Inside the Mind and Understanding the Taste Buds of Giles Coren

Recently, I just finished reading this book by British food critic Giles Coren. I discovered this book a few weeks ago whilst on vacation in London. I was shopping at the Waterstone's (book store) near our hotel when this shiny cover with caught my eye. I love food and I really like Giles, so buying his book was a no-brainer. 

I loved this book. It was really well written, insightful, and just down right hilarious! I mean, it's written in his voice, which is a style of writing that I really admire; very reminiscent of Stephen Fry's prose style. Giles isn't afraid to tell you what he's thinking, for better or for worse, and I appreciate his honesty. At times I thought he was a bit too extreme in his opinions (ex: "Chocolate is utterly pointless. It is what fat people have instead of cigarettes." - pg 253), but overall, I thought his observations were spot on. 

One of my favorite things about this book is that between every other chapter, Giles provides these little tidbits. Whether it's how to order wine, how to get the best service, dining etiquette...he tells you everything you need to know. I thought it was sort of cool and helpful. Here are some examples of those tips that I found online. I don't know who uploaded or remade them, but here they are.

I found this book particularly relatable and almost comforting right after I bought it because my food poisoning misadventure was just beginning. Giles has a little blurb about how to cope with food poisoning. His advice was take an immodium and it will pass in 24 hours...I took Giles' advice, but sadly, my food poisoning was a bit more extreme...Still, it was nice getting advice from a food critic. 

He also had a chapter on "The Supersizers," which I really really really enjoyed reading. It was basically a behind the scenes look on the program. Giles told was what happened behind the cameras and what he really thought of the foods and diets. As a fan of the series, I thought this chapter was fascinating. The best part, despite the popularity of the show, Giles explains why "The Supersizers" did not return for a third series. It seems that the diets were taking their toll and they simply ran out of periods to explore! A reasonable answer, but its still sad. 

Anyway, I won't bore you any longer. I am no book critic, but I just thought I'd put this book out on the radar. If you like food and you like to laugh, you may enjoy this! (It also helps if you are familiar with Giles and what he's like).