A Greedy Man in a Hungry World: Why (Almost) Everything You Thought You Knew About Food is Wrong by Jay Rayner

$24.99 NZD

Category: Cooking & Wine

Now with a new epilogue, the UK's most influential food and drink journalist shoots a few sacred cows of food culture. Buying 'locally' does no good. Farmers' markets are merely a lifestyle choice. And 'organic' is little more than a marketing label, way past its sell by date. This may be a little hard Now with a new epilogue, the UK's most influential food and drink journalist shoots a few sacred cows of food culture. Buying 'locally' does no good. Farmers' markets are merely a lifestyle choice. And 'organic' is little more than a marketing label, way past its sell by date. This may be a little hard to swallow for the ethically-aware food shopper but it doesn't make it any less true. And now the UK's most outspoken and entertaining food writer is ready to explain why. Jay Rayner combines personal experience and hard-nosed reportage to explain why the doctrine of organic has been eclipsed by the need for sustainable intensification; and why the future lies in large-scale food production rather than the cottage industries that foodies often cheer for. From the cornfields of America to the killing lines of Yorkshire abattoirs via the sheep-covered hills of New Zealand, Rayner takes us on a journey that will change the way we shop, cook and eat forever. And give us a few belly laughs along the way. ...Show more

Chewing the Fat - Tasting Notes from a Greedy Life by Jay Rayner

$17.00 NZD

Category: Biography

'This is Rayner at his rambunctious best: upfront, full-fat, and always deliciously written.' Nigella Lawson'A sophisticated palate and a fiery, comic tongue. Jay Rayner's food writing is brilliant.' Stanley TucciWhy are gravy stains on your shirt at the dinner table to be admired?Does bacon improve eve 'This is Rayner at his rambunctious best: upfront, full-fat, and always deliciously written.' Nigella Lawson'A sophisticated palate and a fiery, comic tongue. Jay Rayner's food writing is brilliant.' Stanley TucciWhy are gravy stains on your shirt at the dinner table to be admired?Does bacon improve everything?And is gin really the devil's work?In this rollicking collection of his hilarious columns, the award-winning writer and Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner answers these vital questions and many, many more. They are glorious dispatches, seasoned in equal measure with both enthusiasm and bile, from decades at the very frontline of eating.'Deliciousness served up in book form.' Philippa Perry'Wonderfully funny, foodie and perfectly short.' Tom Kerridge ...Show more

My Dining Hell: Twenty Ways to Have a Lousy Night Out (Penguin Special) by Jay Rayner

$12.99 NZD

Category: Humour | Series: Penguin Shorts/Specials

I have been a restaurant critic for over a decade, written reviews of well over 700 establishments, and if there is one thing I have learnt it is that people like reviews of bad restaurants. No, scratch that. They adore them, feast upon them like starving vultures who have spotted fly-blown carrion out I have been a restaurant critic for over a decade, written reviews of well over 700 establishments, and if there is one thing I have learnt it is that people like reviews of bad restaurants. No, scratch that. They adore them, feast upon them like starving vultures who have spotted fly-blown carrion out in the bush. They claim otherwise, of course. Readers like to present themselves as private arbiters of taste; as people interested in the good stuff. I'm sure they are. I'm sure they really do care whether the steak was served au point as requested or whether the souffle had achieved a certain ineffable lightness. And yet, when I compare dinner to bodily fluids, the room to an S & M chamber in Neasden (only without the glamour or class), and the bill to an act of grand larceny, why, then the baying crowd is truly happy. Don't believe me? Then why, presented with the chance to buy this ebook filled with accounts of twenty restaurants - their chefs, their owners, their poor benighted front of house staff - getting a complete stiffing courtesy of the sort of vitriolic bloody-curdling review which would make the victims call for their mummies, did you seize it with both hands? ...Show more

My Last Supper - One Meal, a Lifetime in the Making by Jay Rayner

$45.00 NZD

Category: Cooking & Wine

You're about to die. What would your final meal be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. As a man more obsessed with his lunch than is strictly necessary, the idea of a showpiece last supper is a tantalising prospect. But wouldn't knowledge of your imminent demise ruin your appetite? So, Jay deci You're about to die. What would your final meal be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. As a man more obsessed with his lunch than is strictly necessary, the idea of a showpiece last supper is a tantalising prospect. But wouldn't knowledge of your imminent demise ruin your appetite? So, Jay decided to cheat death. The plan was simple: he would embark on a journey through his life in food in pursuit of the meal to end all meals. It's a quest that takes him from necking oysters on the Louisiana shoreline to forking away the finest French pastries in Tokyo, and from his earliest memories of snails in garlic butter, through multiple pig-based banquets, to the unforgettable final meal itself. My Last Supper is both a hugely entertaining account of a life built around mealtimes and a fascinating global exploration of our relationship with what we eat. It is the story of one hungry man, in eight courses. ...Show more

My Last Supper - One Meal, a Lifetime in the Making by Jay Rayner

$24.99 NZD

Category: Biography & Memoir

'Hilarious, informative, enlightening, instructive ... It's the funniest book I've read all year' - Chris Evans You're About to Die. What Would Your Final Meal Be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. But why wait for death? Why not eat your 'last meal' now, when you can enjoy it? So, he had a si 'Hilarious, informative, enlightening, instructive ... It's the funniest book I've read all year' - Chris Evans You're About to Die. What Would Your Final Meal Be? This question has long troubled Jay Rayner. But why wait for death? Why not eat your 'last meal' now, when you can enjoy it? So, he had a simple plan: he would embark on a journey through his life in food in pursuit of the meal to end all meals. It's a quest that takes him from necking oysters on the Louisiana shoreline to forking away the finest French pastries in Tokyo, and from his earliest memories of snails in garlic butter, through multiple pig-based banquets, to the unforgettable final meal itself. This is the story of one hungry man, in eight courses. 'Witty, wise, and, obviously, delicious.' Guardian 'A raucous, joyous celebration of life.' Irish Times ...Show more

The Apologist by Jay Rayner

$27.00 NZD

Category: Fiction

The Man Who Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner by Jay Rayner

$29.99 NZD

Category: Cooking & Wine

'Nobody goes to restaurants for nutritional reasons. They go for experience, and what price a really top experience?'What price indeed? Fearlessly, and with huge wit and knowledge and verve, award-winning food writer Jay Rayner has searched the world for the perfect meal. Sparing neither his wallet nor 'Nobody goes to restaurants for nutritional reasons. They go for experience, and what price a really top experience?'What price indeed? Fearlessly, and with huge wit and knowledge and verve, award-winning food writer Jay Rayner has searched the world for the perfect meal. Sparing neither his wallet nor his digestive system, he has been to places, met people and eaten things the rest of us can only fantasize about. From Las Vegas and London to Moscow and Tokyo, the result is an enormously entertaining and informative romp through the world's best -- and worst -- restaurants. ...Show more

The Man Who Ate the World : In search of the perfect dinner by Jay Rayner

$39.99 NZD

Category: Cooking & Wine

The Man Who Ate The World" is a journey through the great cities of the world. It's about extraordinary restaurants and the people who visit them. It's about the globalisation of high culture, the market in taste and the money spent on it. And, of course, it's about dinner. From Las Vegas to Moscow, Dub The Man Who Ate The World" is a journey through the great cities of the world. It's about extraordinary restaurants and the people who visit them. It's about the globalisation of high culture, the market in taste and the money spent on it. And, of course, it's about dinner. From Las Vegas to Moscow, Dubai to Tokyo and New York to London, Jay Rayner chronicles the revolution in high-end gastronomy that has been sweeping the world since the late eighties. Not simply an account of endless meals in high-end restaurants, it is an exploration of the cities and cultures in which they are found; the inevitable involvement of Russian mafia in Moscow's luxury post-soviet catering business, Tokyo's efforts to fuse ancient Asian culture with Western ideas, and the feverish cult of the Manhattan restaurant in a town which considers itself the most cosmopolitan in the world. Part character-driven travelogue, part food critique, always sharp and often funny, this book is the result of Jay's lifelong campaign to find the perfect meal. Just don't read it if you're hungry. First published 2008. ...Show more

The Oyster House Siege by Jay Rayner

$37.00 NZD

Category: Fiction

It's General Election night, in the year 1983. The great and good have gathered in The Oyster House restaurant in central London to celebrate a Conservative victory that looks set to transform Britain. But when two masked gunmen burst through the door, chased by the police, and take a group of diners ho It's General Election night, in the year 1983. The great and good have gathered in The Oyster House restaurant in central London to celebrate a Conservative victory that looks set to transform Britain. But when two masked gunmen burst through the door, chased by the police, and take a group of diners hostage, none of them will ever be the same again. Over the next four days confined in the Oyster House kitchen, one of the gunmen, Nathan, glimpses a different kind of life, dedicated not to crime but to cooking. But he has lost control of the situation and time is fast running out. His partner in crime, Trevor, is keen to hurt someone badly and the SAS are stationed outside and might end the siege at any time... ...Show more

The Oyster House Siege by Jay Rayner

$28.00 NZD

Category: Crime & Thrillers

Wasted Calories and Ruined Nights - A Journey Deeper into Dining Hell by Jay Rayner

$14.99 NZD

Category: Cooking & Wine

Includes Le Cinq, Beast and Farm Girl Café, and a new introduction by the author. Jay Rayner isn't just a trifle irritated. He is eye-gougingly, bone-crunchingly, teeth-grindingly angry. And admit it, that's why you picked up this book, isn't it? Because you aren't really interested in glorious prose po Includes Le Cinq, Beast and Farm Girl Café, and a new introduction by the author. Jay Rayner isn't just a trifle irritated. He is eye-gougingly, bone-crunchingly, teeth-grindingly angry. And admit it, that's why you picked up this book, isn't it? Because you aren't really interested in glorious prose poems celebrating the finest dining experiences known to humanity, are you? You want him to suffer abysmal cooking, preferably at eye-watering prices, so you can gorge on the details and luxuriate in vicarious displeasure. You're in luck. Revel in Jay's misfortune as he is subjected to dreadful meat cookery with animals that died in vain, gravies full of casual violence and service that redefines the word 'incompetent'. He hopes you enjoy reading his reviews of these twenty miserable meals a damn sight more than he didn't enjoy experiencing them. ...Show more