The Land That Thyme Forgot

A gastronomic journey round the United Kingdom

'A fascinating tour round our food roots... An edible H.V. Morton - I loved it and so will you'

'William Black's book confirms my long-held belief that British food has a history to match any other cuisine in the world. Tragically, we've almost entirely lost touch with this heritage, but this book is a heroic step in the right direction'

'Black's history is fascinating to any reader...provides new insight into Britain's love/hate affair with food'

'He delights in the overlooked and the downright unfashionable...if you've ever wondered what exactly is clapshot, or cockaleekie, or cullen skink, then this is a book for you'

William Black is the author of Al Dente and the co-author with Sophie Grigson of several bestselling books: Fish, Organic and Travels à la Carte. He was the winner of the Glenfiddich award for his television programme Matters of Taste and he has sourced ingredients (fish in particular) for many of the UK's finest restaurants. He lives in Oxfordshire.

In the spirit of Al Dente, The Land That Thyme Forgot will describe the intrepid gastronome's search for the heart and soul of Britain through the food we eat. William Black talks to producers, restaurateurs, visits the great and the awful, and seeks out the country's disappearing specialities - tripe, Singing Hinnies, solomongundy, Hindle wakes, Sussex Pond pudding and flummery. Great names, but who on earth still eats, let alone cooks, them? 
 
Britain has a very rich culinary tradition though it is only now that we seem ready to reclaim it. Our meat can be among the best, and the worst. The quality of our cheeses has improved exponentially over the past few years. Farmer's markets are thriving. Our restaurant culture is burgeoning, and we have almost got over those ancient Puritan diktats that pleasure is somehow just not what life is all about. So, perhaps even if we have been a little forgotten in the league of culinary greats, times really are a-changing. 
 
William goes in search of lobscouse in Liverpool, finds salmon in the Severn and cheddar in, well, Cheddar. This journey through the lost traditions of British cuisine is never less than fascinating. Prepare to be amazed . . .

Plats du Jour

An irreverent and controversial exploration of the highways and byways of French cookery

William Black... writes in an attractive, light-hearted and amusing style which belies the extensive and intensive research which must have gone into the writing

This is a must read book... Quite simply incredible

A wonderful travel guide ... A must for Francophiles.

The author is a veteran of the eat-your-way across the map genre, and this book about France is witty and thoughtful, redolent with garlic and goose fat. It extemporises at length on the specialities of each area.

William Black is the author of Al Dente and The Land That Thyme Forgot, and the co-author with Sophie Grigson of several bestselling travel books: Fish, Organic and Travels à la Carte. He has sourced ingredients (fish in particular) for many of the UK's finest restaurants and he lives in Oxfordshire.

There is more than a slight malaise in the air these days about French food and cooking. While the rest of the world delights in the intricacies of molecular gastronomy and even Britain is revelling in a culinary renaissance, in France the years of worship at the temple of the great god Michelin seem to have blinded them to change and evolution. Why is this? What is it about the French that causes them to be so blinkered about their food? 
 
Plats du Jour is an attempt to answer that question, as William Black explores the highways and byways of French cooking. Taking as his starting point the great tradition of French food, William tackles years of received wisdom and parochial food snobbery head on, though with his mind (and his mouth) firmly open... He eats tête de veau and fried cow's udder with his French wife's family near Orléans. He samples the dubious (and illegal) delights of ortolan in the south west and has the most painfully disappointing gastronomic experience of his life. He combs the beaches of Brittany for seafood and is chased away from a festival by an enraged Basque villager. His dedication to the culinary cause knows few bounds. 
 
Plats du Jour is a book which the French aren't going to like very much. That said, it's a highly entertaining and irreverent look at the world's greatest culinary tradition which will be required reading for anyone with an interest in food and cooking...

William Black

'A delicious mixture that evokes Italy, both past and present'

'This vibrant and witty account of his gastronomic travels through Italy combines mouth-watering descriptions of dishes and foodstuffs, simple authentic recipes and a travelogue that is as richly observed as it is fascinating'

'For anyone who enjoys good food, Al Dente is a must'

'Al Dente is to Italian food what a map is to Italian roads - essential reading. I loved it!'

'I couldn't put it down. They had to call me from the kitchen. When I was reading it I felt I was almost there. It brought a tear to my eye!'

'Al Dente is funny, at times poetic, and most useful'

In Al Dente, William Black travels the length and breadth of Italy in order to get to the roots of Italian food. Our intrepid gastronome eats whatever gets in his way which often isn't quite what it seems. If it's cheese then it may be considered ripe only when it has been predigested by maggots or perhaps made solely from the milk of tired cows. A bowl of pasta might come with donkey sauce. A dish of wind dried tuna apparently includes its testicles. A lovely risotto has been made with seagull broth... 
 
William's dedication to his task knows alarmingly few bounds. His quest for the most delicious and authentic cooking and the very finest ingredients takes him to some wonderfully familiar places as well as others far off the beaten track: he drinks great coffee in Turin, chases rabbits in Ischia and views the mattanza, the annual tuna catch, off the coast of Sardinia. One minute he's scoffing eel brodetto, the next waxing lyrical about the joys of frog risotto. And as he eats his way to the country's culinary heart, he unearths the fascinating story of his own family's role in Italian history. 
 
A joy from cover to cover and 100 per cent mierda di bufala-free, Al Dente is a must for anyone with an interest in Italy or its food. It will probably make you want to book a holiday and it will certainly make you laugh.

William Black

Praise for Al Dente

'A delicious mixture that evokes Italy, both past and present'

'This vibrant and witty account of his gastronomic travels through Italy combines mouth-watering descriptions of dishes and foodstuffs, simple authentic recipes and a travelogue that is as richly observed as it is f ...

'For anyone who enjoys good food, Al Dente is a must'

'A delicious mixture that evokes Italy, both past and present'

'This vibrant and witty account of his gastronomic travels through Italy combines mouth-watering descriptions of dishes and foodstuffs, simple authentic recipes and a travelogue that is as richly observed as it is f ...

'For anyone who enjoys good food, Al Dente is a must'

'A delicious mixture that evokes Italy, both past and present'

'This vibrant and witty account of his gastronomic travels through Italy combines mouth-watering descriptions of dishes and foodstuffs, simple authentic recipes and a travelogue that is as richly observed as it is f ...

'For anyone who enjoys good food, Al Dente is a must'

Books by William Black

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