Ruby Tandoh's funny and forensic bestseller explores modern food culture - from TikTok to cookbooks

WINNER AT THE FORTNUM & MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2026
SHORTLISTED FOR A GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD 2026

AN OBSERVER, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES AND BLACKWELL'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025

Longlisted for the André Simon Food and Drink Book Award

'Entertaining, alarming, illuminating, alive' Nigella Lawson

'Laugh-out-loud funny' Vogue

'Delightful snark' New York Times

Why do we eat the way we eat now?

The food landscape is more expansive and dizzying by the day. Recipes, once passed from hand to hand, now flood newspaper supplements - if they aren't being engineered for social media virality. Our cravings are perfected in factories, hacked by supermarkets and influenced by Instagram reels.

Exploring the evolution of the cookbook and light-speed growth of bubble tea, the advent of TikTok critics and absurdities of the perfect dinner party, Tandoh's laser-sharp investigation leaves her questioning: how much are our tastes, in fact, our own?