translated into twelve languages. Diary of a Snob was recently acquired by Nickelodeon.

She's also a regular face and voice on British TV and radio, working on shows such as The Culture Show, Film 2011, Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, The Apprentice: You're Hired and the Lauren Laverne Show on BBC6 Music.

Grace lives, mainly behind a laptop, in East London. She is originally from Carlisle ('The Manhattan of the North'). Currently she is trying to leave Twitter.

www.gracedent.komi.io

Instagram @gracedent