I have long admired Ruby Tandoh's incisive writing on the cultural history of food and her ability to pulsate between the micro and macro politics of food systems and people's day to day relationship with the food they consume. This book is no different and I learnt a tremendous amount about the ways in which our food culture and our tastes are shaped by branding, marketing, social media and other less visible forces. There is an incredible amount of research that adds rigour to her arguments. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Entertaining and thought-provoking whether you're a huge foodie or just have a nostalgic love of food from your childhood.
This book covers everything from the rise of the Vienetta, food critics, Instagram influencers, fast food, dinner parties and everything in-between.
I smiled and nodded at so many references to both how easily led we are with food trends and advertising, and Ruby Tandoh really adds personality to her perspectives on how we became consumers of food beyond basic nutrition. This would make a great gift for anyone who already has a million cookbooks, or who enjoys nothing better than giving that latest trending recipe a whirl.

I really enjoyed reading All Consuming - I found it an intriguing, but also surprisingly humorous, read. It also inspired some self-reflection on my own food habits, and the emotions attached to them. Chapters which were particular highlights for me included:
The chapter on bubble tea - I lived in London during the early 2010s, and went to Bubbleology, but (as with many things I had previously before reading this book) hadn't considered the context behind it.
The cookbook reflection and synopses - this chapter again led me off on a new train of thought. It made me reflect on how many of my most beloved cookbooks sit pristine on a shelf, read and cooed over, but without a single recipe from them every being cooked.
The ice cream chapter - I hadn't realised how soon after a surge of innovative ice creams I was born, or how this likely led to me being a Cornetto (and Twister) afficiando.
All Consuming really made me think about the food I consume and why - and how this forms part of a wider food culture (and culture more generally). I found Tandoh's concluding comments about eating never truly being a solitary act to be quite profound. Alongside this, however, All Consuming also made me chuckle aloud a fair few times - it was a wonderful reading experience.

Thoughtful and interesting on the state of British food (I particularly enjoyed the section on bubble tea) but at times Tandoh writes with a universality that doesn't always feel earned.

All Consuming, by Ruby Tandoh is extremely readable; the words just flow across the page, making it such a compelling read. It’s clearly very well researched and absolutely fascinating. I loved learning about how recipe sourcing has evolved over the years, along with the shifts in our eating habits and food trends. There's a brilliant analysis of food history, recipe books, food critics, influencers, TikTok trends, and so much more.

I kept stopping to tell my husband all the interesting facts I was learning! It really made me think about what we eat, why we eat it, and how that’s changed over time. I found myself smiling at the start of lots of chapters as familiar foods and themes were explored. It’s also well structured, and I was really pleased to see suggested further reading and recipe books in the epilogue.  I’ve really enjoyed this book and now want to read more by Ruby Tandoh. Fully recommend!

A bit of a slow start but what a fascinating subject.
Who influences our choices of food, how and why they do it.
From the internet, global migration big businesses and other factors.
The rise of the multinationals and why they could become so influential in our choices of food .
I found this to be a fascinating book full of information that you know but haven't put together to make the full picture.

In All Consuming, Ruby Tandoh poses and answers some interesting questions about food; why we consume what we consume, why has bubble tea become popular, for example, the way we consume them, the cultures of online recipe communities - so, expect sociological, personal that is identifiable, cultural, economic and historian information. Tandoh’s passion for food and writing are excellent.
Absolutely worthy read.
4 stars because I was expecting something slightly different.

All Consuming is a book about the history of how we choose what to eat, as Ruby Tandoh investigates how over the past century many forces have changed what influences what we eat, especially in Britain and the US. The sections explore things like the changing face of recipes and cookbooks, the role of the critic before and into the social media age, and how trends like bubble tea and burgers took off in the UK.

If you have any interest in food culture in the UK (and the US), this book provides an interesting look into what influences our food choices, whether that is through celebrities, critics, recipes, supermarkets, or more. As someone who enjoys watching videos online of people trying different food, I liked this chance to reflect on what some of the food trends mean, and look into the history of certain areas. I particularly liked the part where Tandoh picks out some big name cookbooks in the UK and discusses what they say about cookbook and recipe culture.

I found myself wanting to share her thoughts with other people (I particularly liked her point about how if you start queuing for some hyped food, you cannot actually queue ironically, you are just part of that hyped queue) and the book covers something I've not seen other books or videos discuss, making it feel original and fresh. The book is an exploration rather than arguing a particular point and I like the space it offers to think about why we choose food, as well as a lot of suggested follow up reading if you want to keep exploring.

Eat Up truly altered something in my brain so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on this. It's a very different angle but has Ruby's signature style. It gives so much insight into food culture, from how recipes used to pass from person-to-person to food magazines to today's tiktokification of food. It got me thinking about my own food choices. And it's the same for her, that question of what you're trying because you enjoy it and what's the culture of abundance. Thoroughly recommend.

I hadn’t read a book quite like this one before. It was an interesting delve into the world of food and advertising and promotion and how our tastes have changed over the decades. A great read if you’re into food history, and food influencers, and the future of our food industry.

Being a child of the sixties and seventies and growing up in family that grew their veg, baked, bottled, pickled , preserved - out of necessity rather than fad or fashion , I've always loved food, sharing food and talking about food with family and friends. I don't think we'd ver had called ourselves foodies - just inane desire to find pleasure from food.

Over the years food has changed, the veggies grown in the garden have changed and the dialogue has changed...the world of consuming food, buying food, connecting to food has dramatically moved on... ( but I guess it always has over the decades/centuries)

What drew me to this book ... a feeling of needing to connect and understand the paths that eating and drinking has taken.... I am an older demographic and I have had bubble tea, eaten a variety of 'street food"( good and very bad) and for a short period tried to engage with insta reels..but still have felt bewildered and a bit isolated or maybe left out of what is happening ...or does it not even matter when things disappear in the flick of a influencer's eyes or tastebuds?? But trying to understand the changes occurring is fascinating ( is it needed is another question - especially if you don't live in a metropolis?)

Ruby Tandoh's ' All Consuming' is a brilliant read- a very personal discourse on the world of food and its evolution in relation to certain aspects.
This is a book that is written from the heart; it's informative; it opens questions; it broadens understanding and also leaves you wondering whether the connection to food and its origins and the fashionable ever-evolving love of food is getting wider and wider.

The range of exploration and questioning ranges from cookery bookies, online recipes, the dinner party, food critics, the world of fizzy drinks, the world of Viennettas and Magnums and even the good old Wimpy.

Ruby's style is instantly engaging and this book was devoured ( no pun intended) over a few days- it could be a book to dip into and then come back to- each theme stands alone. I was hooked and the flow and pace had me hooked.

There is a wonderful sense of curiosity and exploration in the prose- sometimes tongue in cheek, sometimes a sense of annoyance, sometimes just a beautiful acknowledgement that good food is good food regardless of it being home made, supermarket purchased or eaten after queuing for an age.

There are many other themes that could have been explored that open up the discourse further and wider . This is primarily an anglophile or English speaking/focus - UK/USA exploration as how to food is consumed and has developed- it would be intriguing to know what has happened / is happening in other cultures but in an ever increasingly homogenised - phone addicted world the stories may well ( albeit sadly) end up with similar outcomes in future years .- one big global feast! The impact of food consumerism and climate change is another chapter in the making for all of us.

But " All Consuming" is fantastic read - for food lovers ( not just foodies) and is highly recommended. I dare you not to learn at least three or facts to share at your next "dinner party "!!

Ruby Tandoh is one of my favourite food writers - there, I'm just going to say it. And I can vividly remember when I, a baby Netgalley reviewer, got an advanced e-copy of her first book, 'Eat Up' and reading it in my grotty student kitchen while I waited for the kettle to boil and finally began to understand why my relationship to food was so fucked. I recommend 'Eat Up' to everyone. I've bought copies of it for friends who were in a similar boat and needed to begin unpacking decades of learned behaviours. So, when 'All Consuming' popped up on my Netgalley feed, I requested it with the voracious hunger of someone who'd been on a 10-day sugar detox seeing a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

'All Consuming' is a collection of deeply researched essays exploring modern food culture, specifically through its intersections with social media and internationalism. One chapter talks about how the UK became such devotees of bubble tea; another explores the world of ice cream. Another details how the American fast food chains took over British food culture - for better or for worse, we have yet to fully decide. It's a book that I would put in the same category as Pen Vogler's 'Scoff' - it's a snapshot of how we eat now, in 2025, and where things could go.

Tandoh's writing is wry and funny without losing its depth. There are personal stories, histories of companies who have existed in our freezers and cupboards for centuries, and a treatise on why we're suddenly seeing a million probiotic sodas and CBD drinks on our supermarket shelves. I read some of this while drinking one of those CBD drinks...maybe I'm the problem.

I had a fun time reading this book, even if my attention did wane a little (my fault, not the books) and for anyone looking for food writing that doesn't feel like it'll date itself within a few months, I highly recommend picking it up when it's released.