Product Description

Tired of the bland, processed pap served up in supermarkets and identikit restaurants across the UK, food writer Tom Parker Bowles embarks on a picaresque global odyssey in search of culinary extremes. The first to admit he has a timid tummy, Tom eschews the Michelin-starred restaurants he's grown accustomed to and seeks out the most authentic regional foods he can find. Full of trepidation, he puts his prejudices behind him and samples seahorse satay and millipede skewers in China, indulges in stomach-popping competitive eating in the States, and tentatively consumes the world's most poisonous fish in Japan. Brilliantly written and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is an eye-opening adventure in the company of a man who may not be brave, but is certainly curious. Tom's visceral account of his journey will make your mouth water...most of the time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143733 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Observer Food Monthly
Tom Parker Bowles is an unashamed pig ... hilarious.

Rose Prince, Daily Telegraph
Tackles eating the weird and wonderful with a refreshing lack of
machismo ... Like Redmond O'Hanlon at his maddened best.

Daily Mail
An engaging read ... Tom PB is such a likeable narrator,
enthusiastic, open, candid and sweary.

Customer Reviews

More place than plate...
'The Year of Eating Dangerously' is a really good read with nine chapters based in specific locations:

Gloucestershire (hunting for elvers)
New Mexico (chillies)
China (all sorts of strange things!)
Nashville (barbecue championships)
Tokyo (puffer fish)
Korea (dog stew)
Laos (various bits and pieces)
Spain (extreme fishing with percebeiros trying to find the ultimate barnacle) and
Sicily (dinner with the mob)

Parker Bowles comes across as charming and self-aware (he knows that he's no Bourdain!) Occasionally he comes across like an overly-exuberant puppy on his quest for new tastes and flavours. But, this has to be balanced against all the times he gets horribly hung-over and is unable to taste anything. There are times when the locations seem to take over and he seems more like a frustrated travel writer rather than a gourmand!

This is a really enjoyable read, but I did prefer some chapters to others. The Nashville Barbecue and the quest for the ultimate chilli experience in New Mexico were highlights for me.

Recommended, but next time can we have a little less 'place' and a bit more 'plate'. Thanks!

Indigestible
Fell way short of my expectations.
I found his exploits into dangerous eating pretty harmless, mundane and to be honest, quite depressing.
TPB comes across as a pretty humourless fellow who despite his alleged quest for culinary extremes gives the impression he would have been far happier sat at home in front of the television with his favorite dog eating a very large portion of shepherds pie.

Not to my taste.
Not funny and not particularly dangerous food (Fugu aside).
Stick to the newspaper columns and TV cookery shows is my advice.