Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World

by Gina Mallet

No eggs, no beef, and only an occasional fish. Those were the hungry years after the Second World War in the English countryside, when the sighting of a rogue hen or even a thin pig was a cause for celebration. But that didn’t matter, because the warm stove was still the hub of the house, and a family meal, however scant, was a shared experience. Food still promised pleasure, unstained by guilt or fear. To eat was enough. But how quickly that would change as Gina Mallet journeyed through the darkening foodscape of our times.

It was in the 1990s, when the author was reviewing restaurants, that she came to confront the paradox of contemporary food. There was more and more food, more publicity about food, more cookbooks and cooking shows than ever, but there was less variety and less taste, and some common foods were actually threatened with extinction. Why?

In this provocative and evocative book, Gina Mallet weaves together her own experiences in England and America and her memories of great taste with a grim look at the enemies of good the U.N.’s template for universal taste; trade wars; healthism; extreme environmentalists; food scientists; food scares; organic dogma; zero tolerance for flavour-bearing bacteria.

Mallet quotes Elizabeth David when she advises “Shop well” – but do it fast.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, History, Foodie, Food and Drink, Memoir

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Marc Lucke · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best parts of this book were the mouth-watering recipes interspersed between the prose, and I've happily added several to my repertoire.

That having been said, I couldn't bring myself to read the entire thing: about two-thirds of the way through, I tossed the book aside. Mallet's pretension, crotchetiness and misty-eyed sentimentalism combined to turn me off whatever vague thesis she was chasing through her meandering memories and whimpered protests against modernity.

I'm no cheerleader for industrialized agriculture, but Mallet doesn't form a coherent critique of either the industry or the consumer capitalism which drives it.

[Janet Hutchinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a promising premise for this book, but it was a cross between a memoir, a rant against food today, a recipe book, and a lament for taste and food lost. It could have used some tighter editing, in my opinion, and a little less of the author’s memories. Which seemed scattered much of the time.

[Leigh Almond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gina Mallet’s writing reminds me of Elizabeth David’s writing which is always a good thing in my book. She writes insightfully about the industrialisation and heavy commercialisation of food and also writes about her life and history of eating.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and fun read for foodies - sprinkled with memoir-style anecdotes of food and cooking, a few recipes, and insights about the demise of quality in produce, meat, and poultry. Made me want to be a more selective shopper and supporter of local products, and pay more attention to ingredients and cooking techniques.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

This book is sort of a combination of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivores Dilemma in that it looks at what our food consumptions and production used to be and now is, but it also mixes in a wonderful personal account as the author looks at this from her personal experience growing up in pre-WWII England and her experiences there to moving to America and how things have changed over the years.

It not only looks again at the unhealthy and unsustainable practices we now employ in our food supply network, but it also looks at how our relationship with food and eating have changed and not necessarily for the better.

As food science has increased our factual knowledge and overall productivity, we seem to have lost much of the pleasure and more practical knowledge of food, food prep and eating itself. We have gotten so caught up on the numbers and fears that the way our food is now produced inspire in us that food has almost become our enemy vs. a source of nourishment and please that it is alright to enjoy and I fear this is something we will never truly regain.

For all that this was not a gloom and doom, look how horrible the food industry is book.
It was truly more a fond and happy look back with family, culture and food using the current changes as more of a back drop than as the main centerpiece.

[Sharen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gina Mallet combines personal vignettes of family life in England during WWII (including recipes) with research about the ways in which government, science and business have DISTANCED us from the choices we make about the food we eat. You don't realize how great that distance is until you have read how eggs, cheese, meat, vegetables, fruits and fish have been "manipulated" in various ways at different times. It is interesting how she combines the history of food and chefs with information that we all need to take seriously, e.g. how the production of apples has been narrowly crafted by supermarkets. This book should provoke thought and reflection. Those of us who live in North America will realize that we are no longer close to our food, nor do we value it as we should - a sobering thought.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed how the author remeniced about the foods of her youth, her growing up in post war London and her tomatoes in Canada. I liked how for each character (food) she presented personal experiences and emotions surrounding her feelings toward these foods. I remeber the part about the date at the steakhouse and the perfect omlette in France. As a matter of fact I have perfected my perfect, SIMPLE omlette as per her recommendations. I however DO NOT get the cover image chosen for this book. WTF is that oyster looking thing doing on the cover of a book? How did it get there? Who said "That's great, lets use it"? Dreadful, Horrible and a disgrace to a great book. That said, I think I'll remove the dust jacket and re-read it soon...

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very good representation of the fact that most Americans and Europeans are content to let the old and traditional dishes and ingredients go by the way side in preference to cheaper and faster food. The arguments are the same as Jeffrey Steingarten made in It must have been something I ate, unfortunately the author has nothing more to say than the fact that things are slipping away.

[Felicity · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a little unfair to say that I read this book. But I did try. But I couldn't make it any further than about forty pages into the book. Mallet writes one hundred pages on the history of the egg!! If the first forty are any indication, I don't expect the next sixty to be any more interesting. I mean, just how do you make the history of the egg exciting? I don't deny it isn't possible, but Mallet is clearly not the author to do it (with apologies to those who enjoyed this book).

Life is just too short to read boring books!

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me several attempts to get through this book. I persevered because it was so hyped. I should have trusted my instincts. I would be interested to understand what the author was trying to accomplish. Yes, food has changed, been industrialized... sometimes the details were too deep, and others not deep enough. I couldn't follow if Gina Mallet is a fan of GM or not - some of the book seemed muddled, and some of it not that interesting, and not one recipe that I thought mmm. Maybe it's a cultural, age thing but on the whole, I just didn't get this book.

[Krisette Spangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gina Mallet's book follows five popular foods from the Second World War to our present day. She laments the loss of taste that has occurred through mass production, and the American desire to have it fast rather than good. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I found it rather fascinating, and it made me very hungry for the good food I ate while I was in Europe. Thanks for the recommendation, Rachel.

[Ariadream · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an interesting departure from most books about food. It reads almost like a story, with tales of the author's own childhood experiences and contrasting them to how things are now. And she makes interesting points. All in all, it was a very good read and I would recommend it.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative memoir shaped around the author's childhood memories of food. She argues that industrial food, for the most part, is devoid of taste and often not healthier than traditional foods, just more stable.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very compelling and thought-provoking. The first section of the book was about the humble chicken egg and its gastronomic origins. I enjoyed this book - there's a healthy smattering of history along with the author's food-related observations and experiences.

[LizG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, delightful, and easy to read history of the transition of food from an adventure to savour and share to a barely nutritious, functional fuel. Makes you wonder, "Did eggs used to have a taste?" and "What does real cheese taste like?"

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about how the quality and taste of food has changed in our modern society. She includes some timeless recipes.

[G-- · Rating 3 out of 5]

An aristocrat's take on how all of the taste was stolen from our food.

[Christine Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting for a while, a little bit of a different spin as the author grew up in London. But after a while it became tedious, and it was due back to the library, so I let it go.

[ZFC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francocentric, but very informative.

See our review in Episode 18 -
http://zweifatchicks.podbean.com/2009...

[Natashya KitchenPuppies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes interesting, sometimes rambling. Facts, opinion and memoir all rolled into one.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of entertaining anecdotes & interesting histories.

[Lisa Hautly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great examples to underscore the industrialization of our food and the fallout.

[cellomerl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining and informative book.

[Denise]

Not a cookbook per se, a book on food

[Mary Karpel-Jergic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love food. God food. I love cooking. Loved this book! Due a re-read.

[LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. Part memoir, part food history, part comparing the US to UK/Europe and part what is currently happening in the food world. The author does a great job talking about 5
areas of food: eggs, cheese, meat, vegetables, and fish. She even included a few recipes if you are inclined to try making these dishes. If you want to learn more about food, this is a book to consider picking up.

[Madeleine Hutchins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but oddly wavers between being thoughtful and thorough to a pure airing of grievances.

[Gerald Kinro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eat "real food" before they disappear.

[Macy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tastefully done! (Lol) seriously though a good read with lots of great insight and history on the staple foods we know and love.

[Audrey Cruz · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF