I enjoyed listening to STUFFED by Pen Vogler, as the history of our country based on the food we eat was fascinating. Blending anecdotes with historical fact and stories, it was a refreshing listen. However, it took me a long while to warm to the voice of the narrator – I thought they were a bot to begin with, and there were some weird intonations in it. So I'm glad I preserved but the narrator isn't the most engaging.

Stuffed by Pen Vogler
(Narrated by Emma Gregory)

A great book was presented by an awesome narrator! Perfect tone, great pace and fantastic intonation.

The book is about food culture and eating habit in the UK, back to hundred years ago up to present. An interesting, informative and educational book that I have never come across the topic.

This is a perfect book to those who like food and culture, and also health and history!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Jan 15, 2024

This was an interesting book in that it told the story of our eating habits and how they have developed over the years. I had not really given any thought to what I ate, why I ate things and indeed the cultural changes that have occurred to change our habits. The book is full of much information regarding the British people and the food that we eat. The historical parts were very interesting . and were indeed thought provoking. although at times I did find some places a little on the heavy going side and needed to go back to hear again
I realise now that I prefer to read at my pace and do not really enjoy audio books. .

very interesting history of our food and why we have customs and rituals around certain foods. Fascinating old laws and convents for providing basic foods to the population. Can put down and pick again at each chapter, easy to follow. Historical and factual but also a little wit and wisdom. How political and economy can influence what is farmed and sold. The health of our nation through the decades, fascinating and I really enjoyed the structure and delivery of the book. Thank you #NetGalley for audiobook to review.

I absolutely loved Pen Vogler’s book Scoffed and Stuffed is an engaging, informed and highly entertaining follow up. I believe Pen’s research and knowledge as a food historian is impeccable and she puts her learning to great use by writing books which are accessible for any reader.

She raises so many questions about things we take for granted daily. How and where is what we eat sourced? How are today’s supply chains and farming methods shaped by 15th century Enclosure legislation and practice? How and why is the government involved in our eating habit? The list is endless and each chapter examines a specific issue and raises numerous questions about food in Britain. In the last three or four decades, multinationals and supermarkets have clawed their way into the food chain. They have done so insidiously and have shaped a buying and eating market that suits the corporate culture. We no longer have a short chain of seasonal goods, grown and picked locally and sold fresh in markets and eaten fresh whilst packed with taste and flavour. Consumers have allowed this to happen by accepting the overpacked, over aged produce on supermarket shelves. EU regulations placed ridiculous controls on about size and shape.

The subject matter is extensive and complex but presented in a way that will appeal to anyone interested in food or social history. Class divisions are shaped by food and tables. Governments exert controls that should never have been allowed and individuals have forgotten how to choose and use food well. This book is one of the best non fiction titles of all time. I’d make it required reading in schools and open debates with youngsters to inform their choices in later life. It’s simply brilliant.

Narration throughout is excellent. Well paved and entirely in keeping with the content. I have Scoffed in hardback and will be buying this as a stunning companion volume. .

Interesting but a bit overly involved. It might be a situation of right book at the wrong time. While much of it was interesting, I started having to power through it after a while. But if the history of food is up your alley, this is incredibly well researched. It goes into the origin stories of many everyday foods. Intriguing but I might not be the person for the level of depth.

It was great to learn more about the history of food in Britain and it gave me plenty of information that I wasn't aware of before.

I really enjoyed Scoff when I read it last April, but I do feel it was a situation of 'right book, right time'. Whilst Vogler's follow-up 'Stuffed' is jam-packed full of historical fact, intriguing origins of familiar foods and thoughtful analysis of how food and difficult times are inextricably linked, I found it all a little lifeless as I read. Perhaps it's the length, perhaps it's the denser chapters than the previous book. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read, but didn't quite gather my attention as 'Scoff' did previously.

Stuffed takes a fascinating look at the social history of the UK through the prism of food and it's intriguing to see how many of the patterns repeat. The cost of food and the ability of the country's citizens to get hold of it is obviously a major part of a cohesive and peaceful society and has a huge impact, as it does in every country. Pen Vogler in this book looks at the impact of want and plenty through our history and it's a very interesting and readable book.

My only issue really was that it raised more questions for me than it answered fully. What, for instance, is it that makes our society have the attitude to food we do and what is different there from other nations (if anything)? She talks of all we have to learn from the food societies of Europe, and specifies France and the Netherlands at one point, but both of those countries (and Germany) are having a lot of political unrest just now led by farmers so their policies are also causing problems - why? Will we get the same here? Can we really compare the government reactions to the Second World War and the pandemic when the problems are in many ways polar opposites - one needing to bring people together physically as a means of stretching resource, the other to keep people physically apart. Would rationing ever be acceptable to people now, or a push to make people physically healthier to avoid disease, or an understanding that we can't keep getting cheap food and stay healthy? How much of the reaction should be on government and how much on individuals and how does that reflect our national psyche? How much of that is worldwide with social media? Is the rise of people thinking of how things affect only themselves and not the community something we can change?

So I wasn't completely convinced by all the arguments within and it didn't cover all the points it raised to me but I did find it very interesting, particularly the historical context. I thoroughly enjoy a book that makes me think more deeply on a subject I possibly didn't even know I was so interested in and this was one of those books. I listened to the audio version and the narration was excellent too. Hugely entertaining and thought provoking.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

#Stuffed #NetGalley