In the spirit of Al Dente, The Land that Thyme Forgot describes the intrepid gastronome’s search for the heart and soul of Britain through the food we eat. Talking to producers and restaurateurs, visiting the great and the awful, seeking out Britain’s disappearing specialities — tripe, Singing Hinnies, Solomongundy, Hindle wakes, Sussex Pond pudding and Flummery. Great names, but who on earth still eats, let alone cooks them?
Britain is a country with a rich tradition. Its meat can be among the best, and the worst. The quality of its cheeses has improved exponentially over the past few years. Farmer’s markets are thriving and restaurant culture is burgeoning. So, perhaps even if Britain has been a little forgotten in the league of culinary greats, times really are a-changing.
From boiling vegetables in Sussex, to herrings in Kent, yellowman toffee in Derry, smokies in Scotland, Cornish pasties in Cornwall and clotted cream in Devon, William Black takes us on a journey of food and cooking to explain what Britain eats and why.
I thought this looked just my kind of book - a culinary journey around the UK. I was very soon disappointed and in the end I just gave up. It doesn’t help that the book was written 17 years ago, and attitudes to food have changed, with locally sourced foods becoming very much more important; but I also found the style and a lot of the content of Black’s writing hugely irritating.