Food in Film

Food & Film: A Toast For The New Year

A Film For The JanFebs

January – the inaugural month of that period a well versed British person referred to as the JanFebs – actually spreads into March – the month I call the Forlorn Hope – another British term I got from reading too many Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. But the special thing about  gray, snowy , rainy, cloudy, dreary January is that it’s the beginning of resolutions, and if not resolutions themselves, starting life anew. It’s also a great time for watching films that are quiet and  reflective, particularly when we have had enough of Christmas schmaltz but we’re  not quite ready for anything dystopian (plenty of time for that later in the spring when  flowers begin to bloom).

So I was wondering how many KD readers have either read Nigel Slater’s  memoir Toast or seen the beautifully crafted film version. While the film is fifteen years old and Toast was written in 2003. I think it’s a great January movie in 2025. The witty recollections of the author on his mother’s hapless and helpless forays into her kitchen and the fascination and desire for delicious food on the part of young Nigel hardly prepare you for the introduction to his father’s housekeeper, an excellent cook whose low class and malevolent presence spurs young Nigel to his calling. At the end of the film, Nigel Slater himself enjoys a cameo role as the chef who hands him his first chef’s jacket.

While Nigel Slater worked in restaurant kitchens, starting at the Savoy at the age of 18, he really is a food writer with forays into television broadcasting. In addition to his comic memoir, he has written ten cookbooks and a considerable number of  culinary essays for The Observer, but he is also a relentless urban gardener, as you can see from the following video. 

Books For Cooks

 We used to sell his cookbooks in the shop, and they were filled with his impeccable but comfortable writing. How can you not admire a writer who knows when to correctly use who and whom or I and me?  Slater also shares with his readers dishes that summon up the best of British home cuisine. Like a bracing cup of tea, it’s just what you need during the JanFebs. The two books of his  that I own are in the 109 boxes waiting for me in Milan – we still have not found an apartment that suits the RWM. We clearly will need a small room to handle his wine collection and perhaps also my stacks of cookbooks.  In the meantime, I have purchased on my e-reader his last book – A Cook’s Book, which I am enjoying immensely. I try to limit my reading in English to just a couple of books while I’m grappling with learning Italian. While this book provides Slater’s  take on many British dishes, it also includes his interpretations of  recipes from other cuisines – a fudgy American brownie,  lush Italian vegetable combinations such as Burrata with pumpkin and lentils, or Mid East-inspired grilled chicken with Tahini and za’tar, to name just three tantalizing examples.

Screen Notes

The screen version of Slater’s autobiography was written by Lee Hall, who later wrote the screenplay for the blockbuster film Billy Elliot, so you will definitely see some traces of those themes in Toast. It is a coming-of-age story, a wistful examination of a childhood through the lens of food and a poignant depiction of Slater’s adolescence and transition from familial dependence to an independent adulthood. The  widowed father, a gruff factory owner and parent who worries about his son’s homosexuality, becomes besotted with the culinary and sexual wiles of his housekeeper. 

The priceless performance of Helen Bonham Carter as the slatternly housekeeper who takes over the lives of both widowed father and son is something to behold. I never cease to be amazed at her ability to not only absorb a character completely but also to really use the force of her personality to give her role a greater depth. As Mrs. Potter, she is the icing on Nigel Slater’s cake.  It’s all delicious.

 

Hungry for More?
Subscribe to Kitchen Detail and get the newest post in your inbox, plus exclusive KD Reader discounts on must have products and services.

Share Us on Social Media:
Share
Published by
Nancy Pollard

Recent Posts

Juicy Post: An Anglo-Italian Christmas Mashup

Christmas Cultural Differences This Christmas we had one foot in Italy and the other in…

1 week ago

Celebrations: My Holy Week – The Sequel

Peace, Quiet, Snacks Even though La Cuisine closed  in January of 2018, I still have…

3 weeks ago

Celebrations: Praise For Passito

Not On My Christmas List I had to make a confession recently to the RWM*…

4 weeks ago

Superior Sources: The Art Of Mantecatura

Spaghetti Without Meatballs Like many before me, I  have long been in love with these…

1 month ago

Juicy Post: Lard vs Crisco

A Fat Confession The person writing this post was known in her previous life to…

1 month ago

Bonus Recipe: I Think We All Need A Brownie

Down Memory Lane With my move to Bologna, I forgot to count the Wednesdays in…

2 months ago