Cover Image: Omelette

Omelette

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Member Reviews

I love the Table Manners podcast so was thrilled to be able to read Omelette, Jessie Ware's food memoir. What I didn't expect as I read it was the deeply nostalgic feeling I would get as I reminisced on my own childhood experiences that were so similar to Jessie's. I got so invested that I devoured this in one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley.

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An interesting book for any food loves or music lovers out there.I didn't know much about Jessie Ware but her short book is very sweet.

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Ingredients for a successful food memoir:

Memories with family, friends by food
Delicious descriptions of food
Sprinkled with sparkling and joyful writing

To be left to simmer and soak up all of the flavours and emotions.

Finally, to be enjoyed with a sparkling and loving writing voice.

Combining the above will leave you with Omelette, written by Jessie Ware, songwriter and podcaster.

This addictive memoir, written in vignettes, draws you into the nostalgia and comforts of food from the 90s. Growing up, tastes changing, experience different food for the first time. Spaghetti bolognese to the taste of your first G&T on a plane to making the perfect omelette. This book will leave you full up with fantastic writing.

If you love food (isn't that everyone) or food writing like Hungry by Grace Dent or Toast by Nigel Slater then you're going to love this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ebook of this book!

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Similar to her podcast, this book was like being invited to Jessie’s family dinner table. I loved reading this book, the stories are heart warming and funny. I hope this isn’t Jessie’s only book!

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Omelette by Jessie Ware is a food memoir, as much about sharing eating experiences with family and friends as it is about meals and ingredients.

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Jessie Ware is one of my favourite singers and eating is one of my favourite activities so I was very excited about this book! It's perfect for fans as it's part memoir (or a "foodoir" to be precise!) and it was great to get an insight into Jessie's early life, her friendship circles (I never knew she was bezzas with Jack Peñate) and her relationship and family. But also as a food-lover it was lovely to read stories from someone who is so passionate about food. It was funny and surprising and I loved every second. There's also some personal (and at times quite random!) recipes interspersed throughout the book. Whether you're a fan of Jessie's music or not I highly recommend this for any foodie's bookshelf.

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I was excited to read this as I’m a massive fan of the Table Manners podcast hosted by Jessie and her mum Lennie. For anyone who doesn’t know, it’s a weekly podcast where Jessie and Lennie interview a celebrity about their life and connections to food, whilst also cooking them a meal to have together. It’s a spectacular podcast that always has amazing guests and I thoroughly recommend it.

This book did not disappoint. It’s a “foodoir” by Jessie, effectively a memoir of sorts but told through her love of food, starting with the simple love of spag-bol all the way through to her mum’s go to crisis omelette.

I loved leaning more about Jessie Ware. She discusses her coming of age, music, culture, relationships, motherhood and of course, her love of food.

It’s filled with anecdotes, authenticity and humour. It also includes some short recipes. It’s a short, well written read that I really enjoyed and would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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When I started this book I had never heard of Jessie Ware so picked it up blindly and absolutely loved it, so funny and yet a serious account of food and trends throughout the years, her years. Some excellent accounts of how important food and sharing a meal is to our social development and conversations. Toast and airline food were amongst the sections of all goes of meals and a wonderful mix of tradition and habit making in action . I was about 60% through when I googled the author and found out a bit more. Listened to one of the pod casts and love that as well. Thank you #NetGalley and #HodderBooks for the copy to review.

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I’m not sure what I expected or wanted from this book. Food is involved but it is an exploration of memories and culture. Family and friendships are explored.

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I read this neither as a fan of Jessie Ware as a musician nor as a listener of her podcast - so probably not the built-in audience for this 'foodoir'. I was drawn to it because I liked the concept and I thought getting to know Jessie through this book would be fun. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I found the format jumbled and found it hard to keep track of anyone or where we were in the timeline of her life. There were some lovely moments where she talked about how much people meant to her through memories of food they'd shared, but for me, they were overshadowed too often by random anecdotes that didn't really go anywhere. This felt like a bit of a rushed effort that maybe could have been crafted into something more engaging with a through narrative with more time? I don't like being negative about books or writers, but this one just wasn't for me.

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An enjoyable and fun memoir through food which looks at snapshots of Jessie's life including friendships, love, family and her Jewish culture.

A nice quick and easy read.

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Really loved this book!

It was a bit of a surprise, as I wasn't sure a 'foodoir' would appeal to me, but I love Jessie's podcast and everything she does, so I needn't have doubted it. It's warm, friendly, open and has just a sprinkle of celebrity gossip - the perfect recipe!

I really liked the fact that it wasn't particularly chronological, and just dips in and out of tales which have been collected together by theme. It's a quick read but felt a little bit like a couple of hours with a friend - something we all need at the moment!

I'd highly recommend the book to others, and hope there's a follow up at some point in the not too distant future.

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Having read a few food based memoirs (Hungry, Toast etc) I wanted to read this short book also. Great read albeit fairly brief. Hopefully more to come...

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‘To eat gives me more pleasure than anything, perhaps even more than music. But add music to the act of eating and that is alchemy of crescendoing delight.’

I love food. It’s on a par with reading so reading about food is those two worlds colliding. I don’t read enough books about food or people who love food – something to remedy!

‘you can’t have an opinion on something unless you have tried it,’

Ware works her way through the various foods she loves and what they mean to her, reminiscing about times that food or meals have meant something to her. On occasion, she shares a recipe or two which I thought was a nice touch. I wholeheartedly agree with the toast/marmite/cheese combo but it’s a big no to the peanut butter addition! Is peanut butter another marmite thing? You love it or hate it??

There is a bit of name dropping but it’s surprising how many well known people Ware has known from before she was famous. The anecdote of her meeting the Beckhams is rather amusing and slightly cringe worthy with her plus-one’s behaviour! The name-checks didn’t bother me too much but I know some don’t like it.

Omelette is part recipe book, part food discussion, part trip down Memory Lane. Ware jumps from story to story across over thirty years of life. The list of Table Manners is funny and intriguing. Some suggest there is a more to the point…. I want to know the background. I enjoyed this delve into Ware’s omelettes of her life and I’ll definitely be checking out her foodie podcast.

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A warm and welcoming onsite into what food means to the author Jessie Ware. I loved the elements of family and friendship and how food relates to various situations in her life. A really tasty read that left me hungry for more

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Love loved this! I am a huge Jessie Ware fan and was already a fan of her writing from the brief descriptions of her recipes in her cookbook so I was very excited to read this. You could feel Jessie's humour and warmth jumping off the pages like a massive hug. I loved all the little stories and anecdotes! I hope Jessie narrates an audible version so I can listen to it too.
10/10

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An entertaining foodoir that is a celebration of friendship, family and Jewish culture, as it is about food. Lots of food and memory associations, growing up in South London in the 90's, lots of personal stories, more about food than music. Very much coming from the Table manners podcast side of Jessie Ware's career, rather than her music side. With important reflection about the pressure on new mums especially around breast feeding . A fun afternoon read.

With thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

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A warm, funny and enjoyable wander through the author's life, taking in anecdotes, advice and of course food along the way.

In this short memoir, Jessie Ware shares brief stories about her life, each of which is loosely linked to a food theme. It reads like a chat with a friend over a bottle of wine: it moves from hilarious stories to personal reflection, it jumps from one memory to another slightly randomly but always enjoyably, and it gives a sense of the author's warm, bubbly and slightly irreverent personality.

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I absolutely loved this!! As a huge fan of Jessie Ware - her music and her podcast - when I saw she was releasing her own book I was desperate to read.
This book is just so cosy and was the perfect book to read outside in the sun. It was so engrossing, and so easy to read. I read this in one sitting!

Everything in this book is so witty and brilliantly written - it feels like a book of short stories.
The reason I didn't give this book the full 5* is purely because of the layout of the book. I loved hat was within the pages, but I just didn't find any links and it felt a tad random. I think it would have been better to have some sort of thread that linked the stories and anecdotes together rather than just random and sporadic stories here there and everywhere.
I would love to re-read this book on audio, especially if Jessie narrates the book herself. I think it would add to the cosy feeling, and feel all the more personal hearing her read it.
I definitely recommend!

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This is a really breezy, accessible read that's easily digestible, light, warm and funny. It's one in the 'food-oir' vein wherebyu nostalgic memories of childhood, first love, nights out and so on are all reflected upon in the context of favourite foods, family meals, nights out in restaurants etc. It's really engaging, gossipy and candid and reflects her real love and passion for food that anyone familiar with her and her mother's Table Manners podcast will be well aware of. Really worth a read especially for those wanting more in the same vein of the podcast, and she really writes well with a feel for the flavour and excitement of food and dining.

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