I haven’t shared any new recipes on the site for a while now but I wanted to keep it up and running so that people could still access all the past posts and recipes. My antidote is Nigel Slater's latest, highly addictive, extremely funny and thought–provoking book on British eating habits. Although I am still a loss to explain why - apart from the physical resemblance - Nigel Slater reminds me a great deal of Alan Bennet.

The British jam-maker is obsessed with getting their jam so stiff you could turn the jar upside down and the contents would stay put. Now I have lived in the UK for the past 3 years (moving back to the Netherlands next week), so I have a fair idea about what's going on foodwise here. This is a personal portrait of the British and their food, filled with love of the eccentricities and peculiarities that encapsulate the national character. Most of these places are authentic and inexpensive – the best are to be found within their home communities in parts of London and the post-industrial cities of the Midlands (Birmingham, Leicester), the north (Leeds, Bradford) and the northwest (Manchester, Liverpool).

Eventually though, you’ll wonder what classic cuisines you might experience while you discover the history and culture of England.

Eating for England' is an entertaining, detailed and somewhat tongue-in-cheek observation of the British and their food, their cooking, their eating and how they behave in restaurants, with chapters on - amongst other things - dinner parties, funeral teas, Indian restaurants, dieting and eating whilst under the influence. There’s no real need to describe what it’s about – it does what it says on the cover – but it’s Nigel’s writing that I find as enjoyable as the pictures. Some people have their biggest meal in the middle of the day and some have it in the evening, but most people today have a small mid-day meal - usually sandwiches, and perhaps some crisps and some fruit.

Rough Guides® is a trademark owned by Apa Group with its headquarters at 7 Bell Yard London WC2A 2JR, United Kingdom. There were several similar chapters on farmers markets and afternoon tea, which became quite annoying, and he seems to have an obsession with pink wafers and lemon puffs! Even in fashionable fine-dining restaurants you’ll find a revival of traditional English cuisine, with creative takes on the classics entering the realms of haute cuisine. Most are only open during the daytime (roughly 8am–5pm), and tend to be cash-only establishments with few airs and graces.

Do you feel weighed down by stress and pressure, held back by judgement and lack of opportunity, and critcised by everyone – including yourself?This amount includes seller specified domestic postage charges as well as applicable international postage, dispatch, and other fees. If you’re travelling England and wander into a pub for lunch, you may see ploughman’s on the blackboard. Commercially produced British jam is easily spotted because it stays put when the jar is moved from side to side. Eating a plant-based diet has done absolute wonders for me but I’ve been hesitant to delve into the whys and hows here.