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A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts
From award-winning writer Nigel Slater, comes a new and exquisitely written collection of notes, memoir, stories and small moments of joy.
Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned while at his kitchen table, soaked in a fisherman’s hut in Reykjavik, sitting calmly in a moss garden in Japan or sheltering from a blizzard in a Vienna konditorei. Nigel records the small things, events and happenings that gave pleasure before they disappeared. In A Thousand Feasts he details a soup for breakfast, packing a suitcase for a trip and watching a butterfly settle on a carpet, hiding in plain sight. He gives short stories of feasts such as a mango eaten in monsoon rain or a dish of restorative macaroni cheese.
This funny and sharply observed collection of the good bits of life, often things that pass many of us by, is utter joy from beginning to end. Nigel hones in on the scent of a bunch of home-grown sweet peas, the sound of water breathing at night in Japan, the occasional pfuff as a tiny avalanche of snow falls from leaves.
Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned while at his kitchen table, soaked in a fisherman’s hut in Reykjavik, sitting calmly in a moss garden in Japan or sheltering from a blizzard in a Vienna konditorei. Nigel records the small things, events and happenings that gave pleasure before they disappeared. In A Thousand Feasts he details a soup for breakfast, packing a suitcase for a trip and watching a butterfly settle on a carpet, hiding in plain sight. He gives short stories of feasts such as a mango eaten in monsoon rain or a dish of restorative macaroni cheese.
This funny and sharply observed collection of the good bits of life, often things that pass many of us by, is utter joy from beginning to end. Nigel hones in on the scent of a bunch of home-grown sweet peas, the sound of water breathing at night in Japan, the occasional pfuff as a tiny avalanche of snow falls from leaves.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2024
535 people are currently reading
2493 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Slater
80 books412 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 152 reviews
July 14, 2025
You know those scrap pieces of paper that are laying all over your house (well my house, anyway) with scribbled notes on them? Nigel Slater had his share of these. His were short meditations on "small moments of joy." So he organized them and voilà, a book!
Slater's meditations range from food:
"I pick up a single fruit, squeeze, and then pierce the knobbly yellow skin with my thumbnail. A spritz of juice as fine as perfume from an atomiser fills the cool winter air in the hall way. Citrus, most definitely, but also spicy, a little peppery perhaps."
to finding that perfect cup for a morning beverage: perfect size, weight, texture, and shape. I smiled when I read this description. I have two--one that I love best for tea and a different one for coffee.
to delighting in the garden:
"The tree's canopy is light and open, like a lace parasol, and filters the light, sending shimmering shadows over the moss beneath. In the afternoons and early evening the sun hits its golden leaves so the entire tree seems illuminated from beneath. against the dark greens and surrounding trees it shines on a late summer's evening like a chest full of golden coins."
to the pleasures of wandering a second-hand bookshop with which any book lover can identify:
"A second hand bookshop draws me in as a moth to a candle. Each shop is a small shrine to the power and beauty of words. . . . But even more, it is the smell that makes me want to enter every second-hand bookshop I pass. A smell that is dusty, a cross between an old leather saddle and a country church."
to the enjoyment of walking. Being a bit geographically challenged this line had me chuckling:
"I have the sense of direction of a lettuce. I have lost count of how many times, even in the friendly company of a map, I have walked for hours in completely the wrong direction."
This is a book to sip and savor, to dip into here and there as time and spirit allows. I read and delighted over these during the course of several months, one or two entries every morning with my first cuppa'.
Thanks to Diane for sharing her pleasure in this one which led me to go search for it.
Publication 2024
Slater's meditations range from food:
"I pick up a single fruit, squeeze, and then pierce the knobbly yellow skin with my thumbnail. A spritz of juice as fine as perfume from an atomiser fills the cool winter air in the hall way. Citrus, most definitely, but also spicy, a little peppery perhaps."
to finding that perfect cup for a morning beverage: perfect size, weight, texture, and shape. I smiled when I read this description. I have two--one that I love best for tea and a different one for coffee.
to delighting in the garden:
"The tree's canopy is light and open, like a lace parasol, and filters the light, sending shimmering shadows over the moss beneath. In the afternoons and early evening the sun hits its golden leaves so the entire tree seems illuminated from beneath. against the dark greens and surrounding trees it shines on a late summer's evening like a chest full of golden coins."
to the pleasures of wandering a second-hand bookshop with which any book lover can identify:
"A second hand bookshop draws me in as a moth to a candle. Each shop is a small shrine to the power and beauty of words. . . . But even more, it is the smell that makes me want to enter every second-hand bookshop I pass. A smell that is dusty, a cross between an old leather saddle and a country church."
to the enjoyment of walking. Being a bit geographically challenged this line had me chuckling:
"I have the sense of direction of a lettuce. I have lost count of how many times, even in the friendly company of a map, I have walked for hours in completely the wrong direction."
This is a book to sip and savor, to dip into here and there as time and spirit allows. I read and delighted over these during the course of several months, one or two entries every morning with my first cuppa'.
Thanks to Diane for sharing her pleasure in this one which led me to go search for it.
Publication 2024
January 4, 2025
It's Nigel Slater, so of course it's a good one. This is perfect for just dipping into here and there. Short, descriptive one page essays on just about everything.
October 27, 2024
It makes no sense but it doesn’t have to. What a gentle book, made magical by the audiobook. I would listen to Nigel Slater reading the phone book honestly.
June 9, 2025
A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy is a sublimely beautiful book
Nigel Slater is a supreme wordsmith and his cookery writing is some of the best but his prose in this book feels more like a meditation on life - recognising the beauty in the simplicity of everyday life and magnifying it into true magic.
This is a book to dip into and return to - a quiet book to read among the madness of modern living or to hibernate away and enjoy in solitude.
Wonderful and gentle observations on food, gardens, travels and life- the pallete of colour, nuance and emotion is enchanting.
This was a book that was read gradually over a few works- to read it rapidly would have been like overdosing on something delicious and missing the subtlety and beauty.
Nigel's world seems idyllic but if we all step back and breathe it is in front of all of us- small moments of joy.
Highly recommended
Nigel Slater is a supreme wordsmith and his cookery writing is some of the best but his prose in this book feels more like a meditation on life - recognising the beauty in the simplicity of everyday life and magnifying it into true magic.
This is a book to dip into and return to - a quiet book to read among the madness of modern living or to hibernate away and enjoy in solitude.
Wonderful and gentle observations on food, gardens, travels and life- the pallete of colour, nuance and emotion is enchanting.
This was a book that was read gradually over a few works- to read it rapidly would have been like overdosing on something delicious and missing the subtlety and beauty.
Nigel's world seems idyllic but if we all step back and breathe it is in front of all of us- small moments of joy.
Highly recommended
September 23, 2024
A Thousand Feasts is a fascinating insight into Nigel’s thoughts and experiences during his time as a professional chef. Through him we visit a range of different countries while he samples a variety of different foods, some of which I hadn’t heard of before reading this book so I enjoyed searching for it on the internet. Some of his descriptions were incredibly vivid and I often found my mouth watering as I read, wanting to go out to purchase them immediately. I’m not much of a chef but I found myself getting inspired as I read and wanting to try to cook some of the delicious sounding food as well.
The entries vary in length, with some being just a sentence while others are considerably longer taking up a couple of pages. Each entry gives the reader more of an insight into Nigel’s personality and I often found myself smiling at how much he seems to enjoy the simple pleasure in his life. His appreciation for everything he experiences really shines from the page and it was nice to gradually learn more about his life throughout the book.
If you are a foodie or just someone who likes memoirs I think you would love this book. It has a cosy, easy to read format will make it perfect for snuggling up with this Autumn.
Huge thanks to Indie Thinking and 4th Estate Books for my copy of this book.
The entries vary in length, with some being just a sentence while others are considerably longer taking up a couple of pages. Each entry gives the reader more of an insight into Nigel’s personality and I often found myself smiling at how much he seems to enjoy the simple pleasure in his life. His appreciation for everything he experiences really shines from the page and it was nice to gradually learn more about his life throughout the book.
If you are a foodie or just someone who likes memoirs I think you would love this book. It has a cosy, easy to read format will make it perfect for snuggling up with this Autumn.
Huge thanks to Indie Thinking and 4th Estate Books for my copy of this book.
October 11, 2024
There's a reason why I love Nigel Slater's recipes in the Guardian. It's because after reading this I can tell he thinks a lot like I do about the funniest, most random things. Roses, colors, etc. There were so many things in this book that made me laugh out loud because I saw myself in whatever sentence I was reading at that moment. Anyway, that's not really the point of a review I guess. I loved the lyrical way he strings his thoughts and sentences together and the lovely little haiku-esque lines at the end of each chapter was delightful. I found myself looking forward to each one!
December 19, 2024
I just love reading Nigel Slater. He is so mindful/present/whatever you want to call it and if you read a few chapters just before bed every night it will soothe your soul and send you off into a blissful sleep. It took me a disproportionately long time to read, mind you. Almost two months. But then again, I would recommend it be read as the kind of book you dip in and out of (in bed or a quiet moment…definitely not one for the commute). And the hard copy is just so beautiful, an absolute joy to hold, which brings me to the point that this is one of those books that must be read analogue rather than kindle or audio. It just wouldn’t work as well, in my opinion. Anyway, thank you Nigel for being you and sharing yourself with us.
December 30, 2024
Cannot stop reading everything by Nigel Slater. A poet, an observer, a chef, a gardener, all with an artist's spirit. Warm, spiced, smoky, leather, ceramics. This book is not a book of recipes, but his personal musings on topics that add richness to his life and memories. Snippets about beloved pots and walks, beautiful morsels in Japan, writing with ink pens, and the empathy for trees canopies. Not to disregard the work or effort that goes into his writing, I hope he cranks out a thousand books like this.
January 12, 2025
This Christmas present, with its vignettes of food, gardens, travel and home, was a gentle and easy read to start the year.
April 1, 2025
4.5 ⭐
This book was so delightful. The writing was beautiful and atmospheric. I loved the small moments at the end of some of the entries because they provided an intriguing connection that helped me feel connected to the writing. The writing didn't feel pretentious or oblivious to real life. I felt inspired and the entries were relevant in my own life even though I have never traveled to many of the places in the book.
I appreciated the chapters and organization by theme. Although the entries about the garden and plants didn't particularly capture my attention, I appreciated the observations. I loved the chapters about travel, cooking, and home.
My only critique is that some of the description phrases and words were repeated frequently throughout the book. It didn't annoy me, but I did notice this... that being said, I appreciated the thoughtful writing. I am looking forward to reading more of Slater's work and cookbooks!
This book was so delightful. The writing was beautiful and atmospheric. I loved the small moments at the end of some of the entries because they provided an intriguing connection that helped me feel connected to the writing. The writing didn't feel pretentious or oblivious to real life. I felt inspired and the entries were relevant in my own life even though I have never traveled to many of the places in the book.
I appreciated the chapters and organization by theme. Although the entries about the garden and plants didn't particularly capture my attention, I appreciated the observations. I loved the chapters about travel, cooking, and home.
My only critique is that some of the description phrases and words were repeated frequently throughout the book. It didn't annoy me, but I did notice this... that being said, I appreciated the thoughtful writing. I am looking forward to reading more of Slater's work and cookbooks!
December 30, 2024
I know of Nigel Slater only fleetingly from TV but I chose this after seeing a clip on Facebook of him talking about the book & reading a passage. I was attracted to his gentle and enthusiastic voice and he sounded quite emotional which endeared me and made me get a copy.
This book is a collection of his personal life moments, events and happenings related to food, drink & nature.
Miso soup for breakfast, packing a suitcase for a trip and watching a butterfly settle on a carpet. He tells of feasts such as a mango eaten in monsoon rain or a dish of restorative macaroni cheese.
He finds beauty in the smallest of things and takes pleasure in sharing it. A beautiful atmospheric book and perfect for dipping in & out of.
July 18, 2025
This is the most Nigel thing Nigel has ever written
March 31, 2025
A journey of sensory delights. Gentle and personal, this book is to be treasured. I consumed it as an audiobook, read by the author.
July 18, 2025
this book has me wanting to spend the rest of my days either quietly in the kitchen or scouring the globe for tasty morsels.
December 15, 2024
I adored this book, from start to end. A page turner on the power of slowing down and simply, yet beautifully, living in the moment. His delicately written words on tea, pottery and nature immersed me in the moment with him, I couldn’t get enough!
March 28, 2025
what a joyful, mindful, cosy book of memories and the way the everyday circles around a kitchen. i think i was going into this expecting to read a food journal of sorts but gosh this captured everything i love about cooking/baking/hosting/creating with food. i love cooking because it’s the only time my mind is calm and i can focus on just whipping egg whites, creaming butter and sugar, basting stuff, bringing things together, watching batter thicken and just enjoy staying in the magical process of making something. Nigel Slater is of course a world renowned cook but the kind of writer he is in this is so beyond just kitchen skills, you need a ferocious passion towards food and life and being present and connected and to keep always learning!
my top chapters: mangoes in monsoon in Goa, appam in Sri Lanka, kitchen scars, sharing a kitchen (something i really struggle to do), watching runner beans grow, queuing for bread in Tehran, loving horse-chestnuts…
love this for him, want this for me!!
my top chapters: mangoes in monsoon in Goa, appam in Sri Lanka, kitchen scars, sharing a kitchen (something i really struggle to do), watching runner beans grow, queuing for bread in Tehran, loving horse-chestnuts…
love this for him, want this for me!!
February 8, 2025
A gorgeous book, it's in the style of a journal and bounces around mainly through his travels in Japan, but there are memories and thoughts from other places Nigel has visited tastes sights and smells that have stuck in his memory.
Short chapters and little footnotes make this a lovely relaxing read anytime.
I loved reading this before drifting off to sleep, Nigel's gentle but beautifully descriptive voice comes through and takes you away to the places, tastes and smells he writes about.
Short chapters and little footnotes make this a lovely relaxing read anytime.
I loved reading this before drifting off to sleep, Nigel's gentle but beautifully descriptive voice comes through and takes you away to the places, tastes and smells he writes about.
September 7, 2025
3.5/5 stars
Lovely little observations--they did make me hungry though when listening about all the different types of food and dishes Slater was making/thinking about/considering.
The audiobook is also read by Slater himself which is lovely, although here and there it was difficult to follow when/whether certain pieces belonged together or not.
But overall, enjoyable collection of observations from Nigel Slater!
Lovely little observations--they did make me hungry though when listening about all the different types of food and dishes Slater was making/thinking about/considering.
The audiobook is also read by Slater himself which is lovely, although here and there it was difficult to follow when/whether certain pieces belonged together or not.
But overall, enjoyable collection of observations from Nigel Slater!
May 7, 2025
4.5 stars. This book was a vibe, a mood, an ASMR experience in book form. I listened in audio and having these little vignettes rolling in the background, dipping in here and there over months, savoring the vibrant morsels recounting simple pleasures, was delightful! I need more Nigel Slater in my life. Audiobook.
October 4, 2024
-the kind of book I would enjoy writing- reminiscences of great/interesting meals in interesting places, notes on his favourite things, nature, what bring him joy- heavy on the description
-ekphrastic delight! do not read on an empty stomach
-a keen recorder and collector
-ekphrastic delight! do not read on an empty stomach
-a keen recorder and collector
January 6, 2025
One word: BRILLIANT
If you like food, travel, evocative writing with a touch of humour in places then you can’t go passed Nigel Slater.
A Christmas present from my husband which was gratefully received and thoroughly enjoyed.
5/5
If you like food, travel, evocative writing with a touch of humour in places then you can’t go passed Nigel Slater.
A Christmas present from my husband which was gratefully received and thoroughly enjoyed.
5/5
March 7, 2025
This is not Nigel Slater's usual book about food and recipes. Although these too are always beautiful pieces of writing. But here Slater creates a book of joy, small moments that bring pleasure in the world. In glorious prose, he creates vignettes filled with sensory details. A book of treasures to dip into whenever inspiration and joy are lacking in the world.
April 27, 2025
A feast for the senses and the imagination. This book feels like Nigel Slater’s gratitude journal in some ways, and very assessable. I loved reveling in the sheer beauty of the small wonders with the author. Reading this book is grounding and inspiring in the simplest of ways.
November 30, 2024
An utter joy from beginning to end
December 31, 2024
Precious in both senses of the word.
January 20, 2025
A feast of snippets taken from Nigel Slaters notebooks over the years. It’s amazing how he even manages to make ready salted crisps sound like a culinary delight.
February 5, 2025
“Warm fat seeping through the soft white bread of a sausage sandwich.”
A lovely memoir of sorts from Nigel Slayer telling of small moments in his life, mainly through the lens of food or food related activities/ events. A very relaxing book which I enjoyed a lot. Towards the end there is a section about the garden, which I enjoyed less, but that aside the rest was a very calming, lovely read.
A lovely memoir of sorts from Nigel Slayer telling of small moments in his life, mainly through the lens of food or food related activities/ events. A very relaxing book which I enjoyed a lot. Towards the end there is a section about the garden, which I enjoyed less, but that aside the rest was a very calming, lovely read.
June 20, 2025
Lovely Nigel. This was a Christmas present which took up residence on my coffee table this year. I appreciated dipping into the short meditations on his extensive travel, his quiet home, his glorious garden and, of course, the FOOD. Classy and calm.
June 21, 2025
An absolute delight!
July 11, 2025
3.5 rounded up to 4. A bit too much of „Oh, I am so awfully awesome bad boy sometimes”… But still I have a soft spot for his writing
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews