Grace Dent growing up in Carlisle and her route to becoming a food critic. Variously funny and sad in equal parts. Easy to read. I enjoyed it.

A frank, funny and touching memoir. I could not put it down. It made me laugh out loud and cry when she was speaking about her Father's dementia. Grace Dent is someone you would like as that mad, confident but sometimes fragile best friend.

Hungry by @gracedent - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thank you so much to @harpercollinsuk & @netgalley for sending me an advanced copy to review!

So, I’d originally planned to pop something about this beautiful memoir over on my food account - it’s a book written by a food critic called Hungry after all - but actually, while food, taste and memory of meals and dishes is an important thread through the book it’s not actually a food book: it’s about family.

I raced through Hungry reading at least the first 60% in one sitting one rainy Sunday afternoon - I probably would have read the whole thing in one of I’d not had a lamb shoulder in the oven calling out for attention. As a Times reader I’d never really come across much of Grace’s writing before so I was surprised at how funny, irreverent and personable she is on the page. Really, this book is a catalogue of how one working class Northern girl breaks away from what is expected of her, breaking into the ‘glitzy’ life of London journalism, and of how her family keeps her rooted to home.

At times the book is heartbreaking, detailing her fathers steady decline into dementia and how Grace as a child slowly uncovers family secrets. And at others, it is deeply nostalgic, making me smile being reminded of things from our pre-internet lives for the first time in decades, such as Teletext, and that Ant & Dec used to be a musical duo.

Hungry is heartbreaking and life affirming. Even if you’re not that much into food, or you’ve never read one of Graces columns, I still think you’ll enjoy it!

Hungry is the story of Grace Dent and her journey to fame as an acclaimed food critic.
I have to admit, even though I enjoyed reading about Grace growing up in the 70s and 80s- I could definite relate to her growing up without internet- and learning more about growing up in those times, including what they ate and the changes to their diet brought by the arrival of big supermarkets, such as Asda. However, it wasn't until the second half of the book that I really got transfixed in Grace's story and her career. Her determination is inspiring, despite having to deal with a challenging situation with her dad.

A must read.

* Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange of an honest review *

Grace Dent if the Restaurant Critic at the Guardian. This memoir starts with her making Spaghetti Bolognese with her Dad, who she is obviously very close to. It covers her growing up in Cumbria about 6 miles away from Carlisle , she then goes to University before moving to London to start her writing career. From being a child she had always wanted to write for a magazine. It brings the 70s and 80s to life.

I’m pretty sure there have only been one or two books that have made me cry as an adult. I did NOT expect this book to join the ranks.

Hungry is restaurant critic Grace Dent’s memoir. From shopping at the Currock ASDA to eating at the finest restaurants around the country as a columnist for the Guardian and Evening Standard: beige frozen dinners, 12p reduced hot cross bus, foie gras and truffles – she covers it all.

A homage to food and family; the memories, good and bad, attached to the food we eat together, and how they remind us where we come from. As drool-worthy as it was to read about fine dining, the earlier chapters and the time she devotes to her hometown and the changing face of British food are by far the most interesting.

Grace and the rest of the Dents are charming and cheeky: I loved her anecdotes, especially the ‘little’ white lies that got her a place working at Cosmopolitan. So many of her earlier food memories were nice little reminders of my own childhood dinners – the chapter devoted to budget carvery restaurants especially!

Her relationship with her Dad is laced throughout the novel, but rather than battling food talk for dominance, the two threads lace together perfectly; as her father’s illness gets worse, it’s food that keeps the family going. A Cadbury’s Fruit ‘n’ Nut bar is more than just chocolate in this novel: it’s a reliable comfort in the darkest times.

If discussions of dementia are something that’s upsettingly familiar, this book definitely leaves an ache: for me, while sad and hitting close to home, Hungry was also incredibly cathartic. I bawled at one chapter towards the end where Grace has to move her father into a home, but I also cried happy tears at the book’s last line.

A brilliant memoir of working-class 1970’s Carlisle. Relatable to anyone who’s ever taken a bite to eat and tasted a memory, or ever tried to slip snacks into the shopping trolley when adults weren’t looking.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thanks for Netgalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my thoughts!

Oh my word, did Grace & I have very similar childhoods! Hungry tells Grace’s story from growing up eating convenience food (why make a lasagne when you can buy one for 99p & microwave it?) through the glamourous days of cheese & pineapple hedgehogs and the horror of encountering rare meat for the first time to becoming one of the country's most well known food critics.
Grace reminds us that food & memories are intertwined - the smell of school gravy, Sunday afternoon tea with your gran, the beige food that still gives that warm carby-hug when you aren't feeling 100% ... it's a very down to earth & real story of life & food over the last 40+ years

At every page-turn, I was seeing my life paralleled alongside Grace's ("oh wow, somebody else got excited over a supermousse" or "I'd totally forgotten that, but it's so true!). We didn't shop in "Prestos", we had "Fine Fare" but the joy of slipping a bottle of icemagic in the trolley was the same! I too remember making a cheese & pineapple hedgehog, as a student I too discovered Buckfast tonic when the novelty of Thunderbird had worn off ...
(It's not just about the food, the memories of Mizz magazine, the catsuits, the Rimmel Heather Shimmer lipstick, the demi-waves, watching The Krypton Factor … this was my life as well as Grace's!)

Grace is funny, down to earth, very "real" - she is an ordinary girl from an ordinary background who made the most of opportunities. Her memoir is the same, funny, down to earth, real. It’s refreshing to read something that is so honest – Grace agrees that some modern food trends are absolutely ridiculous – why hang food on the washing line when you can just serve it on a plate??!
By the end of the book we see how Grace deals with her father’s dementia and her mother’s cancer. The epilogue is very poignant as Grace shared how her parents are coping during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Overall, a fantastic read for anyone born in the early 1970s who wants to have an "oooh, I remember that" moment on every page, or for anyone who likes food!

Grace is one of my favourite critics on Masterchef so I was interested to read her memoir. It was interesting to follow her journey from working class Carlisle to reviewing top restaurants in London came to be.
Full of laughs and nostalgia for life and food, she shows how hard graft with some blag and lucky breaks got her to being one of Britain's top food critics.

This was weird for me as I requested this solely on Nigel Slater's recommendations and it was only when I got it, did I realize that I had no idea who Grace Dent was!. Once I got over that hurdle,it was an excellent read and I could identify totally with her upbringing. Recommended

I think Grace Dent is brilliant and this book was great! Being about the same age I loved all the references to growing up in the 70’s and 80’s and could relate to a lot of the things mentioned. It really made me chuckle as it brought back my own memories! It also brought a tear to the eye in places too - emotional at times.
An excellent book.

When I was invited to read a copy of this book, it was like being granted a wish by a fairy godmother.


I have followed Grace ( I like to think she’d be my friend, so I’m sticking to calling her Grace) both in her columns /reviews in the Guardian and also on Masterchef.


Her Northern tones have always reassured me that she would tell it like it is, yet during some of her lockdown articles I was also touched by her sensitive, laced with humour, articles about her mother.


I couldn’t wait to start reading the book, and immediately fell down an Alice in Wonderland type hole into memories that had been long buried- those sweets, the school dinners, the music. I was there too, Grace, not quite as far North as you- but sharing the same experiences!


I remember always devouring her columns back in the day when she wrote for the London Evening Standard, and this biography continues what I have always loved about her writing. She is self-analytical and honest about her journalistic career, witty in her observations but then shows such a human compassionate side in dealings with her family. I suspect there is still a great deal more to Grace than we get to see.


I’m not a huge fan of biographies, but I recommend this one- and if there’s one restaurant critic I’d love to go out for dinner with, it’s my new friend, Grace!

I loved this book , it made me laugh ,cry and get mad at times. Honest and no punches pulled tale of how Grace rose from school truant to the respected food writer and broadcaster that she is today . Wonderful .Charts the rise of Britains food obsessed culture from school dinners ,meals at home consisting of reduced stickered food through to haute cuisine in restaurants that Grace as a child would never imagine she could eat in .

Thank you for the free e-copy in exchange for a review. I have since acquired my own physical copy and will be reading and reviewing that in the near future. Thank you for the copy it was much appreciated and I still can't wait to read this book.

I have been a fan of Grace Dent for a while. She is my favourite judge on Masterchef and I love her reviews for The Guardian. I am one of the people she mentions in her book, unlikely to ever visit many of the places she discusses, but enjoying the details of the experience nonetheless. Her memoir is honest, funny, and heart wrenching in equal measure. I would highly recommend.

The book charts Dent's life from childhood up to present day; she discussed her down-to-earth working class upbringing in Carlisle that made me nostalgic for my own childhood. She accounts her time at school, university and making the brave (and potentially risky) decision to move to London and break into the world of media. Along the way, she talks frankly about food and how different meals relate to different times in her life, and the comfort and consternation that can come along with big changes in your life, how you see yourself and how others view you. Her account of the conflict she feels between her career and the needs of her family are heart-breaking and I found myself tearful on more than one occasion. She is brutally honest about her life in her twenties, the feelings she must battle in caring for her aging parents, and yet does so with humour and can still find joy in dark moments. Despite some of the sadder moments, I found the book uplifting and a testament to the power of love, family and, of course, food.

An interesting memoir that evoked many childhood memories for me. It is not just about food but very much about the author's working class background, with humour and heartache thrown in.
An insight into food from different eras and areas and reasonably well put together.

I shed more than a few tears over this book. Hungry, above all else, is about love and family.
Grace grows up in a working-class home in Carlisle. She loves her imperfect family and forgives their trespasses. Grace knows that no one is going to hand a working-class woman a job in journalism so she reaches out and grabs it with both hands. What follows is a brilliant and honest account of her life and love of food and what money can and can't give you. Superb.

Thanks so to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I adored it. Grace is a fantastic writer & her book is full of nostalgia. It's raw & honest & heartbreaking when her parents get sick. I can't recommend it enough.

Hungry is brilliantly honest, funny, touching and for anyone of a similar age to Grace Dent a wonderful reminder of growing up in the 80's. Grace writes completely as herself, including the not so good moments along with the good ones. If she isn't already, Grace Dent could be your next female crush

I was given a copy of Hungry by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book. I actually found it touching as well as funny. I had forgottent the small things. How a particular bar of chocolate as a child has stayed with you all your life. How the impact of the large supermarkets changed lives, changed choice and a visit to 'Asda' was an outing. Having also grown up through this it took me back to my childhood. Many working class children fought and moved away from their homes and backgrounds to make their way in a world where privilege was paramount but finding later that they could not and did not want to be estranged. Equally I could relate to eating at a Michelin restaurant and coming home starving and eating egg on toast. The book for me was very real and written in a very bright and witty way. Highly recommend.

This is an evocative account of childhood and beyond - and the eating we do whilst we grow up. Never have I wanted a curly wurly more than when I was reading this book. It’s an immersive account into the food politics of family life, hilarious, heart breaking and insightful. A three course meal of a book.