I was familiar with Grace Dent from her regular column reviewing restaurants in The Guardian, but knew nothing of her backstory. Hungry is a poignant autobiography-cum-memoir. It covers a lot of ground, with Dent being only three years older than me, the account of growing up in the 1980s resonated, even if clearly her working-class background in Cumbria was quite different. In the space of a generation, how we consume both food and information has changed beyond recognition. The choice of food - both that available in supermarkets and the broad internationalisation of our cuisines - has been one defining event for anyone of our age. Likewise, for any child of the 1970s/1980s, we are clearly able to remember a world of greater innocence, a pre-internet era. This is evoked wonderfully by Dent. I also liked her progression through London society and up the pole of journalism. Similar to my line of work, the feeling of imposter syndrome never disappears totally. Dent's description of her father's descent into dementia also touched a clear chord, given my interest in the topic. Of course, a generation ago no one ever talked of mental health. Hungry therefore makes for worthwhile reading. We all have a ‘basic’ hunger to progress and to succeed, hopefully while eating good food too. Not rated.
By Grace Dent