Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears: The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution

(Hardback)

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In 1990, Britain was mocked for its bland food and over-boiled veg but by 2000, the country was on its way to being one of the worlds most exciting culinary hotspots.
Former Good Food Guide editor Andrew Turvil was there, tasting Marco Pierre Whites three Michelin starred food, clocking Jamie Olivers first TV take, and fielding volcanic phone calls from irate chefs. In sparkling prose and a veritable feast of 1990s food, Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears charts the wild ride from the cigarette-fueled SAS of kitchens to Hakkasans velvet-dark glamour via the 5 recession lunch and the arrival of conveyor-belt sushi.

What youll find inside:
First-hand stories from Marco Pierre White, Paul Heathcote, Vineet Bhatia, Heston Blumenthal, and more.
The 1990s trends that shaped today - coffee outlets rose 847% and monthly eating-out nearly tripled by 2015, while organic sales doubled.
A tasting tour of 33 iconic dishes that still shape restaurant menus now, from Black Cod Miso to Triple-Cooked Chips.
Insight into how the 1990s forged the careers of current headline chefs and set the template for Britains modern, multicultural food identity

Fast-paced, funny and meticulously researched, this is a love-letter to restaurantsand the people who bled to make them great. If youve ever yelled Yes, chef! at a TV, queued for ramen, or Instagrammed a marrow bone, this is your origin story. This is the ultimate feast of 90s nostalgia.

Author Bio

Described by The Independent as one of the UKs arbiters of taste, Andrew Turvil is the former editor of The Good Food Guide, AA Restaurant Guide and Which Pub Guide. As a freelance restaurant critic, writer, and editor, he has spent his career writing about pubs and restaurants, and, undeterred, bought a pub in 2015 and ran it for 10 years. Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears is his first book.