'This is Rayner at his rambunctious best: upfront, full-fat, and always deliciously written.' Nigella Lawson 'A sophisticated palate and a fiery, comic tongue. Jay Rayner's food writing is brilliant.' Stanley Tucci Why are gravy stains on your shirt at the dinner table to be admired? Does bacon improve everything? And is gin really the devil's work? In this rollicking collection of his hilarious columns, the award-winning writer and Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner answers these vital questions and many, many more. They are glorious dispatches, seasoned in equal measure with both enthusiasm and bile, from decades at the very frontline of eating. 'Deliciousness served up in book form.' Philippa Perry 'Wonderfully funny, foodie and perfectly short.' Tom Kerridge

'Hilarious, informative, enlightening, instructive ... It's the funniest book I've read all year' - Chris Evans You're About to Die. What Would Your Final Meal Be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. But why wait for death? Why not eat your 'last meal' now, when you can enjoy it? So, he had a simple plan: he would embark on a journey through his life in food in pursuit of the meal to end all meals. It's a quest that takes him from necking oysters on the Louisiana shoreline to forking away the finest French pastries in Tokyo, and from his earliest memories of snails in garlic butter, through multiple pig-based banquets, to the unforgettable final meal itself. This is the story of one hungry man, in eight courses. 'Witty, wise, and, obviously, delicious.' Guardian 'A raucous, joyous celebration of life.' Irish Times

You're about to die. What would your final meal be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. As a man more obsessed with his lunch than is strictly necessary, the idea of a showpiece last supper is a tantalizing prospect. But wouldn't knowledge of your imminent demise ruin your appetite? So, Jay decided to cheat death. The plan was simple: he would embark on a journey through his life in food in pursuit of the meal to end all meals. It's a quest that takes him from necking oysters on the Louisiana shoreline to forking away the finest French pastries in Tokyo, and from his earliest memories of snails in garlic butter, through multiple pig-based banquets, to the unforgettable final meal itself. Jay Rayner's Last Supper is both a hugely entertaining account of a life built around mealtimes and a fascinating global exploration of our relationship with what we eat. It is the story of one hungry man, in eight courses.

Now with a new epilogue, the UK's most influential food and drink journalist shoots a few sacred cows of food culture. Buying 'locally' does no good. Farmers' markets are merely a lifestyle choice. And 'organic' is little more than a marketing label, way past its sell by date. This may be a little hard to swallow for the ethically-aware food shopper but it doesn't make it any less true. And now the UK's most outspoken and entertaining food writer is ready to explain why. Jay Rayner combines personal experience and hard-nosed reportage to explain why the doctrine of organic has been eclipsed by the need for sustainable intensification; and why the future lies in large-scale food production rather than the cottage industries that foodies often cheer for. From the cornfields of America to the killing lines of Yorkshire abattoirs via the sheep-covered hills of New Zealand, Rayner takes us on a journey that will change the way we shop, cook and eat forever. And give us a few belly laughs along the way.

*INCLUDED THE TIMES AND WATERSTONES' BEST FOOD & DRINK BOOKS OF 2021* Fill your year with flavour. The official The Kitchen Cabinet compendium is here at last, with over 100 hours of dinner table talk distilled into this handy almanac, a year in the life of our kitchens to aid you in yours. Open up to find food tips and tricks, stories, recipes, anecdotes and seasonal fun, all held together with our trademark titbits of history, science and often rather lively debate. Join us as we travel across the country, ready to respond to all your culinary conundrums - as well as sharing lots of things you never even thought to ask.

I have been a restaurant critic for over a decade, written reviews of well over 700 establishments, and if there is one thing I have learnt it is that people like reviews of bad restaurants. No, scratch that. They adore them, feast upon them like starving vultures who have spotted fly-blown carrion out in the bush. They claim otherwise, of course. Readers like to present themselves as private arbiters of taste; as people interested in the good stuff. I'm sure they are. I'm sure they really do care whether the steak was served au point as requested or whether the souffle had achieved a certain ineffable lightness. And yet, when I compare dinner to bodily fluids, the room to an S & M chamber in Neasden (only without the glamour or class), and the bill to an act of grand larceny, why, then the baying crowd is truly happy. Don't believe me? Then why, presented with the chance to buy this ebook filled with accounts of twenty restaurants - their chefs, their owners, their poor benighted front of house staff - getting a complete stiffing courtesy of the sort of vitriolic bloody-curdling review which would make the victims call for their mummies, did you seize it with both hands?

Britain's culinary Moses brings us the new foodie rules to live by, celebrating what and how we eat The Ten Commandments may have had a lot going for them, but they don't offer those of us located in the 21st Century much in the way of guidance when it comes to our relationship with our food. And Lord knows we need it. Enter our new culinary Moses, the legendary restaurant critic Jay Rayner, with a new set of hand-tooled commandments for this food-obsessed age. He deals once and for all with questions like whether it is ever okay to covet thy neighbour's oxen (it is), eating with your hands (very important indeed) and if you should cut off the fat (no). Combining reportage and anecdotes with recipes worthy of adoration, Jay Rayner brings us the new foodie rules to live by.

"A hilarious and insightful journey into the world of restaurant meals."--Mario Batali

"Nobody goes to restaurants for nutritional reasons. They go for the experience. And what price a really top experience?"

What price indeed? Fearlessly, and with great wit and verve, award-winning restaurant critic Jay Rayner goes in search of the perfect meal. From the Tokyo sushi chef who offers a toast of snake-infused liquor to close a spectacular meal, to Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas where Robuchon himself eagerly watches his guest's every mouthful, to seven three-star Michelin restaurants in seven days in Paris, Rayner conducts a whirlwind tour of high-end gastronomy that will thrill the heart--and stomach--of any armchair gourmand. Along the way, he uses his entree into the restaurant world to probe the larger issues behind the globalization of dinner.

Riotously funny and shrewdly observed, "The Man Who Ate the World" is a fascinating look at the business and pleasure of fine dining.

"A hilarious and insightful journey into the world of restaurant meals."--Mario Batali

"Nobody goes to restaurants for nutritional reasons. They go for the experience. And what price a really top experience?"

What price indeed? Fearlessly, and with great wit and verve, award-winning restaurant critic Jay Rayner goes in search of the perfect meal. From the Tokyo sushi chef who offers a toast of snake-infused liquor to close a spectacular meal, to Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas where Robuchon himself eagerly watches his guest's every mouthful, to seven three-star Michelin restaurants in seven days in Paris, Rayner conducts a whirlwind tour of high-end gastronomy that will thrill the heart--and stomach--of any armchair gourmand. Along the way, he uses his entree into the restaurant world to probe the larger issues behind the globalization of dinner.

Riotously funny and shrewdly observed, "The Man Who Ate the World" is a fascinating look at the business and pleasure of fine dining.