The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, stories & 100 essential recipes for midwinter

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As the vast, domed pudding is spooned into bowls and the brandy butter is passed around, the cry of ‘Oh, none for me, thank you’ must be one of the most depressing sounds of the season.” What is Christmas if not a time for indulgence?! I would highly recommend this compendium of recipes and thoughts about the winter season which reads like a personal journal. I don't know if I'll ever make any of his recipes since I'd have to convert them from grams and milliliters but I can drool and dream. The best food writers combine beauty with practicality, and no one does it more elegantly than Nigel Slater' Jane Shilling, Daily Mail - BOOKS OF THE YEAR I think the really interesting bits of my story was growing up with this terribly dominating dad and a mum who I loved to bits but obviously I lost very early on; and then having to fight with the woman who replaced her ... I kind of think that in a way that that was partly what attracted me to working in the food service industry, was that I finally had a family." As he told The Observer, "The last bit of the book is very foody. But that is how it was. Towards the end I finally get rid of these two people in my life I did not like [his father and stepmother, who had been the family's cleaning lady] - and to be honest I was really very jubilant - and thereafter all I wanted to do was cook." As someone who struggles to eat enough, or find much joy in food, I can truly say that this book has been nourishing to me. Slater made me fall in love with food again - with the spices, richness, and indulgences that encompass the Christmas season. More than just a meal, each recipe is woven into the narration; underlining the simple but important role that food plays within the home and amongst our loved ones. Nigel disregards the ever-prevalent restrictions, judgements and morality that our diet-conscious society (and, admittingly, myself) places on food - instead, he highlights both the specialness and simplicity of the shared hearty meals that bring us together on cold winter nights.

Chronicles: A Podcast | a podcast by Nigel Slater A Cook‘s Chronicles: A Podcast | a podcast by Nigel Slater

Learn more about what each cookie category does and choose your settings (toggle right to opt in or left to opt out). Cookie policy Allow All Nigel Slater is a true food writer, as he prefers to be called, rather than chef or TV personality. I haven't seen his show or eaten his food, but I can attest to the food writer label. He writes about food and it's preparation sensuously and lovingly, in addition to traveling, gardening and decorating his home. In this one he also includes food facts and holiday myths and traditions. Not to mention the photographs! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this slowly and savoring his words, and would like to read the autobiography of his childhood, "Toast". Its all about the cold and crisp months leading up to including Christmas,new Year and into January/February. It is the Winter of my youth.The recipes are divine and I do mean angelic with feet planted firmly in winter. His description of Nuremberg Lebkuchen and the Nurnberger Christkindlesmarkt especially delighted me and led me to seek out a local Christkindl market this December where I was thrilled to find some imported chocolate-covered gingerbread. Outstanding! Then there's his description of panettone, which he titles 'a love story' and describes as 'a fairy cake made by angels.' I definitely agree! In 1998 Slater hosted the Channel 4 series Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. He returned to TV in 2006 hosting the chat/food show A Taste of My Life for BBC One.The book itself is semi autobiography, part seasonal musing and yes part cook book. The result for me at least is a festive and very nostalgic look at the season - if you were not living it (as we are at the time of me thing this up) you could almost imagine the frost on the window panes or the feeling on your face as the crisp winter air hits it for the first time as you step outside. As compared to now when you can go an entire winter with no snow and the temperature is so high that you have to keep mowing the lawn. Mr. Slater is a special, observant, contemplative soul that shared that part of him with us. It is a gift to us, Christmas gift to the world. Thank you, Nigel Slater. In this episode we’ll continue our tour of Nuremberg and take in the magnificence of the city’s Christmas windows. I’ll explain my deep, life-long love of the cold months, and give you my recipe for traditional mince pies to welcome in December… reread: My annual reread! I loved this, of course. Nigel Slater is my favourite food writer, but this time around the snobbery and derision placed on products, practises and traditions that make these recipes doable for people with lower incomes and less time than a full time celebrity chef has to offer really grated on me. It made it feel exclusionary which is a thing that food, cooking and Christmas should never be in my opinion.

Nigel Slater - The Christmas Chronicles

I have really enjoyed reading this in teeny snippets over the 3 month period it covers and think that the book is perfectly designed to be read in this way. There is variance in the writing and some passages are beautiful. The recipes and photographs look good and I will be trying out several recipes this winter. I've begun a re-reading of this splendid book which is an ode to winter. I had promised myself I would begin reading on November 1st, where Nigel begins, but I'm a few days late. Winter, however, has begun early around here, with snow on Halloween and an Arctic blast that began on November 11th and is just beginning to loosen its icy grip after three days. Perhaps Nigel can help me to appreciate winter just a little bit more, as I hunker down with an afghan and a mug of hot cider and read about his love affair with winter.** Began my annual rereading of this Christmas journal on November 4, 2020--third time around. Delightful!***

A straight trunk is essential. A wonky tree is the very devil to put up and its lop-sidedness will bug you all Christmas.” My husband has been eyeing up our leaning tree ever since we put it up on Sunday. In Season 2: Join Nigel Slater on the story of his life in the kitchen from the first jam tart he made with my mother standing on a chair trying to reach the aga, through to what he is cooking now. Featuring an exclusive interview with his editor, Louise Haines, as well as selected extracts from his audiobook A Cook’s Book. Not completely what I was expecting. I thought it would be a beautiful, cozy read that goes through the meaning of each celebration within the winter holiday season. Instead the writing is more about personal reflections that vary between first and second person & with a hardness/cynicism that always kept me on edge. The writing just isn’t that great from a content, tone, or structure standpoint—I don’t need a reminder about getting hypothermia if I don’t move around in the cold. Slater has two elder brothers, Adrian and John. John was the child of a neighbour, and was adopted by Slater's parents before the writer was born. But it's not all about food. There's descriptions of evergreen trees for instance; memories of Christmases past, and family traditions. It often reads like a memoir.