Description

‘I find it impossible to read [Wood’s recipes] without feeling a burst of fresh energy for the kitchen. . . essential nourishment for the reader every bit as much as for the cook’ NIGELLA LAWSON

To award-winning novelist Charlotte Wood, cooking is ‘creativity in its purest form’, nourishing the soul – and the mind – as well as the body. And in the age of gastro-porn and Instagram lifestyle gurus, this wise and practical book is her invitation to rediscover the pleasure of good food, prepared and presented with minimum fuss and maximum love.

This collection of personal reflections and recipes – ranging from the practical to the contemplative, offering warm and witty reflections on everything from carving a chicken to cooking through grief – will make you long to get into the kitchen and leave you freshly inspired to cook with joy for the people you cherish in your life.

Like a simple but glorious meal cooked by a dear friend, this feast of a book is infused with warmth and generosity – a treat for all who value the solitary and shared pleasures of cooking and eating.

‘Wood beautifully reminds us of the deep, quiet joy of food prepared with love . . . I felt both energised and enriched and genuinely inspired to cook more. The writing felt almost delicious in itself; mouthwatering, comforting, and full of warmth’ 5-star reader review

Publisher Review

[Wood] writes beautifully about food . . . No philosophy, snobbery, one-upmanship, no competing with restaurant cooks. Just a lot of honesty and admission of failings, mistakes, triumphs and pleasures * Sydney Morning Herald * Warm, wise, and practical, with a deep love for people and for life at its heart. I’m so glad to have this book in my kitchen and on my bedside table — Kate Young, author of THE LITTLE LIBRARY COOKBOOK A joy of a book, insightful, delightful, engaging, witty and charming with that essential quality of wooing the reader into the kitchen — Jeremy Lee A love of food oozes from Charlotte’s every pore in this wonderful book. Her recipes and ideas come with great practical advice but even better, her warmth and emotional honesty reflect the generosity of food and continually made me smile (sometimes with nudging tears). So many tidbits shared, so many ‘aha’ moments and things I needed to know! — Maggie Beer In this wonderful cookbook-cum-literary memoir, novelist Charlotte Wood evokes memory and emotion as she explains why she loves to cook and what it means to her. Slotted in among the reveries are recipes as diverse as an Elizabeth David-inspired milk-cooked pork and the hedgehog slice of a childhood in Cooma. It’s a book that’s satisfying to mind AND stomach * FEAST * A joy mainly due to its simplicity and refreshing lack of self-importance . . . a purity of heart that offers up an underlying philosophy that food connects families and friends during life’s vicissitudes * The Age * In her memoir, Love and Hunger, Wood writes about her passion for cooking in the plain-spoken lyricism readers of her novels have come to love . . . Charlotte Wood writes so openly about her cooking habits and history and her thoughts about the ethics of good eating that it’s impossible not to be swept up in her enthusiasm. Novice and experienced cooks alike will find something to inspire them here, as Wood has included a range of wonderful, tempting recipes. Reading Love & Hunger is like being invited into Wood’s home, seated at a table crowded with delectable dishes and encouraged to eat until you burst * The Newtown Review of Books *