x-book ®

Food of the Cods

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

The story of Britain’s fish and chips obsession

‘A lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.’ Stuart Maconie

Step inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain’s national dish.

There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with vinegar and the scent of frying. Following the irresistible lure, Daniel Gray ponders the magic of chippies and the delights they have sprinkled among us for the last 150 years as he investigates the social – and sociable – history of fish and chips.

Travelling to chippies from Dundee to Devon via South Shields, Oldham, Bradford, Bethnal Green, the Rhondda Valley and more – Daniel Gray explores our fish-and-chip nation to show how chippies have helped emancipate women, promote equality for immigrants and shape local and national identity.

Whether you were raised eating scraps of Wolverhampton’s orange chips, London’s ‘wallies’ or Hull’s chip spice – even if you think you know whether tea, Vimto or dandelion and burdock is the best accompaniment – this mouth-watering book is as much about who we are as what we eat.

Critics Review

  • ‘This is a lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what, alongside The Beatles, Shakespeare and the NHS, may be our greatest achievement: the “chippy”. Fair warning, it will make you very hungry.’ Stuart Maconie, author of The Full English

    ‘Daniel Gray writes with great humour and takes tender delight in the people he meets. His book is as warm and comforting as a bag of chips on a cold night.’ Peter Ross, author of Steeple Chasing

    ‘Engaging … Sprinkled with a digestible amount of social history and commentary. Like the dish, leaves you with a warm feeling afterwards.’ Daily Mail

    ‘Light bite rather than a full fish supper, this is a delightful mix of travelogue and fish-flavoured fact. Good fun.’ Annie Gray, author of The Kitchen Cabinet

    ‘Gray is a master at finding the universal in the local and the profound in the so-called everyday.’ Ian McMillan, author of My Sand Life, My Pebble Life

    ‘As satisfying and tangy as a pineapple fritter after the swimming baths.’ Harry Pearson, author of No Pie, No Priest

    ‘Witty, authoritative and timely. … Vivid, rich prose shimmering with warmth and a belief in the fundamental goodness of people.’ The New European

    ‘Warm, wise and witty. Gray’s uplifting prose ensures you’ll come away with a wider appreciation of just what it means to be human.’ Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping

    ‘A highly entertaining, historically nuanced account. Wonderfully atmospheric.’ Andrew Martin, author of Yorkshire: There and Back

    ‘An affectionate appreciation of a great British institution. As tasty as a fresh cod.” Arthur Matthews, writer on Father Ted and Toast of London

More from the same

Narrator

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.