The author of a collection of bestselling books and presenter of nine BBC television series, Nigel has been the food columnist for The Observer for twenty-three years.
His books include the classics ‘Appetite’ and ‘The Kitchen Diaries’ and the two-volume ‘Tender’. His memoir ‘Toast – the Story of a Boy’s Hunger’ won six major awards, has been translated into five languages and became a major BBC film starring Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore. ‘Eating for England’, his collection of essays about Britain at the table, has been dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Nigel’s 2013 book, ‘Eat’, won the National Book Award. His latest work, The Kitchen Diaries Volume iii – A Year of Good Eating has recently been published.
Nigel has written a much-loved weekly cookery column, a sort of kitchen confessional, for The Observer, the world’s oldest newspaper, since 1993. It is his curiosity and fascination for the details, and his observations of the small, human moments of cooking and eating that are the hallmark of his writing. He is also active on both Twitter and Instagram.
Author, columnist, diarist and programme maker, Nigel remains very much an amateur cook. He is not a professional chef. His food is understated, handcrafted home cooking. He believes there is something quietly civilizing about sharing a meal with other people. “The simple act of making someone something to eat, even a bowl of soup or a loaf of bread, has a many-layered meaning. It suggests an act of protection and caring, of generosity and intimacy. It is in itself a sign of respect.”
Nigel’s writing has won the National Book Awards, the Glenfiddich Trophy, the James Beard Award, the British Biography of the Year and the André Simon Memorial Prize. Television awards include a Guild of Food Writers’ Award for his BBC1 series Simple Suppers and the BBC Food Personality of the Year. He is an honorary Master of Letters.(MLitt)
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