Andrew Turvil visits Foyles to discuss his brilliant ‘Blood, Sweat and Asparagaus Spears’
In the same decade that Britpop reinvigorated music and comedians became as big as rock stars, the 1990s heralded a gloriously full-flavoured food and drink revolution. Where we ate and what we ate were transforming, and dining out in this country would never be quite the same again.
In 1990, Britain was mocked for its bland food and over-boiled veg but by 2000, the country was on its way to being one of the world’s most exciting culinary hotspots.
Former Good Food Guide editor Andrew Turvil was there, tasting Marco Pierre White’s three Michelin starred food, clocking Jamie Oliver’s first TV take, and fielding volcanic phone calls from irate chefs. In sparkling prose and a veritable feast of 1990s food, Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears charts the wild ride from the cigarette-fueled ‘SAS of kitchens’ to Nobu’s celebrity glamour via the £5 recession lunch and the arrival of conveyor-belt sushi.
Fast-paced, funny and meticulously researched, this is a love-letter to restaurants – and the people who bled to make them great. If you’ve ever yelled “Yes, chef!” at a TV, queued for ramen, or Instagrammed a marrow bone, this is the ultimate feast of 90s nostalgia.
Described by The Independent as one of the UK’s ‘arbiters of taste’, Andrew Turvil is the former editor of The Good Food Guide, AA Restaurant Guide and Which? Pub Guide. As a freelance restaurant critic, writer, and editor, he has spent his career writing about pubs and restaurants, and, undeterred, bought a pub in 2015 and ran it for 10 years. Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears is his first book.
For more than a decade, David Ellis worked for The Standardas its food and drink editor and, later on, as the restaurant critic. He has also written for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian and The Financial Times, as well as The New York Times and The LA Times, and is a regular contributor to Country Life. He has appeared as a commentator on Sky, the BBC and LBC and is a guest judge in the upcoming series of MasterChef: The Professionals. He now works as a restaurant consultant. There is a drink named after him at Soho restaurant 40 Dean Street.
Your ticket includes a complimentary glass of wine.
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