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.
‘Brown is a natural raconteur … this memoir mixed with a “defence of British food” sees him at his funniest and most insightful. Highly recommended.’
Imprint: Particular Books
Published: 04/04/2019
ISBN: 9781846149597
Length: 352 Pages
RRP: £16.99
The British Guild of Beer Writers
Pete os currently Chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers, which exists “…to improve standards
of beer writing and extend the public knowledge of beer.” If you write, tweet, gram, podcast or take photos about beer and pubs, and you like to socialise with and learn from others who do, find out more here.
Full Juice Magazine
Pete is Editor-at-Large of Full Juice, a new publication entirely focused upon the fermented apple. Pete Brown, Susanna Forbes, Bill Bradshaw and Gabe Cook have spent the last decade travelling to the world’s greatest cider making regions – learning, talking and writing along about what they found there. Now, we’ve come together to create a regular, periodical celebration of the world of fine cider.
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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