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The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater Hardcover – October 19, 2006

by Nigel Slater (Author), Jonathan Lovekin (Photographer)

38 customer reviews

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"Right food, right place, right time. It is my belief—and the point of this book—that this is the best recipe of all. A crab sandwich by the sea on a June afternoon; a slice of roast goose with apple sauce and roast potatoes on Christmas Day; hot sausages and a chunk of roast pumpkin on a frost-sparkling night in November. These are meals whose success relies not on the expertise of the cook but on the more basic premise that this is the food of the moment--something eaten at a time when it is most appropriate, when the ingredients are at their peak of perfection, when the food, the cook and the time of year are at one with each other."
—Nigel Slater, The Kitchen Diaries

Nigel Slater writes about food in a way that stimulates the imagination, the heart, and the palate all at once. The Kitchen Diaries brings an especially personal ingredient to the mix, letting us glimpse his pantry, tour local farmers’ markets with him, and savor even the simplest meals at his table.

Recording twelve months in his culinary life, Slater shares seasonal dishes and the intriguing elements behind them. As someone who celebrates each visit to the cheese shop or butcher, he enthusiastically conveys the brilliant array of choices and encourages his view of food shopping as an adventure rather than a chore. A rainy day in February calls for a hearty stew; summertime finds him feasting on a lunch as simple as baked tomatoes with grated Parmesan. If an exotic mood strikes him, slow-roasted duck with star anise and ginger is in order. In The Kitchen Diaries, Nigel interweaves his meditations on how food should be enjoyed and prepared with his delicious recipes. No matter the season, The Kitchen Diaries offers a year-round invitation to cook and dine with the world’s most irresistible lover of food.

The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few writers could get away with what London Observer columnist Slater does here: jotting down what he eats and recording recipes for the homemade items over the course of a year. Slater, though, has the writing chops to make it work—as proven in his memoir Toast. His style is lazily thoughtful, but also honest and unfussy: January 9 sees a "gray, endless drizzle" that makes it "the sort of day on which to light the fire, turn on the radio and bake a cake." The recipe for Double Ginger Cake that follows, however, highlights this book's sometimes problematic Britishness when it calls for both golden syrup and stem ginger in syrup, available, a footnote claims, "in some supermarkets and specialty shops." Slater's food isn't British in the stodgy sense. Indeed, he smoothly incorporates the flavors of other cultures into his cooking to make Indian-influenced Spiced Roast Potatoes with Yogurt and Mint, for example. Yet local references and recommendations, such as a tip that the best hummus may be purchased "at the Green Valley, just off the Edgware Road," will frustrate readers in the U.S. As George Bernard Shaw once said, the British and the Americans are two peoples divided by a common language. Sadly, much of this wonderful book is lost in translation, or lack thereof. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Cooking in harmony with the seasons' produce has inspired the talented London food writer to share his culinary diary across a 12-month cycle. Each date records the foods he produces for himself and for his friends. For those special dishes whose ingredients and preparation aren't obvious, Slater provides recipes. These range in complexity from a simple herbed chicken stew to an eggplant, tomato, and lemongrass curry. Fresh fruits and vegetables star throughout, and he relies on locally raised organic goods wherever possible. Experienced cooks will have little trouble interpreting some of the vague directions or translating native British produce to American kitchens. Photographs also help guide cooks. Slater disparages the idea that consumers demand out-of-season goods, calling it a myth generated by supermarkets. Yet even he can't resist the lure of fresh fruit in the depths of winter. His diary's January 4 entry notes that he crowns his breakfast oatmeal with blueberries. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Gotham Books (October 19, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592402348
ISBN-13: 978-1592402342
Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.5 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1041 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking Education & Reference > Essays

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		74%
4 star		18%
3 star		5%
2 star		0%
1 star		3%

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Top Customer Reviews

Another great book by Nigel.

By S. De Swaan on October 21, 2006

Format: Hardcover

This is a fantastic book. Not many people could write down a years worth of eating and transform it into a highly entertaining and addictive book. Nigel Slater's writing wants you to start cooking -- and the best thing about it is that many of the recipes are very approachable and highly successful. Within a week of finishing the book I had made his Pumpkin Soup twice for very appreciative eaters. The best thing about this book, and his other books is that Nigel takes a few ingredients or some left overs and transforms them into something that you wish you'd been invited over to share with him. Nigel Slater is a great voice in today's food writing.

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Seasonal Ingredients = Wonderful Food

By Erich Brueschke on November 1, 2006

Format: Hardcover

A large cookbook of 390+ pages, organized in a month-by-month way, containing over 300 new recipes and speckled with wonderful food photography emphasising the use of seasonally available ingredients.

However, because of the way each month highlights the availability of particular produce within the month itself, this cookbook shows that the current attitude of "supply and demand" is perhaps not the best way to cook. Nigel says it best:

"Our culinary seasons have been blurred by commerce, and in particular by the supermarkets' much vaunted idea that consumers want all things to be available all year round...I worry that today it is all too easy to lose sight of food's natural timing and, worse, to miss it when it is at its sublime best...Right food, right place, right time - it is my belief - and the point of this book - that this is the best recipe of all."

That is not to say that 'The Kitchen Diaries' is merely a seasonal cookbook, far from it. The month by month approach makes full use of available in seasonal ingredients, while Nigel's at-home-baking knowledge guides you easily through the recipes.

Pork loin cooked with grapes, wine and seasoned with salt, pepper and juniper berries, bruised potatoes, and Nigel's simply wonderful apple cake makes for a simple, yet wonderful dinner. Easy to make and seasonal to boot.

These are meals whose success relies on the ingredients of the moment rather than the experience of the cook.

Nigel's style of cookbook writing is something you either love or hate. I like the style and find it enjoyable to just read even if I am not cooking.

The Kitchen Diaries is an excellent addition to any Nigel Slater fan and a book worth getting if you love good food you can make at home.

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More than just a cookbook!

By lil' girl blu on February 20, 2007

Format: Hardcover

Nigel Slater has done an amazing job with The Kitchen Diaries. Writing down everything eaten for dinner for an entire year must have been a daunting task, but it makes a wonderful read - as his stories are both funny and inspiring - and it was reassuring to see that even well known cooks are not above takeout and beer every once in a while!

So far I have made probably 15 recipes ...all have been wonderful, and the hot chocolate puddings alone are worth the price of book...oh, and so is the ham with chorizo, and the Thai curry, and his fabulous bolongese, and..well you get the idea, right?

A definite 'must-have'.

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A nourishing read for foodies...

By G. Whitham on December 27, 2005

Format: Hardcover

If you know of Nigel Slaters other books you will no doubt just buy this regardless of any review as you will know what an entertaining writer he is.

If you are new to Nigel Slater then here is what I would say about this book;

If you are looking for a straight out 'recipe book' this isn't the book for you (I'd start with the excellent 'Appetite' - also by Nigel Slater). However, if you are a foodie that is inspired by reading about others inspiration and seasonal eating, then you will find this book hugely entertaining.

More a book on enjoying simple culinery pleasures than technique or presentation.

Forget such lifestyle books as 'Under the Tuscan sun' or 'A year in Provence', what you'll get out of this is a sense of place, mood, season and good living which is obtainable by all of us (in the western world) through the simple but elegant satisfaction good food can bring.

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an absolute must for Foodies - more than a cookbook - it is pure enjoyment

By A. Woodley on December 26, 2005

Format: Hardcover

Nigel Slater is definitely one of the best food writers around today, his enjoyment of food - its textures, colours, tastes and aromas is inspiring and even now just thinking about the book I find my mouth watering.

He is a British writer and if you have not heard about him or his work then I strongly suggest you have a go - if you like Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver you will probably enjoy Slater.

In this hardback illustrated book he discusses his eating and cooking over a year. Each chapter is a month of writing and cooking - talking about food what is available and what he does with it. The start of the chapter has the month and a list of recipes he has made through the month. So you can flick through on a month by month basis, tasting the season's fruits etc, (there is also a helpful index by the way) Or you can just read it as a series of recipes in a diary like way.

The recipes are based on fresh and simple principles rather than trying to make complicated concoctions. And some of the simplest foods make the nicest things - I love his broad bean recipes (the American readers will probably know them as fava beans)and rhubarb deserts are great.

My only real issue with this book is that it is printed on a laid crean paper - which is fine for text but they also have printed the pictures in colour on it which loses a lot of the gloss and richness of the illustrations. I really enjoy good food photography - even if I never can present it to the same standard it is lovely to look at. While it is all nicely presented and printed I find it difficult to get the whole "Readers-Digest-Condensed-book" picture out of my head because that is what it looks like to me.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

this is not a picture book and the recipes are good but I bought it...

Lovely writing, this is not a picture book and the recipes are good but I bought it more for the writing as I love Nigel's style

Published 16 months ago by Andigol

Love this cookbook and have already made a few meals ...

Love this cookbook and have already made a few meals from it. Nigel Slater is amazing cook and write he tells a story that you can't wait to join in.

Published 17 months ago by jacqui park

Five Stars

Great kitchen resource!

Published 17 months ago by Gardenlily

Four Stars

Great receipts with the seasonal bounty from my garden.
JM

Published 19 months ago by jan mckee

Not your typical food.

He's an expert, but I'm not. There are probably 2 or 3 recipies in the book I can really serve my family.

Published 19 months ago by Rose E. Dews

Five Stars

I own several of Nigels books & love them all, this is no exception

Published 22 months ago by Johanna Thompson

Excellent cookbook. I'm working through it now actually as ...

Excellent cookbook. I'm working through it now actually as a mini project and aside from some things that I simply can't find in Chicago like golden syrup or pigeon or fresh... Read more

Published 23 months ago by giuliettaroma

Five Stars

Excelent

Published on December 26, 2014 by Gustavo

A Visit from a Cooking Friend

This is the British edition of "Notes from a Larder." I would not have purchased it had I known that, as I had already bought "Notes from a Larder. Read more

Published on November 17, 2014 by David C.

Five Stars

Nigels recipes are so easy but so delicious. So far all have been a success

Published on November 6, 2014 by Stabledoor