Description

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Winner of the Guild of Food Writers General Cookbook Award 2020
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‘A manual for living and a declaration of hope’ – Nigella Lawson

‘Beautiful, life-affirming memoir with recipes … The most talented British debut writer in a generation’ – Sunday Times

‘Brave and moving … as effective as a manual for life as it is as a kitchen companion’ – Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of Dishoom
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There are lots of ways to start a story, but this one begins with a chicken.

Because one night, Ella found herself lying on her kitchen floor, wondering if she would ever get up – and it was the thought of a chicken, of roasting it, and of eating it, that got her to her feet and made her want to be alive.

Midnight Chicken is the story of Ella’s life in a Tiny Flat, and the food she cooked there. From roast garlic and tomato soup to charred leek lasagne or burnt butter brownies, she shares recipes that are about people, about love, about the things that matter every day. This is a cookbook-of-stories to make you fall in love with the world again.

With a new afterword about life after The Tiny Flat.
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‘An utter treat’ – Dolly Alderton
‘Divine. Utterly totally perfect’ – Charly Cox
‘Generous, honest and uplifting’ – Diana Henry
‘So thoughtfully and poetically written’ – Josie Long
‘She cooks like a dream and writes like an angel’ – Sarah Phelps
‘She has found a way to write not just about food itself but, more importantly, about the darkness for which cooking can be a partial remedy’ – Bee Wilson
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Publisher Review

A moving testimonial to the redemptive power of cooking. Risbridger knows that it offers not just solace but a map; cooking can save you. Generous, honest and uplifting. I wish I'd had this book when I was in my twenties -- Diana Henry One of the things that makes Midnight Chicken such a very good book is how hard it is to say exactly what it is. Yes, to be sure, it's a cookbook, but it is also a manual for living and a declaration of hope -- Nigella Lawson Her writing is beautiful, brave and moving. She shares wholeheartedly with her reader, not just of her experience, but also herself. This is a book for all seasons and states of mind and is as effective as a manual for life as it is as a kitchen companion -- Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of Dishoom * Caterer * A wholly unconventional cookbook * Guardian * A big old massive heart exploding love story... This is the first recipe book that should be made into a film * The Times * She has found a way to write not just about food itself but, more importantly, about the darkness for which cooking can be a partial remedy -- Bee Wilson * The Sunday Times * Risbridger is the most talented British debut writer in a generation * Sunday Times, Culture magazine * This is so much more than a cookbook... Beautifully written and restorative with comforting recipes and ways to find joy, you'll want to read this yourself before you give it as a gift maybe buy two * BBC Good Food Magazine * I couldn't have loved Ella Risbridger's Midnight Chicken more. It's a narrative with recipes and the narrative is about love, grief and healing, and the redemptive power of stirring something at the stove, glass in hand * The Sunday Times Magazine * The new Nigella * Good Housekeeping * Confessional, clever and readable -- Delicious magazine Heartfelt anecdotes and recipes will bolster your faith in the redemptive power of cooking -- Waitrose magazine Midnight Chicken is so much more than a cookery book. Which isn't to say that Midnight Chicken won't nourish both your tummy and your tastebuds, but it will also nourish your soul * Red * This is legit the warmest, friendliest, most forgiving cookbook I have ever come across -- Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley To call this a cookbook is to do it an injustice. It's a love letter to food, a manual on how to appreciate every meal, and a book of memories * Emerald Street * She cooks like a dream and writes like an angel * Sarah Phelps * Divine. Utterly totally perfect * Charly Cox * So full of loving kindness and so thoughtfully and poetically written * Josie Long * Risbridger's debut is also that rare thing: a cookbook in which every recipe works -- i paper Beautiful, life-affirming memoir with recipes * The Sunday Times magazine * A gentle how-to on cooking real food * Oldie *