Member Reviews
I absolutely loved this!! As a huge fan of Jessie Ware - her music and her podcast - when I saw she was releasing her own book I was desperate to read.
This book is just so cosy and was the perfect book to read outside in the sun. It was so engrossing, and so easy to read. I read this in one sitting!
Everything in this book is so witty and brilliantly written - it feels like a book of short stories.
The reason I didn't give this book the full 5* is purely because of the layout of the book. I loved hat was within the pages, but I just didn't find any links and it felt a tad random. I think it would have been better to have some sort of thread that linked the stories and anecdotes together rather than just random and sporadic stories here there and everywhere.
I would love to re-read this book on audio, especially if Jessie narrates the book herself. I think it would add to the cosy feeling, and feel all the more personal hearing her read it.
I definitely recommend!
This is a really breezy, accessible read that's easily digestible, light, warm and funny. It's one in the 'food-oir' vein wherebyu nostalgic memories of childhood, first love, nights out and so on are all reflected upon in the context of favourite foods, family meals, nights out in restaurants etc. It's really engaging, gossipy and candid and reflects her real love and passion for food that anyone familiar with her and her mother's Table Manners podcast will be well aware of. Really worth a read especially for those wanting more in the same vein of the podcast, and she really writes well with a feel for the flavour and excitement of food and dining.
I love Jessie's podcast with her mum, look forward to it each week and I really enjoyed learning a little more about her childhood and her relationship with food. However I felt the book didn't have much structure and felt it jumped from her 16 year old self to her as a mother. I also thought the ending felt quite prompt, I didn't get the feeling that the memories/words were coming to an end. Aside from the the confusing order I thought it was well written, a very easy read, and if you're familiar with her podcast you can hear those are her words, and the words of her mum. Absolutely worth a read if you're a Jessie fan or a food fan from the UK, I'm younger than her but a lot of her memories in relation to growing up in the UK resonated with me.
You had me at 'foodoir'. Such a warm and endearing voice, that means the writing flows like a conversation with a friend - not too dissimilar to her podcast style. Thoroughly enjoyable.
I'm a big fan of the 'Tablemanners' podcast and already own the accompanying cookbook so was keen to read Jessie Ware's 'Omelette'... which she calls a 'foodoir'!
I love the way Jessie writes; it's conversational and written in a similar style to the podcast or the introductions above the recipes in her cookbook. I particularly love that every memory and story contains enough background information that it feels almost voyeuristic to read - you read about the feelings that foods and drinks can bring back. experience her highs and lows that have been framed by food. The book conjured up lots of different emotions for me and, slight pun intended... I devoured it!
It's easy to read and engaging, i didn't want to put it down. Little recipes are peppered throughout, and what I love the most is that whilst Ware proclaims herself a 'foodie', there's no snobbery - she raves about a white tin loaf as much as the next person... relishes the memory of buttery scrambled eggs and harsh first drunken experiences of cocktails such as white russians.
A great book for those who enjoy eating!
What a funny and clever book! In Omelette, Jessie Ware writes about memorable food moments (basically it’s a memoir told through food) and shares recipes that have influenced her life. I really enjoyed reading this, especially as I’ve listened to a few episodes of the Table Manners podcast. The best parts for me were her travel anecdotes and her life advice list. Everything felt relatable: she talks about a wide variety of foods, from oysters to bolognese, natural wine and everything in between.
I've listened to the Table Manners podcast a few times on the recommendation of my daughter and liked it very much. I enjoyed this gallop through Ware's personal food memories. I liked the fact it wasn't all fancy food in hard to get to restaurants and I always enjoy people who remember their lives through the food they've eaten in the places they've been to. It's a little on the short side and is more like a collection of essays than anything else, but none the worse for it. I could have done with more, and perhaps a little more cohesion, but it was an enjoyable read.
I adored this. I love Jessie both as a musician and on her podcast. She’s so endearing and this comes across in her book. I love all the recipes particularly potentially would’ve like more of them.
Really, really enjoyed this book. It’s really a memoir told through food. From white bread enjoyed with a schoolfriend to the perfect spaghetti bolognese, that first G&T on a plane to a home-cooked Omelette. I love the way Jessie weaves in memories of family, falling in love, friendship and travel with some of her most memorable meals. It made me nostalgic and thinking of my own food memories from years gone by. I really love the Table Manners podcast Jessie and her mum Lennie have created and this book feels like an extension of that. A wonderful, nostalgic read. Thank you NetGalley and Hodder Studio for the opportunity to review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC. I absolutely adored this book, it's warm and witty, made me very hungry(!) and reminded me why there is more to food that eating. A must read for fans of Jessie Ware, or listeners of The Table Manners podcast!
Omelette is, by Jessie Ware’s own admission, a reluctant ‘foodoir’ (a memoir about food memories). It is however so much more than a book about food. It is a sparky, warm and throughly engaging set of vignettes which are loosely bound together by meals and ingredients, but more richly united with the family and friends who appear.
The recollections are diverse. From spag-bol to her father-in-laws recipe, to dinner (with copious amounts of Whispering Angel) at Chateau Marmont with an old temping pal (now mega selling author) and back via M&S curry at her grandmas. The book is perceptive and the prose flows easily. It feels a little like Grace Dent’s fantastic Hungry but based in the 90s (rather than the 70s) and a lot more middle-class.
Full of anecdotes and with plenty of nods to the wider Ware family that will thrill fans of Jessie’s podcast Table Manners. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thanks to Hodder Books and Netgalley for the advance copy.