The Full English

An English culinary odyssey revealing the hidden forces shaping the nation’s food, its dining habits—and its people

What is English food? The award-winning podcaster Lewis Bassett is a chef in search of an answer. Whether examining the recent invention of sourdough or the aristocratic assumptions informing the rewilding of cuisine, Bassett discovers the deep roots of English food culture in the peculiar meanderings and great events of English history.

Part culinary adventure, part political analysis, The Full English is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand this nation of eccentric eaters. Through eight iconic foodstuffs – including olive oil, Greggs sausage rolls, roast beef, and curry (naturally) – Bassett takes us through a menu transcending space and time. Working in an artisanal bakery and in Michelin-starred kitchens, boarding a fishing boat named the St George, drinking Huel, eating pastries, he discovers the ways in which our food was shaped by urbanisation, empire, industry, and war.

The Full English uncovers the remarkable connections between food and power, class and culture, tradition and change to make an urgent case for a proud national taste that is both artisanal and modern.Lewis Bassett is a writer, chef, and host of the podcast The Full English, for which he was the recipient of a Guild of Food Writers award. He has written for Vittles, the Guardian, Novara Media, and the Financial Times.