A wonderfully friendly and inclusive book about the connection between food and love, of sharing and caring whether eating separately or together. Award-winning food writer Clare Finney, has allowed intimate access to her own relationship with food while also opening a welcoming window to the world-wide unifying view of food when linked to people. As she says: “to break bread with friends doesn’t just mean to eat with them. It means to socialise, share and chew over thoughts and experiences. It means to partake in a tradition that transcends countries and cultures; that represents civilisation, conviviality and hope”. I loved how open and honest she was, sharing personal information encourages a connection and what feels like a conversation, which in turn forges understanding. So much of what she said echoed in the deepest parts of my heart and soul. If you are fortunate enough to be able to explore the realms of possibility that food offers, then it is likely that this book will speak to you. It includes recipes that have meaning, from comforting nostalgic sharing food, or celebratory occasions, through to nourishing solo bites. This is so much more than the recipes though, it is a heartfelt memoir, a journey through meaning of food, and it is truly lovely. Chosen as a LoveReading Star Book, Hungry Heart welcomes and offers the warmest of hugs as you ponder your own and others relationships with food. Highly recommended.
Award-winning food writer Clare Finney presents a passionate, heartfelt exploration of the intertwining influences of food and love throughout her life in this brilliant and moving memoir What does it mean for food to be more than fuel? How does it come to define us, our status, our identities, and the relationships we have with others? Clare Finney, Food Writer of the Year 2019 at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, delves into these questions with a rare and insightful sensitivity, telling a powerful story of life and love while at the same time uncovering the manifold ways in which food touches every relationship, every aspect of our lives. Beginning with a childhood spent in her grandmother's hotel kitchen and ending at her grandfather's bedside, she charts a course through both the trials and the triumphs of her life, and the meals and recipes which have shaped the person she is today. She also investigates the role food plays in a modern society which can be isolating and alienating, exploring how eating brings us together in diverse ways around the world. From the dance of culinary courtship present in the world of modern dating, to the funeral foods of Shiva which remind us of the connections between life and death, Finney asks important and powerful questions of what food truly represents in our complicated lives. This book is a nourishing feast, an honest account of humans breaking bread together and what, in a world of Deliveroo and digital communication, that really means.
