Thank you Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon and Vintage Catalog for my ARC!

Being an ill-traveled American hurts my perception on some of these essays. I know, I know, they’re modern day essays on food and social media—how can it possibly miss the mark? It wasn’t all of them, there are clearly references from America like Duncan Hines, but with her local references it would be beneficial to simply be aware of the UK market. Most references to stores, cookbooks, and TV shows sent me to the internet to scope out what I was missing.
(I’m frustrated that I tried to find the “Mary’s meatballs” recipe and came up with absolutely nothing. I searched Google and AllRecipes to no avail. I may be too ignorant in the savvy ways of the internet to find it so that one could be on me.)

Searching for the things that I wasn’t aware existed isn’t bad AT ALL, in fact, that’s a great thing! That’s exactly how to expand our horizons. The initial read just left me with gaps that other readers will probably go, “ah, I know EXACTLY what she’s talking about.” In nonfiction, my personal preference is to be able to relate to what they’re saying or at least follow the train of thought. Her essays “The Icecream Age” and “Tonic Waters” flowed a lot better for me since there was a clear line of development for how each topic became popular and took over their particular market. In other essays she relied on the reader having prior knowledge of what she was talking about.

Her essays leave me wondering how appetites are in consumers with very little online exposure. There are so many recipes to sift through and several fads that are here and gone within weeks. Without the internet it would just be your immediate environment influencing food, right? But with trends and fads, does that also influence the environment and what's available? I suppose that’s part of the reason the trad-wife genre is so popular, it’s leaning on the non-internet based lifestyle while being front and center of a trend. Tandoh does have an essay touching on that topic! She also provides references at the end of her book that are super helpful if you’d like to read more into her sources for the essays.

I am from cookbooks without pictures, Julia Child, Alice Waters, MFK Fisher and Gourmet Magazine. Ruby Tandoh is from the internet, glossy food photos, Instagram and influencers. While it is easy to write off the new food culture as over the top, the author has an interesting perspective and often delivers her thoughts with humor. Cynical at times, this is a book to read if you feel you need an update on the food world.
I love good food writing, this book was more about ideas than great writing. I think All Consuming is geared to a new audience...I still miss Gourmet Magazine.

Funny, informative, and insightful. Tandoh manages to mix history, perceptive cultural insights, and humor into a neat, little package. I particularly enjoyed Tandoh's take on the democratization of the modern food critics due to platforms like TikTok and what it means for restaurant culture writ large. The chapter on supermarkets as hegemonic tools of empire, but also places of unlimited choice was particularity interesting. Tandoh's gift is in the connections she makes and the parallels she draws to create a larger, more vibrant story.

Love reading about food and eating from Tandoh's perspective. While the focus is on British foods and restaurants, it's still very interesting for American readers.

Hit or miss essays - love the premise, I don't think I had the background knowledge to fully appreciate all the references.

Ruby Tandoh’s All Consuming serves as a reflective look at the ways our relationship with food has evolved in the age of the internet and social media. Through a combination of cultural review and personal insight, Tandoh explores how the consumption of food and social media content has transformed in a world increasingly controlled by algorithms and aesthetics.

One of the most compelling takeaways from the book is how deeply digital culture has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Tandoh traces the shift from a time when family recipes were quietly handed down through generations to today’s world of viral recipes with names crafted to stand out for clicks. It made me realize just how much food, and the way we talk about it, has changed over just the few decades I've been around.

Reading All Consuming prompted me to reflect on how far we’ve come as a society in our relationship with food.

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

I haven't read any of Tandoh's other works yet. But I did watch her season on GBBO. If you're looking for more of that, this isn't it. What this is is a close look at how the food landscape has changed over the years and what is driving that change. It's serious and funny all at the same time and I can definitely say that I enjoy Tandoh's style of writing.

While I did find her views to be a bit contrarian for the sake of being contrary at times (almost every chapter had her looking down on a fad, going to partake in that fad, and fully realizing that she was there despite her feelings on it). I get it - there's certain things you just roll your eyes at and want to try anyway, I just wish there were more uplifting thoughts about where are food trends are headed. But maybe there isn't a lot to find in the crush.

The chapters covered a myriad of different fads and changes over time (and it was European-centric although the United States slipped in as well). From Americanized burger-joints, automats, to tik-tok fads and food reviews, the evolution of food is well covered. I especially loved the chapter on bubble tea as I can recall just a few years ago when they were seemingly everywhere. They seem here to stay (although maybe not quite as many locations) and while I don't partake as often (the calories!!), I do love a good bubble tea.

Overall this was an interesting book. I have one of her others on my to-read list and I will definitely look forward to it.

Review by M. Reynard 2025

Foodies and non-foodies alike will be fascinated by this cultural history of food -- how just since the 1940s, food has gone from a necessity to an obsession for many people. The author, a journalist and Bake-Off veteran, takes a deep, meticulously researched look at why we eat, how we are influenced, what we eat, how we cook, and we talk about what we eat. An excellent book!