Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain

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Suddenly the socially insecure decided that "supper" was an upper-class word for dinner that was a) despicable and b) risible. They went on and ON about it. Vogler even alleges that "tweedy people" call it "sups" (quite untrue, and why is "tweedy" an insult?). Every time she uses the words "kitchen supper" she apologises for their "tweeness". What does she think "twee" means? Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Scoff is entertaining and thought provoking in equal measure - a thoroughly engaging read... It certainly made me reassess how I have viewed certain foods in the past.' -Sam Bilton

I once had tea with a Lord on the tiny island of Carriacou which he had invited me to visit. We sat on the terrace of his villa on the lovely pink-sand beach of Hillsborough with three of his women friends. I had scarcely begun to drink my tea when I saw a look pass between the women. What had I done? I saw the sneer. I hadn't crooked my little finger, I hadn't stirred my tea so that it slopped over the side. I couldn't think. But I could see them looking down their noses at me. They'd marked me out. I was only middle class. But how? I have the right kind of accent (also a Welsh one for street cred and a sort of Caribbean one that doesn't impress West Indians). I pondered over it for days. A terrific history, in bite-sized chunks, of how food and drink relates to social status.' -Book of the Week, The Guardian We had such a mixed experience at Scoff & Banter. The service was friendly and welcoming but slow and awkward - drinks came in drips and drabs, waiter said one thing but then did something else.So utterly fascinating that I read it in great greedy gulps, like a novel. Vogler is incredibly good company as she dismantles pretty much every assumption we make about how we, and other people, eat.' -India Knigh, Sunday Times A rich, persuasive diet of social friction, anecdotes and witty observation... It's a book to make the reader both think and salivate.' - Financial Times lots of fun little titbits but it doesn't really hang together very well. In the conclusion she states that there were 3 throughlines to the stories and I think she would have been better off structuring it around those throughlines instead of bouncing from food item to food item.

I suggested that a triangle of aged Brie de Meux would be better, but sliced cheese was easier to use when she made my sandwiches. I had no choice but to explain the real motivation behind my cheese preferences; sliced cheese was “working class” and it was my opinion that, as a family, we should pay greater regard to our lower-upper-middle-class social standing when selecting dairy comestibles. Vogler's book is a series of dazzling essays on subjects such as venison pasties, spices, Christmas pudding and Brussels sprouts. The learning and the range of references, from obscure Italian Renaissance texts to Bridget Jones, are astounding.' - Literary Review Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler is sensitive to language, and she wields it brilliantly herself. Bons mot jostle with the kind of truth-skewering opinions that win reputations for restaurant critics... Ultimately, Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating.' - Sunday Times Reading notes In the North of England, meals are breakfast, dinner and tea. In the South they are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Helen Fielding during her first week in Oxford was invited by her tutor for dinner and turned up in the middle of the day. Her tutor, astonished, explained how things worked in the more sophisticated world she was moving into!Taste in food, as Pen Vogler shows in this erudite yet lively compendium, is not just about preferred flavour, but what items in your shopping basket say about who you are or, more precisely, who you aspire to be... Scoff is full of such fascinating, intelligent dissections of familiar foods and culinary practices... Superb.' -Book of the Week' - The Times Review This book will delight foreigners, especially Americans with all the quirky, class-based rules that govern our choice of food. They will then be qualified to go to Waitrose (our version of WholeFoods) to select the appropriate upper middle class brand of whatever it is they want be it jam, cheese, or bread etc. And they will pay for it! For the British, it is a good way of learning to up your game as you up your accent and lose the regional phrasing that immediately identifies what class you are from. Don't be put off by the author's implied sneering at the upper classes and their food habits, that's called reverse snobbery. Has much to say about centuries of Britain's past and its place in the world, and the fact that it's peppered with historical recipes makes it all the more appealing.' - History Revealed

Pen Vogler is a smart, waspish guide to our national cuisine and what it tells us about ourselves. In short, sharp essays, she looks at, among other things, the class status of avocados and the revolutionary status of vegetarianism. Her chapter on the social history of tea drinking is a particular delight.' - The Herald aga põhiliselt ikkagi oli huvitav leida läbi ajaloo ja igasuguste toitude juures seda suhtumist, mis siiamaani kuhugi kadunud pole - kõrgemad klassid ja rikkamad inimesed kirjutavad vaestele suure hoolega ette, mida need süüa (ja kust seda hankida) tohiksid ja mis neile kindlasti hea ei ole. muster ikka sama - aristokraadid leiavad mingi uue toidu, keskklass võtab selle üle, aga selleks ajaks, kui töölisklass kohale jõuab ja ka tahaks, leiavad eelmised, et tegu on ikkagi ebatervisliku toiduga, mida vaene inimene endale küll lubada ei tohiks. ikkagi jah pigem klassisüsteemist jutustas see raamat mulle, toit oli lihtsalt... huvitav vaatenurk sellele lähenemiseks. (pealkiri "Scoff" on päris hea sõnamäng, sest see sõna tähendab inglise keeles nii õgimist kui halvustamist. ja täpselt sellest raamat ongi. kuidas ühed söövad ja teised kritiseerivad, tihti ise samal ajal sama asja süües.)For all its rich history of foods, I find that sort of cultural material much more interesting (tea sounds common; napkin sounds ridiculous). Pen Vogler provides a fascinating social history of British food through the centuries and throws in a selection of enticing recipes from the past for good measure.' -History Books of the Year, Daily Mail või kuidas oleks näiteks maiustega? "Chocolate has always had a double career: healthful for the deserving (ourselves) and a sure road to ruin for the uneducated or morally idiotic (others)."