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The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, Stories & 100 Essential Recipes for Midwinter
The Christmas Chronicles is the story of Nigel Slater’s love for winter, the scent of fir and spruce, ghost stories read with a glass of sloe gin, and beeswax candles with shadows dancing on the ceiling. With recipes, decorations, fables and quick fireside suppers, Nigel guides you through the essential preparations for Christmas and the New Year, with everything you need to enjoy the winter months.
Taking you from 1 November all the way to the end of January, The Christmas Chronicles covers everything from Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year to Epiphany. Throughout the season, Nigel offers over 100 recipes to see you through the build-up, the celebrations and the aftermath. Here are much-loved classics such as goose and turkey (and making the most of the leftovers), mincemeat and the cake; recipes to make the cold months bearable, like ribsticker bread pudding with Comté and Taleggio, salt crust potatoes with blue cheese and goat’s curd, and hot-smoked salmon, potatoes and dill; as well as bright flavours to welcome the new year, including pink grapefruit marmalade, pear and pickled radish salad and rye, linseed and treacle bread.
Packed with feasts, folktales, myths and memoir and all told in Nigel’s warm and intimate signature style, The Christmas Chronicles is the only book you’ll ever need for winter.
465 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
613 people are currently reading
3050 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Slater
82 books426 followersNigel Slater is a British food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for The Observer Magazine for seventeen years and is the principal writer for the Observer Food Monthly supplement. Prior to this, Slater was food writer for Marie Claire for five years. He also serves as art director for his books.
Although best known for uncomplicated, comfort food recipes presented in early bestselling books such as The 30-Minute Cook and Real Cooking, as well as his engaging, memoir-like columns for The Observer, Slater became known to a wider audience with the publication of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger, a moving and award-winning autobiography focused on his love of food, his childhood, his family relationships (his mother died of asthma when he was nine), and his burgeoning sexuality.
Slater has called it "the most intimate memoir that any food person has ever written". Toast was published in Britain in October 2004 and became a bestseller after it was featured on the Richard and Judy Book Club.
"I think the really interesting bits of my story was growing up with this terribly dominating dad and a mum who I loved to bits but obviously I lost very early on; and then having to fight with the woman who replaced her ... I kind of think that in a way that that was partly what attracted me to working in the food service industry, was that I finally had a family." As he told The Observer, "The last bit of the book is very foody. But that is how it was. Towards the end I finally get rid of these two people in my life I did not like [his father and stepmother, who had been the family's cleaning lady] - and to be honest I was really very jubilant - and thereafter all I wanted to do was cook."
In 1998 Slater hosted the Channel 4 series Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. He returned to TV in 2006 hosting the chat/food show A Taste of My Life for BBC One.
Slater has two elder brothers, Adrian and John. John was the child of a neighbour, and was adopted by Slater's parents before the writer was born.
He lives in the Highbury area of North London, where he maintains a kitchen garden which often features in his column.
Although best known for uncomplicated, comfort food recipes presented in early bestselling books such as The 30-Minute Cook and Real Cooking, as well as his engaging, memoir-like columns for The Observer, Slater became known to a wider audience with the publication of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger, a moving and award-winning autobiography focused on his love of food, his childhood, his family relationships (his mother died of asthma when he was nine), and his burgeoning sexuality.
Slater has called it "the most intimate memoir that any food person has ever written". Toast was published in Britain in October 2004 and became a bestseller after it was featured on the Richard and Judy Book Club.
"I think the really interesting bits of my story was growing up with this terribly dominating dad and a mum who I loved to bits but obviously I lost very early on; and then having to fight with the woman who replaced her ... I kind of think that in a way that that was partly what attracted me to working in the food service industry, was that I finally had a family." As he told The Observer, "The last bit of the book is very foody. But that is how it was. Towards the end I finally get rid of these two people in my life I did not like [his father and stepmother, who had been the family's cleaning lady] - and to be honest I was really very jubilant - and thereafter all I wanted to do was cook."
In 1998 Slater hosted the Channel 4 series Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. He returned to TV in 2006 hosting the chat/food show A Taste of My Life for BBC One.
Slater has two elder brothers, Adrian and John. John was the child of a neighbour, and was adopted by Slater's parents before the writer was born.
He lives in the Highbury area of North London, where he maintains a kitchen garden which often features in his column.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews
January 1, 2021
***Began my annual rereading of this Christmas journal on November 4, 2020--third time around. Delightful!***
**I've begun a re-reading of this splendid book which is an ode to winter. I had promised myself I would begin reading on November 1st, where Nigel begins, but I'm a few days late. Winter, however, has begun early around here, with snow on Halloween and an Arctic blast that began on November 11th and is just beginning to loosen its icy grip after three days. Perhaps Nigel can help me to appreciate winter just a little bit more, as I hunker down with an afghan and a mug of hot cider and read about his love affair with winter.**
I would highly recommend this compendium of recipes and thoughts about the winter season which reads like a personal journal. I don't know if I'll ever make any of his recipes since I'd have to convert them from grams and milliliters but I can drool and dream.
His description of Nuremberg Lebkuchen and the Nurnberger Christkindlesmarkt especially delighted me and led me to seek out a local Christkindl market this December where I was thrilled to find some imported chocolate-covered gingerbread. Outstanding! Then there's his description of panettone, which he titles 'a love story' and describes as 'a fairy cake made by angels.' I definitely agree!
But it's not all about food. There's descriptions of evergreen trees for instance; memories of Christmases past, and family traditions. It often reads like a memoir.
This is a beautifully-written book that I'm sure will become a tradition for me to read each year starting in November. I can't think of a more delightful way to spend the winter season.
**I've begun a re-reading of this splendid book which is an ode to winter. I had promised myself I would begin reading on November 1st, where Nigel begins, but I'm a few days late. Winter, however, has begun early around here, with snow on Halloween and an Arctic blast that began on November 11th and is just beginning to loosen its icy grip after three days. Perhaps Nigel can help me to appreciate winter just a little bit more, as I hunker down with an afghan and a mug of hot cider and read about his love affair with winter.**
I would highly recommend this compendium of recipes and thoughts about the winter season which reads like a personal journal. I don't know if I'll ever make any of his recipes since I'd have to convert them from grams and milliliters but I can drool and dream.
His description of Nuremberg Lebkuchen and the Nurnberger Christkindlesmarkt especially delighted me and led me to seek out a local Christkindl market this December where I was thrilled to find some imported chocolate-covered gingerbread. Outstanding! Then there's his description of panettone, which he titles 'a love story' and describes as 'a fairy cake made by angels.' I definitely agree!
But it's not all about food. There's descriptions of evergreen trees for instance; memories of Christmases past, and family traditions. It often reads like a memoir.
This is a beautifully-written book that I'm sure will become a tradition for me to read each year starting in November. I can't think of a more delightful way to spend the winter season.
December 17, 2020
Nigel Slater is a true food writer, as he prefers to be called, rather than chef or TV personality. I haven't seen his show or eaten his food, but I can attest to the food writer label. He writes about food and it's preparation sensuously and lovingly, in addition to traveling, gardening and decorating his home. In this one he also includes food facts and holiday myths and traditions. Not to mention the photographs! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this slowly and savoring his words, and would like to read the autobiography of his childhood, "Toast".
Having said that, I doubt I'll make any of the recipes included here. Some of them are a bit complicated and time consuming, and all measurements are in metric. I'm too lazy to look up conversion charts, and simplicity is my byword these days. But they were lovely to contemplate just the same.
Having said that, I doubt I'll make any of the recipes included here. Some of them are a bit complicated and time consuming, and all measurements are in metric. I'm too lazy to look up conversion charts, and simplicity is my byword these days. But they were lovely to contemplate just the same.
April 30, 2019
Such a beautiful book. I read it over the course of a few months, taking my time with each page. It's a winter book but I began it when New Zealand was experiencing some very hot weather, and though this made the recipes themselves unsuitable, the words and images offered a lovely respite from the heat. It was nice to imagine eating hearty winter meals, tucked away inside away from the cold!⛄❄
I first discovered Nigel Slater through his autobiography, Toast, which I picked up on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed. I have since read more of his work online and watched a few of his TV specials and find myself very drawn to him. I am not very interested in food, but the way he talks/writes about it fits well with me and my approach to things.
This is actually the first cookbook (or perhaps more accurately, book about food) that I have read by him. I saw it in store a week or so after Christmas 2018 and instantly wanted it. But, due to my previously mentioned lack of general interest in food, I decided not to buy it. That seemed a reasonable decision. Besides, Christmas was finally over, I didn't need a book that centered around a time of year that I'm rather neutral towards.
It was a week before I got back into town, and I'm barely exaggerating when I say I spent that entire week thinking about this book. Of course it wasn't my only thought, but something in me was adamant that I should read this book.
As soon as I had the opportunity I rushed back to buy the book - there were thankfully a few copies left amongst the general dissarry of books (I felt the shopkeepers were just piling things where ever there was space. Organisation didn't really return until well after the New Year. I think with the endless sales they just gave up!)
One of the things I like best about this book is that it isn't just recipes listed. There are stories, fascinating insights into Christmas traditions and where the originated from. Why we eat this dessert at this particular time. I learned so much. And the book itself is gorgeous. The paper is thick, the gold on the cover catches the light prettily, the photos inside are wonderful, it has a built in bookmark (something I always appreciate). This is a lovely book to read and use, and would also be a very nice gift option for a lot of people. I've loved reading it, and shall miss dipping into it each day. 🍰
I first discovered Nigel Slater through his autobiography, Toast, which I picked up on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed. I have since read more of his work online and watched a few of his TV specials and find myself very drawn to him. I am not very interested in food, but the way he talks/writes about it fits well with me and my approach to things.
This is actually the first cookbook (or perhaps more accurately, book about food) that I have read by him. I saw it in store a week or so after Christmas 2018 and instantly wanted it. But, due to my previously mentioned lack of general interest in food, I decided not to buy it. That seemed a reasonable decision. Besides, Christmas was finally over, I didn't need a book that centered around a time of year that I'm rather neutral towards.
It was a week before I got back into town, and I'm barely exaggerating when I say I spent that entire week thinking about this book. Of course it wasn't my only thought, but something in me was adamant that I should read this book.
As soon as I had the opportunity I rushed back to buy the book - there were thankfully a few copies left amongst the general dissarry of books (I felt the shopkeepers were just piling things where ever there was space. Organisation didn't really return until well after the New Year. I think with the endless sales they just gave up!)
One of the things I like best about this book is that it isn't just recipes listed. There are stories, fascinating insights into Christmas traditions and where the originated from. Why we eat this dessert at this particular time. I learned so much. And the book itself is gorgeous. The paper is thick, the gold on the cover catches the light prettily, the photos inside are wonderful, it has a built in bookmark (something I always appreciate). This is a lovely book to read and use, and would also be a very nice gift option for a lot of people. I've loved reading it, and shall miss dipping into it each day. 🍰
December 29, 2019
I knew nothing about Nigel Slater before buying this highly recommended and expensive book. The reason I decided to bite the bullet is that I love Christmas books and recipes and my season of life was evolving and I needed something new. I began this book in November of 2018 and read it bit by bit through the 2018 Christmas season putting it away before finishing it. When I brought out the 2019 Christmas stuff I dove right into this book where I had left off and thoroughly looked forward to reading a little bit of it each morning. I have yet to try even one of the recipes but if you want to learn how to have a healthy attitude towards food and feasting then this book is pure gold. I loved Nigel's attitude towards life and celebration and ordinary days too. Maybe this book is not for everyone but if you are a raging anglophile then it is not to be missed. It is like a daily dose of Dickensian joy during the season.
Also this book is beautiful.
Also this book is beautiful.
January 1, 2023
Love, love, love this book. It can't be classified as a recipe book; it's a history of winter traditions and facts, with interesting insights and memories from the author. Recipes are interspersed throughout in conjunction with an event or tradition, so that there's no disturbance to the flow of writing. I just couldn't put the book down and, having finished it, went back to the beginning and started to read it again. The book is the essence of winter and Christmas, with lots of interesting and unusual facts (I didn't know before reading it that tinsel's made in Wales!). My house will be filled with candles and branches this winter. If you are looking for something to revive the excitement of Christmas, this book is it.
January 14, 2018
I have always enjoyed the books of Nigel Slater - he open admits he is a food writer rather than a chef turning his had to writing, this is most evident in his other books (such as Toast). This I think gives it a more personal touch, when he comments about a recipe or a particular ingredient you know he is speaking from personal experience (and not just the feedback from his restaurants clientele or who he was copied it off).
So what of this book - well over the 400 plus pages there are only 100 recipes which does not sound much but interspersed with these you have his musings and thoughts on the winter season. Now I will stress this includes November (he does early on explain that different countries, religions and even professions declare winter on different days) so you have a lot of November traditions included as well so for us Brits that Bonfire night.
The book itself is semi autobiography, part seasonal musing and yes part cook book. The result for me at least is a festive and very nostalgic look at the season - if you were not living it (as we are at the time of me thing this up) you could almost imagine the frost on the window panes or the feeling on your face as the crisp winter air hits it for the first time as you step outside. As compared to now when you can go an entire winter with no snow and the temperature is so high that you have to keep mowing the lawn.
Yes this book does feel a bit like a nostalgic (and sometimes sad) look back at the good old days and yes I am old enough to feel that but i think also there are inspirations and ideas for making new traditions and memories for the future - and I for one love this message of hope.
So what of this book - well over the 400 plus pages there are only 100 recipes which does not sound much but interspersed with these you have his musings and thoughts on the winter season. Now I will stress this includes November (he does early on explain that different countries, religions and even professions declare winter on different days) so you have a lot of November traditions included as well so for us Brits that Bonfire night.
The book itself is semi autobiography, part seasonal musing and yes part cook book. The result for me at least is a festive and very nostalgic look at the season - if you were not living it (as we are at the time of me thing this up) you could almost imagine the frost on the window panes or the feeling on your face as the crisp winter air hits it for the first time as you step outside. As compared to now when you can go an entire winter with no snow and the temperature is so high that you have to keep mowing the lawn.
Yes this book does feel a bit like a nostalgic (and sometimes sad) look back at the good old days and yes I am old enough to feel that but i think also there are inspirations and ideas for making new traditions and memories for the future - and I for one love this message of hope.
October 4, 2020
I read and savored this delightful book for almost a year, it just isn't one to skim through. While most of the recipes were for the experienced cook, they were memorable and worthy for the winter months. A beautifully photographed and sumptuously written book!
December 13, 2019
Two quotes that felt apt this year, as every year:
“As the vast, domed pudding is spooned into bowls and the brandy butter is passed around, the cry of ‘Oh, none for me, thank you’ must be one of the most depressing sounds of the season.” What is Christmas if not a time for indulgence?!
“A straight trunk is essential. A wonky tree is the very devil to put up and its lop-sidedness will bug you all Christmas.” My husband has been eyeing up our leaning tree ever since we put it up on Sunday.
This is such a cozy and beautifully put together book. I could only have a quick glance through it as someone else has requested it after me at the library, but it will be one to get hold of secondhand to have around for future holidays. Along with the recipes there is a lot of personal reflection plus snippets of history about Christmas traditions. Quintessentially English and cheering.
“As the vast, domed pudding is spooned into bowls and the brandy butter is passed around, the cry of ‘Oh, none for me, thank you’ must be one of the most depressing sounds of the season.” What is Christmas if not a time for indulgence?!
“A straight trunk is essential. A wonky tree is the very devil to put up and its lop-sidedness will bug you all Christmas.” My husband has been eyeing up our leaning tree ever since we put it up on Sunday.
This is such a cozy and beautifully put together book. I could only have a quick glance through it as someone else has requested it after me at the library, but it will be one to get hold of secondhand to have around for future holidays. Along with the recipes there is a lot of personal reflection plus snippets of history about Christmas traditions. Quintessentially English and cheering.
November 16, 2024
Once upon a time I owned a copy of this book but never got around to reading it, so it was culled during a move across the ocean. Upon arriving in the UK I borrowed a copy from my local library and started reading, it's quite dense, I didn't get very far before it was due back to the library and couldn't be renewed due to someone else wanting to get their hands on it in time for Christmas!
So, I returned it, placed a hold and waited patiently for another turn. As it turns out, it is the only copy in the county of Herefordshire. I've now had it for a second round of 3-weeks and once again it cannot be renewed due to another person's hold. So, although I'm not quite done, I have skimmed to see how it ends, I am returning it. I've read enough to say that I liked it but it's not my favourite.
So, I returned it, placed a hold and waited patiently for another turn. As it turns out, it is the only copy in the county of Herefordshire. I've now had it for a second round of 3-weeks and once again it cannot be renewed due to another person's hold. So, although I'm not quite done, I have skimmed to see how it ends, I am returning it. I've read enough to say that I liked it but it's not my favourite.
January 1, 2021
Very British, very seasonal, beautiful to look at. I started it before Christmas but felt a bit irritated - I didn’t have time to be seasonal myself and Slater is occasionally snobbish and has tiringly impeccable taste, with his little asides about filling his home with white, gold and silver because red is so ‘loud’ at Christmas, the horror of cheap candles, etc. However, I picked it up again on a snowy Christmas Day, and then it was a nice treat, with his little peevish particularities (no charades and games! Stay away with your storebought greenery!) feeling more like signs of personality. The descriptions of food and landscape and legends slide down nicely when you’re feeling seasonal. I’d like to try some of the recipes, though more fool him for saying he never bothers to make panforte- homemade panforte is both easy and the highlight of every Christmas for me. So that’s my own peevish little aside said. 3.5.
December 30, 2020
When offered a choice of anything in the bookshop last December, I chose this book. Nearly a year rolled around until I did more than skim it, but it has been a delicious guide to this year’s festive season. So far I’ve made nothing other than the Christmas cake, but that was a project for the month and really the perfect way to celebrate this stuffed compendium of winter’s rituals and culinary traditions. It’s a book that combines recipes with a calendar of Nigel Slater’s approach to Christmas, and it mixes childhood memories with historical tradition and even practical tips. The author’s voice is strong, sometimes even sharp, and highly opinionated. As always, his prose is highly readable and saturated with his own personality. You don’t have to cook from it, although no doubt that would be a bonus.
Nigel Slater is a great lover of winter, and Christmas, and I can’t imagine that anyone could read this book without becoming more enthused about the season - even if one’s taste for it has been jaded over the years.
Nigel Slater is a great lover of winter, and Christmas, and I can’t imagine that anyone could read this book without becoming more enthused about the season - even if one’s taste for it has been jaded over the years.
November 1, 2017
Such a beautiful book.....
December 9, 2021
2021 reread: My annual reread! I loved this, of course. Nigel Slater is my favourite food writer, but this time around the snobbery and derision placed on products, practises and traditions that make these recipes doable for people with lower incomes and less time than a full time celebrity chef has to offer really grated on me. It made it feel exclusionary which is a thing that food, cooking and Christmas should never be in my opinion.
2018: Oh my goodness, this was glorious. Warm, welcoming, sharp, informative and wonderfully Christmassy. Loved every word.
2018: Oh my goodness, this was glorious. Warm, welcoming, sharp, informative and wonderfully Christmassy. Loved every word.
December 25, 2021
This is not a feel good Christmas book! Preachy, snobby and out of touch. Writing is excellent and I enjoyed the descriptions of Christmas of other countries but ultimately not that pleasant to read.
February 3, 2024
My love of winter, my need for winter, for the quiet and the solitude and the gray skies of the season, has always been perceived by others as an oddity and something that I rarely shared. This book makes me feel seen.
February 5, 2022
I've never read from Nigel Slater's work before but you can bet I'm going to check out all his books now! This book was everything of the best slow living/cottagecore vibes, filled with beautiful descriptions of food and winter!
October 28, 2017
Magnificent - evocative and poetic in true Nigel style. I have never looked forward to winter in my life, and haven’t been excited about Christmas for many years, but now I am!! Can’t wait to try some of his excellent ideas.
November 7, 2021
Not completely what I was expecting. I thought it would be a beautiful, cozy read that goes through the meaning of each celebration within the winter holiday season. Instead the writing is more about personal reflections that vary between first and second person & with a hardness/cynicism that always kept me on edge. The writing just isn’t that great from a content, tone, or structure standpoint—I don’t need a reminder about getting hypothermia if I don’t move around in the cold.
There is variance in the writing and some passages are beautiful. The recipes and photographs look good and I will be trying out several recipes this winter.
Despite the name, I wasn’t wanting or expecting the book to be about Christmas, and largely it isn’t. He is in fact “happily atheist” but celebrates “as much as anyone.”
Here is a sample of the writing:
“Christmas is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a cultural event as much as a religious one, and it’s history is confused. Many of the festival’s observances date from pre-Christians times, and those who celebrate it as a purely religious event might be surprised to find how much of the festivities hails from pagan times…Christmas is a vast steaming pudding of Christianity, folklore, paganism, tradition and commerce. Those of us who are part of a tolerant, open-minded and intelligent society can make our Christmas whatever we want it to be.”
There is variance in the writing and some passages are beautiful. The recipes and photographs look good and I will be trying out several recipes this winter.
Despite the name, I wasn’t wanting or expecting the book to be about Christmas, and largely it isn’t. He is in fact “happily atheist” but celebrates “as much as anyone.”
Here is a sample of the writing:
“Christmas is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a cultural event as much as a religious one, and it’s history is confused. Many of the festival’s observances date from pre-Christians times, and those who celebrate it as a purely religious event might be surprised to find how much of the festivities hails from pagan times…Christmas is a vast steaming pudding of Christianity, folklore, paganism, tradition and commerce. Those of us who are part of a tolerant, open-minded and intelligent society can make our Christmas whatever we want it to be.”
Read
December 25, 2022If you want a beautiful lead up to Christmas, during and after then you’ll love Nigel’s Christmas Chronicles.
He writes so beautifully and evocatively.
Amazing recipe ideas too.
He writes so beautifully and evocatively.
Amazing recipe ideas too.
January 10, 2025
I thought this book was truly the essence of Christmas magic for me. Reading a bit of it every day was an escape into a cozy, winter world where Slaters mind conjures up everything beautiful about winter. His is the life I imagine in my head when I think of long winter days, the comfort food, the tradition, the symbolism, the protection and worship of the process in cooking and baking instead of just the product.
His writing is captivating and I want to try many of his (nonalcoholic) recipes. It’s a recipe book and a winter memoir all in one.
His writing is captivating and I want to try many of his (nonalcoholic) recipes. It’s a recipe book and a winter memoir all in one.
February 4, 2024
I came across this at the library and had to buy my own copy. A lovely fireside read from November to February, for people like me who appreciate winter and those who may need a boost to get through. I slowed down reading this one so I could enjoy the entries by date (a lesson in discipline 😊)
I enjoyed the writing, pictures and some of the recipes, even though many were not realistic for me to make. It made me want to visit a European market at Christmas time.
This is a book I can enjoy every year. It feels good to hold and I love a book that comes with its own bookmark.
I enjoyed the writing, pictures and some of the recipes, even though many were not realistic for me to make. It made me want to visit a European market at Christmas time.
This is a book I can enjoy every year. It feels good to hold and I love a book that comes with its own bookmark.
December 2, 2025
My annual read of this wonderful book. Nigel Slater's writing is as delicious as his recipes. I adore listening to this book with his narration. This is probably the 5 time I've read/listened to this beautiful book. Interesting facts about Christmas, wonderful anecdotes from his life and of course, scrumptious food.
December 30, 2019
Another wonderful book from Nigel slater that combines stories from his childhood and now and wonderful recipes. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
January 2, 2018
The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater (published by Fourth Estate,
"The icy prickle across your face as you walk out into the freezing air. The piercing burn to your sinuses, like wasabi. Your eyes sparkle, your ears tingle. The rush of cold to your head is stimulating, vital, energising.
The arrival of the first snap of cold is invigorating, like jumping into an ice pool after the long sauna of summer. Winter feels like a renewal, at least it does to me. I long for that ice-bright light, skies of pale blue and soft grey light that is at once calm and gentle, fresh and crisp. Away from the stifling airlessness of summer, I once again have more energy. Winter has arrived."
Its all about the cold and crisp months leading up to including Christmas,new Year and into January/February. It is the Winter of my youth.The recipes are divine and I do mean angelic with feet planted firmly in winter.
For my first read in the New Year it is a cracker.It will remain on my shelf for years as a wonderful cookery book and a homage to the chill loved it
"The icy prickle across your face as you walk out into the freezing air. The piercing burn to your sinuses, like wasabi. Your eyes sparkle, your ears tingle. The rush of cold to your head is stimulating, vital, energising.
The arrival of the first snap of cold is invigorating, like jumping into an ice pool after the long sauna of summer. Winter feels like a renewal, at least it does to me. I long for that ice-bright light, skies of pale blue and soft grey light that is at once calm and gentle, fresh and crisp. Away from the stifling airlessness of summer, I once again have more energy. Winter has arrived."
Its all about the cold and crisp months leading up to including Christmas,new Year and into January/February. It is the Winter of my youth.The recipes are divine and I do mean angelic with feet planted firmly in winter.
For my first read in the New Year it is a cracker.It will remain on my shelf for years as a wonderful cookery book and a homage to the chill loved it
December 22, 2025
Rereading in 2025 - still as magical
If you want a magical hug of festive comfort then this is a must ..
Nigel Slater’s writing is exquisite.
The review below was written during the Covid Christmas
This treasure trove of festive thoughts,imagery and recipes can of course be dived into for the Christmas recipes or can be enjoyed in itself for the prose that pulls you into Nigel Slater’s hypnotic language and captivating imagery of the Yuletide season.
This book brought comfort over a Christmas that isolated so many of us from family and friends and cliche as it may sound provided added that Christmas warmth of nostalgia that we all needed.
The recipes are wonderful and not too complex like so many other books and with Nigel Slater’s guidance you can create some beautiful dishes plus there are some common sense approaches to classic dishes too.
An annual companion no question .
If you want a magical hug of festive comfort then this is a must ..
Nigel Slater’s writing is exquisite.
The review below was written during the Covid Christmas
This treasure trove of festive thoughts,imagery and recipes can of course be dived into for the Christmas recipes or can be enjoyed in itself for the prose that pulls you into Nigel Slater’s hypnotic language and captivating imagery of the Yuletide season.
This book brought comfort over a Christmas that isolated so many of us from family and friends and cliche as it may sound provided added that Christmas warmth of nostalgia that we all needed.
The recipes are wonderful and not too complex like so many other books and with Nigel Slater’s guidance you can create some beautiful dishes plus there are some common sense approaches to classic dishes too.
An annual companion no question .
December 29, 2022
This book has seen me through the end of 2020 and into the start of 2021. With it’s beautiful photography and recipes running along side Nigel’s observations of the season. I have learnt new things and also learnt the reason for so many traditions regarding Christmas. I read each day on the day it should be read until tonight when I decided to read the last three days in one lovely last session and I’m glad I did because the last day does just end. I will start reading again this November and I know I will enjoy it again but this time it will remind me of things in my own life. Finishing the book on the day I feel slightly better after being poorly. I’m hoping next time I read it and finish it I will be making more memories and feeling thankful to be able too.
December 20, 2020
I've never felt more festive, than when I listened to this audio.
January 20, 2025
Just delightful!
January 5, 2024
I loved dipping in and out of this before Christmas and will definitely revisit each year. Lovely writing about all things Christmas and many recipe and food ideas.
August 11, 2024
Certainly! Here's a 4-star review for The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater:
A Comforting Journey Through Winter and the Festive Season
The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater is a beautifully crafted ode to the winter months, filled with warmth, nostalgia, and culinary delight. Slater’s writing is evocative, transporting readers to the cozy corners of his kitchen as the days grow shorter and the air crisper. The book is not just a collection of recipes but a celebration of the season itself—its traditions, its quiet moments, and its ability to bring people together.
Slater’s storytelling is one of the book’s strongest points. His prose is as comforting as the recipes he shares, making you feel as though you’re sitting by the fire with a close friend. From the first frost to the twelfth night, Slater weaves in personal anecdotes, reflections on the season, and the joy of simple pleasures like a cup of hot chocolate or the scent of oranges spiked with cloves.
The recipes are diverse, ranging from festive classics to innovative takes on winter comfort food. Each dish is thoughtfully explained, with tips on ingredients and techniques that make even the more complex recipes approachable. Slater’s passion for good, honest food shines through, making you want to try each recipe as soon as you read it.
However, the book’s charm can also be its drawback. The introspective, almost poetic nature of the writing may not appeal to those looking for a straightforward cookbook. At times, the narrative can feel a bit meandering, especially for readers who prefer a more direct approach to cooking.
Despite this, The Christmas Chronicles is a treasure for those who cherish the winter season and all its cozy, festive moments. It’s a book to be savored slowly, much like a rich holiday treat, and it will undoubtedly become a beloved part of many readers’ Christmas traditions.
Rating: ★★★★☆
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