Pie Fidelity: In Defence of British Food
A journey through British food, from the acclaimed author of The Apple Orchard.
In Britain, we have always had an awkward relationship with food. We’ve been told for so long that we are terrible cooks and yet when someone with a clipboard asks us what the best things are about being British, our traditional food and drink are more important than the monarchy and at least as significant as our landscape and national monuments in defining a collective notion of who we are.
Taking nine archetypically British dishes – Pie and Peas, A Cheese Sandwich, Fish and Chips, Spag Bol, Devonshire Cream Tea, Curry, The Full English, The Sunday Roast and a Crumble with Custard – and enjoying them in their most typical settings, Pete Brown examines just how fundamental food is to our sense of identity, perhaps even our sense of pride, and the ways in which we understand our place in the world.
“A much-needed book… makes an important point without false pride or sentimentality… should open a few eyes, particularly among those who make a living writing about munching.”
The Times
Imprint: Particular Books
Published: 04/04/2019
ISBN: 9781846149597
Length: 352 Pages
RRP: £16.99
The Beer and Cider Marketing Awards
Pete is one of the founders and chair of judges of the Beer and Cider Marketing Awards, which seek to reward the best in marketing practice of brewers and cider makers of any scale, in any medium. This is the only awards scheme of its type, as relevant to small craft brewers as it is to global giants. The quality of the beer itself is the most important thing, but with 2000 brewers now in the UK, if you’re making good beer, how do you spread the word about it? We’re looking for the best answers to that question. Details of 2019 awards to be announced soon. Find out more here.
Original Gravity Magazine
Pete is Editor-at-Large of Original Gravity% magazine, founded in 2014 by Daniel Nielsen, and edited by Adrian Tierney-Jones. This free magazine is distributed in pubs, bars, tap rooms and bottle shops across the UK, and seeks to showcase the very best in writing about beer from around the world. Think of it as your slightly-more knowledgeable-than-you beery mate. Read the latest issue, sign up for a subscription, buy exclusive cover artwork or just read the latest stories from the team, all right here.
LATEST BLOG POST - Long Read: A Tale of Two Cheeses
My new book, Pie Fidelity: In Defence of British Food, is finally published today after two-and-a-half-years’ hard work. To celebrate, here’s another off-cut that didn’t quite make the main text. One of the main themes of the book is that we don’t celebrate our food culture in the UK as much as other nations celebrate theirs. Here’s a cheesy example.
If you want to hear about my latest releases, speaking events, or anything else I'm up to, sign up for my newsletter below
Recent Publications
Pie Fidelity: In Defence of British Food
In Britain, we have always had an awkward relationship with food. We’ve been told for so long that we are terrible cooks and yet when someone with a clipboard asks us what the best things are about being British, our traditional food and drink are more important than the monarchy and at least as significant as our landscape and national monuments in defining a collective notion of who we are.
“A much-needed book… makes an important point without false pride or sentimentality… should open a few eyes, particularly among those who make a living writing about munching.”
The Times
Miracle Brew: Adventures in the Nature of Beer
From the birth of brewing (and civilization) in the Middle East, through an exploration of water’s unmurky depths and the surreal madness of drink-sodden hop-blessings in the Czech Republic, to the stunning recreation of the first ever modern beer – Miracle Brew is an extraordinary journey through the nature and science of brewing.
“Staggering… screamingly funny … a magisterial book that will remain a key contributor to our knowledge of and pleasure in beer and brewing for years to come.” Roger Protz.
The Apple Orchard: The Story of Our Most English Fruit
‘The vivid brightness of the laden trees, studded with jewels, stirs some deep race memory and makes the heart leap. Here is bounty, and excitement’.
Journeying through the seasons in England’s apple-growing heartlands, Pete Brown uncovers the history, magic and folklore of our most familiar fruit, showing its unique and surprisingly important place in our lives.
“Delightful… impassioned, patriotic, richly informed.”
Sunday Times