"Life’s a Banquet" by Robin Bennett is a delectable literary feast that serves up a delightful blend of humor, insight, and wisdom. Through a series of humorous and heartfelt anecdotes, Bennett invites readers to savor the richness of life's experiences and find joy in the simplest of pleasures.

The book takes readers on a journey through the ups and downs of everyday life, from the challenges of navigating relationships and careers to the joys of family, friendship, and self-discovery. Drawing from his own experiences and observations, Bennett shares candid reflections on love, loss, success, and failure, infusing each story with warmth, wit, and wisdom.

What sets "Life’s a Banquet" apart is its refreshing honesty and authenticity. Bennett doesn't sugarcoat the realities of life, but rather embraces them with a sense of humor and resilience that is both relatable and inspiring. Whether he's recounting the trials and tribulations of parenthood, the absurdities of modern technology, or the bittersweet nostalgia of childhood memories, Bennett's writing is always infused with a sense of optimism and appreciation for life's many blessings.

The book's conversational tone and conversational style make it a joy to read, with Bennett's witty observations and playful anecdotes keeping readers engaged from start to finish. Each chapter offers a new slice of life to savor, whether it's a humorous take on the quirks of human behavior or a poignant reflection on the deeper truths that unite us all.

Bennett's writing is complemented by charming illustrations and quirky sidebars that add to the book's whimsical charm. From whimsical doodles to clever wordplay, these visual elements help bring Bennett's stories to life and enhance the overall reading experience.

At its core, "Life’s a Banquet" is a celebration of the human spirit and the joy of living fully in the moment. Through his witty observations and heartfelt reflections, Robin Bennett reminds us to savor life's simple pleasures, embrace its challenges with grace and humor, and cherish the connections that make it all worthwhile. With its blend of humor, insight, and heart, "Life’s a Banquet" is a book that will leave readers feeling uplifted, inspired, and grateful for the rich tapestry of experiences that make life worth living.

Life's a Banquet by Robin Bennett is a heartwarming and insightful memoir that chronicles the author's journey from a boyhood in rural England to a career in the food industry. With vivid descriptions and witty anecdotes, Bennett shares his passion for food and his experiences working in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world.

The book is well-written and engaging, with a strong narrative voice that draws the reader in. Bennett's love for food and cooking is evident throughout, and he has a talent for describing flavors and aromas in a way that makes your mouth water. The author's personal stories are also fascinating, giving readers a glimpse into the inner workings of the restaurant industry and the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career in food.

While Life's a Banquet is an enjoyable read, it does have a few shortcomings. At times, the author's writing can be overly verbose, and some readers may find themselves skimming certain passages. Additionally, the memoir is relatively short, and some readers may wish that Bennett had delved deeper into certain aspects of his life and career.

Overall, Life's a Banquet is a delightful and informative memoir that will appeal to anyone with an interest in food and cooking.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable uplifting read. Easy to read with some laugh out moments. A rags to riches story. Lots of lessons to be learnt..

Tried a couple of times to read but just couldn't get into it, sorry...Can't recommend I'm afraid. Some books are easy to read this one is boring.

Although this is a fun read, if you're expecting a 'how to' book the description promises, you'll be disappointed. This is more one man's thoughts and musings on how he got to where he is today without any real concrete guidelines on how to emulate his success, especially since there seems to have been a hefty dose of luck which contributed to getting to where he is today.

Still, it's enjoyable and if you enjoy memoirs, you'll like this.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

If life gives you lemons..... Add Gin!

A colourful book outlining the important of being determined to succeed. The characters are endearing and likable and the underlying story is a good one. Quick, easy read.

An OK book. I read it but it wasn't really my cup of tea - sorry.
More non-fiction than fiction which I don't overly enjoy.

I couldn’t read past 5% of this book. It was written in a dull manner and I couldn’t get into it at all. I’m sorry, just not for me.

Interesting rags to riches memoir. Amusing and quick-witted, although a little slow in places. Easy to read and easy to follow with a few life tips thrown in along the way.

An uplifting autobiography with a 'feel good factor'; fairly interesting, readable and entertaining. Some poignant parts that I'm sure most readers can equate to their own lives or at least learn a solid life lesson. I would recommend this book.

An honest and entertaining memoir that was engaging and funny in turns. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

Life’s a Banquet is a memoir that is quite interesting and amusing but I found that the format of an ebook didn’t really work for me. I’d have preferred to have a paper copy but thought I’d take a chance.

The autobiography of a man who refuses to let life bring him down - rags to riches and all that. Some of it was interesting, some of it wasn’t - same for everyone really. Footnotes and Kindles don’t really go together so I ignored them. Written in an entertaining and amusing way.

Inspirational, emotional and witty. This book is a really enjoyable memoir with lessons as an added extra special ingredient. Recommend!

Not my usual style of reading but I thought I’d give it a go for a change. I found it very interesting to learn a different perspective on life. Robin Bennett appears to be a very positive character, which reflects in his story. His trials and tribulations through life are well documented, if this is your thing, it’s worth a read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not 'the unofficial but essential ‘guide book’ to negotiating your way through life' of the description. That's dealt with in the prologue, where Mr Bennett offers his goddaughter a list of helpful life tips on her thirteenth birthday. Thereafter it is a straightforward autobiography. If the story of his posh boy schooling, drunken laddish adolescence, boorish, selfish attitude to relationships, a life spent dodging the responsibility for his own mistakes and accounts of the joy of attempting to shoot pigeons out of the sky whilst sitting drunkenly in a tree amounts to life guidance for you, then you'll love this book.

Whilst Robin Bennett is undoubtedly an amusing raconteur with an entertaining writing style, I was hoping for more sense of character development into maturity, rather than a life of laddish personality-driven sticking two fingers up. F-words can sometimes have their place in a book; at times they can be entirely appropriate. Not in this book. All they do is serve to stand out as offensive and immature. Employing a proof-reader who knows the difference between words such as pealing/peeling, diffuse/defuse, heal/heel also wouldn't have gone amiss.

Sorry Mr Bennett, I guess this review isn't going to win me a contract with any of your companies any time soon, but have an extra star for entertaining writing style.

Very funny biography.
Robin Bennett has a funny take on everything - having a dog with him becoming an icebreaker.
Its funny that Bennett's 2 main rules related to answering restroom calls was not what he followed when he was about six years old.
"We were still allowed to have a deep personal relationship with tarmac"
"liberally creosoted once a year"
Arran sweater
Teasmade and Alarm clock
"our address in conversations was shifted down the road"
In the later part, you learn how the author started the sandwich business, translation business.
Business is compared to writing.
How comic's sense of timing can help in closing the sale.
simmer to boil metaphor of closing the sale.


I dont think no one ever used footnotes so well .. making them so interesting.

The opening description of this book indicates it's a sort of overt self help guide. It really isn't.

The last para indicates it's a memoir. It is.

But it somehow manages to blend really important, salient life lessons through the story of someone who ordinarily would be considered a bit of a silver spooned upper class buffoon in the mould of Bojo. But that would do this chap a huge injustice. For one, he really can string two meaningful sentences together very, very articulately without the need to grip your thigh under the table to get your attention.

And amongst all the rollicking good fun, trials and tribulations of a larger than life life, there are some very helpful nuggets of life's lessons. And because of the way its written, the lessons have far more impact than the usual way self help books bludgeon you into believing you're actually rubbish. The way the lessons are woven into a story with the eureka moment revealed at just the right time is very clever.

And this rotter had a grown man blubbering during the story of the birth of their child; it's that well written. Heartwarming indeed.

A thoroughly enjoyable book - just don't treat it as a vanilla direct self help manual: it's far more than that.

Interesting and entertaining, well written, but hardly ‘the essential guide.........’ it claims to be.
What struck me most about this autobiography is that the author is clearly a very positive, optimistic person, who will probably always make the most of opportunities as he encounters them throughout his life. Very much a glass -half-full kind of guy, even when such opportunities take him in an entirely unexpected direction.
An enjoyable enough read which I dipped in and out of, whilst reading other books.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

An entertaining and upbeat memoir. A born entrepreneur, who has built up numerous businesses using his tried and tested method of starting small and growing organically. An inspiring example worth following!