Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain

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I once had tea with a Lord on the tiny island of Carriacou which he had invited me to visit. We sat on the terrace of his villa on the lovely pink-sand beach of Hillsborough with three of his women friends. I had scarcely begun to drink my tea when I saw a look pass between the women. What had I done? I saw the sneer. I hadn't crooked my little finger, I hadn't stirred my tea so that it slopped over the side. I couldn't think. But I could see them looking down their noses at me. They'd marked me out. I was only middle class. But how? I have the right kind of accent (also a Welsh one for street cred and a sort of Caribbean one that doesn't impress West Indians). I pondered over it for days. Pen Vogler provides a fascinating social history of British food through the centuries and throws in a selection of enticing recipes from the past for good measure.' -History Books of the Year, Daily Mail The book is more historical than I expected. Vogler has done a lot of reading, including secondary sources. The famous cookbooks by Hannah Glass, "Meg Dods" and Mrs Cromwell are easily available. She doesn't draw any startling conclusions, and falls for some clichés. The book must have been written at the time of the Cameron "supper" flap. She shows that the word has been around since medieval times, and that supper was a more relaxed and informal version of dinner, eaten either long after dinner or instead of it. So why did everyone get their undergarments in a twist over Rebekah Brook's mention of a "country supper"? Or was it a kitchen supper? Vogler is highly attentive to the linguistics of food and class too. Not just the whiskery stuff about Nancy Mitford being condescending about people who say “serviette” instead of “napkin”, or John Betjeman relegating the fish knife to the lower middle class. She is particularly good on how the upper middle class have stopped giving dinner parties and instead now invite people round to supper. “Supper” sounds cosy and informal and implies that you don’t need to try too hard. It also suggests that you live in the kind of house where the kitchen is not obliged to double up as a home office.

Her writing style is easy to read, but she sprinkles a chapter on the Roast Beef of Old England with words like "bullish" and "beef up". Oh, ha ha. Always entertaining... Scoff shows how British people developed a very convoluted relationship to food.' -Sheila Dillon, Mail on Sunday Fascinating... This is a pleasurable compilation, scholarly but not dry, with sharp imagery, quiet wit and lively personal stories.' -Clarissa Hyman, TLS

Customer reviews

Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler is sensitive to language, and she wields it brilliantly herself. Bons mot jostle with the kind of truth-skewering opinions that win reputations for restaurant critics... Ultimately, Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating.' - Sunday Times This isn’t just a history of food in Britain (though it is that, too); it’s a history of how perceptions of food in Britain are connected to class. How this food at this time is for the poor and ignorant while that food is for the wealthy, the educated, the privileged – and how the situation might change over the years for the very same food. Vogler's book is a series of dazzling essays on subjects such as venison pasties, spices, Christmas pudding and Brussels sprouts. The learning and the range of references, from obscure Italian Renaissance texts to Bridget Jones, are astounding.' - Literary Review A rich, persuasive diet of social friction, anecdotes and witty observation... It's a book to make the reader both think and salivate.' - Financial Times

Lively and detailed... Scoff is a pacy social history, exploring how foods have fallen in and out of favour and eating habits have moved between classes over centuries.' - New StatesmanWith commendable appetite and immense attention to detail Pen Vogler skewers the enduring relationship between class and food in Britain. A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time.' - Jay Rayner You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. The entertaining story of British cuisine and the hidden role it plays in our political, social and cultural lives.